Some Insiders’ Thoughts on the Immigration “Justice” System

The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times (Tony Mauro) has an interesting story about a panel discussion at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting in New York City.  Judge Robert Katzmann (Second Circuit) and Judge M. Margaret McKeown (Ninth Circuit) described “a crisis fueled by increased enforcement and detention, bad or non-existent lawyering for immigrants facing deportation, as well as overwhelmed immigration judges and appeal judges.” 

The nation’s immigration judges have inadequate resources to keep up with the cases, said Juan Osuna, acting chair of the immigration appeals board. As an example, Osuna said, there is only one law clerk for every six judges.  Former New York Times reporter Linda Greenhouse moderated the panel and, according to the BLT, “decried the `huge and growing gap in the rule of law.'” She cited the recent internal Justice Department report that described the politicization of the way immigration judges were appointed in recent years.

KJ