Nearly twenty immigration judges, including several serving in New York, were informed this month that they would be losing their jobs, NPR reported.
The dismissals add to more than 80 judges already removed earlier this year under President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to two sources familiar with the matter cited by NPR, at least fourteen judges received confirmation of their termination last Friday, with some expected to leave their posts as soon as this week. The precise impact on New York’s immigration courts has not yet been disclosed.
Matt Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, the union representing the judges, strongly condemned the move, calling it an “illogical and costly setback for the nation’s immigration courts.”
The decision, he said, comes “at a time when the backlog has reached historic levels and immigration enforcement has become a central issue for the administration. The removal of experienced judges is hypocritical, undermines the rule of law, wastes taxpayer dollars, and further delays justice for both citizens and immigrants.”
A court system overwhelmed
The situation is particularly severe in New York, home to one of the most overloaded immigration court systems in the country.
Data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that more than 341,000 cases were pending in New York as of July, ranking the state fourth nationwide behind Florida, Texas and California. Nationally, the backlog has surpassed 3.4 million cases, roughly two-thirds of them asylum claims, according to Documented, with the average wait for a hearing now stretching into several years.
At the same time, the number of judges available to process cases is shrinking. While there were 735 immigration judges in September of last year, only 685 remained by this summer, according to federal data reported by NY1. The real number may be lower: one recently dismissed judge noted in August that just 608 judges had active online courtrooms, a requirement for handling cases.
This decline stands in stark contrast to the federal budget, which allocates $3.3 billion — about 2 percent of overall funding — to immigration enforcement, including the hiring of additional judges. The contradiction has fueled concerns that political priorities are being placed above justice.
Jennifer Peyton, former supervisory judge of Chicago’s immigration courts, voiced her alarm to NY1:
“If you have a backlog of 3.8 million immigration cases nationwide and you want these cases heard fairly, judiciously and uniformly, is it logical to fire a hundred judges since January? I fear due process is being violated and that justice is being sacrificed.”
With fewer judges to handle a swelling caseload, the chances of timely resolutions for migrants — especially asylum seekers — are becoming ever more remote. In New York and across the country, hearings are being pushed back years, leaving families in limbo and trapped in prolonged uncertainty.
https://ctninfo.com/?p=37056&preview=true
Source: NPR
