News Update - July 18, 2009

By Alan Lee, Esq.†‡

Surging Backlogs Increase Stress on Immigration Judges



The New York Times reports that immigration judges are found under strain. According to a study by Georgetown University evaluating the level of stress undergone by 96 immigration judges, the judges are strained on a similar level as prison wardens and hospital physicians, groups that consistently report exceptionally high stress levels. On the questionnaires, immigration judges complained of the constant pressure dealt by the court administrators to reach faster decisions while cases pile up at a speedy rate and the complexity of cases requires deep analytical thought. One anonymous judge cites in his grievance “the persistent lack of sufficient time to be really prepared for cases.” Another simply states, “There isn’t enough time to think.” A majority of the cases heard by these judges involve a foreigner seeking asylum claiming that he or she would face life-threatening persecution if (s)he returned home. One judge comments, “This job is supposed to be about doing justice, but the conditions under which we work make it more and more challenging to ensure that justice is done.”

In a related story, in the Dallas Morning News, the backlog of cases in Dallas’ immigration court has reached its highest point in a decade. The Transactional Records
Access Clearinghouse group at Syracuse University which analyzes federal efficiency
reports that at the end of April, Dallas had 2633 pending cases. While the number of immigration cases handled by judges in Dallas has climbed 50% since fiscal year 1999, the backlog can be primarily attributed to the shortage of administrative judges, larger caseloads and complexity of immigration disputes. Three years ago, the Justice Department recommended hiring 40 new judges, but only a few judges have been hired. The Dallas court was short at least one full-time judge for years, and only recently hired its fourth judge. Furthermore, a new study by the Brookings Institution finds the nation’s immigration courts overburdened because of a nationwide judge shortage. The average immigration court judge hears approximately 1200 removal proceedings per year, compared to an average annual caseload of 480 for district judges. As a result of the Dallas shortage and backlog, it takes eight months on average for a case to be resolved in Dallas. This has impacted thousands of immigrants since authorities have started to hold many more of them in detention for longer periods of time as they challenge deportation orders or seek asylum. Taxpayers have been suffering as well since they contribute financially to each detainment.

† The author is a 26+ year practitioner of immigration law based in New York City. He was awarded the Sidney A. Levine prize for best legal writing at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1977 and has written extensively on immigration over the past years for the ethnic newspapers, World Journal, Sing Tao, Pakistan Calling, Muhasha and OCS. He has testified as an expert on immigration in civil court proceedings and was recognized by the Taiwan government in 1985 for his work protecting human rights. His article, "The Bush Temporary Worker Proposal and Comparative Pending Legislation: an Analysis" was Interpreter Releases' cover display article at the American Immigration Lawyers Association annual conference in 2004, and his victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in a case of first impression nationwide, Firstland International v. INS, successfully challenged INS' policy of over 40 years of revoking approved immigrant visa petitions under a nebulous standard of proof. Its value as precedent, however, was short-lived as it was specifically targeted by the Administration in the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004.

‡ This article © 2009 Alan Lee, Esq.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.