Immprof Stacy Caplow (Brooklyn) Has Concrete Proposals for Reforming Immigration Courts

Over at Cyrus Mehta’s Insightful Immigration Blog, immprof Stacy Caplow (Brooklyn) has posted some thoughts about The Sinking Immigration Court: Change Course, Save the Ship.

Caplow argues that Biden’s plan to hire an additional 100 immigration judges isn’t the best approach to reforming the overburdened and franky broken immigration courts system. Instead, she offers these concrete suggestions for change:

Under the heading of “Changes to the Practices and the Culture of the Immigration Court,” Caplow suggests:

1. Assign Trial Attorneys to Cases Promptly
2. Require Pre-Hearing Conferences
3. Enforce the Practice Manual Equably
4. Encourage Prosecutorial Discretion as a Case Management Tool
5. Apply Disciplinary Rules to Government Lawyers as well as Immigration Advocates
6. Be Attentive to Professional Standards in the Courtroom

Under the heading of “Changes to the Selection Process of Immigration Court Judges,” Caplow proposes:

• elevating the selection standards to require more than 7 years’ experience and more direct knowledge of immigration law;
• assuring a neutral merit selection process that incentivizes applications from immigrant advocates; 
• opening the selection process for more public input; 
• improving training and oversight that emphasizes competence more than productivity; 
• restoring morale by recognizing and respecting the responsibility placed on IJs and treating them not as employees but as judicial officers; and 
• overseeing and questioning the basis for abnormally high denial rates.

Caplow’s piece would be a truly fantastic addition for folks looking to bring a bit more immigration practice into a podium course.

-KitJ