Federal Judges Blast Immigration Decisions

Federal appellate judges in circuits around the country are expressing mounting concern that cases rushed through an administrative process have not only flooded some circuits with appeals but have also caused lives to get lost in the shuffle of streamlining. Federal judges have become more sharp in their criticism of immigration judges, with phrases like, “ignored the evidence” or “riven with error” or “astounding lapse of logic” or analysis that was “woefully inadequate.” The problem has been growing in the wake of a three-year-old program to speed up resolution of a 56,000-case backlog at the time of the 9/11 attacks. The process cut DOJ’s backlog of penidng cases to 29,000 this year.
    Now two appellate courts are drowing in immigration appeals. The 9th Circuit has had 560% increase since 2001; the smaller 2d Circuit has had a 1,400% increase since 2001.
    source: National Law Journal, Oct. 24, 2005
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