Immigration courts face largest backlog in history

[Angelhair]

Border



The nation's immigration courts are choked by the largest backlog of pending deportation and asylum cases in history under the Obama administration, with the "slow pace" of judicial hiring contributing to an average 14-month delay in court action, according to a Syracuse University-based …

 

[waltky]

The Donald fixin' the backup in immigration courts...

President deploys 50 judges to immigration detention facilities across America to speed up deportations
Saturday 11th March, 2017 | WASHINGTON, U.S. - In a bid to reduce the massive backlog of over half a million cases in the immigration courts, U.S. President Donald Trump has deployed 50 judges to immigration detention facilities across the country.

The deployment that is aimed at speeding up deportations will involve all the 50 judges working in shifts from 6 am to 10 pm. According to current White House figures, there are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country. This week, the Department of Homeland Security released figures that showed that in a month since Trump assumed charge as Commander-in-Chief, the number of people illegally crossing the U.S. southern border dropped to the lowest in five years. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said that the number of illegal border crossings dropped 40 percent during the period - offering evidence that Trump's hardline rhetoric and policies on illegal immigration is working.

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol figures showed that illegal border crossings dropped from 31,578 to 18,762 persons from January to February. In a statement, Kelly claimed, “The drop in apprehensions shows a marked change in trends. Since the Administration’s implementation of Executive Orders to enforce immigration laws, apprehensions and inadmissible activity is trending toward the lowest monthly total in at least the last five years. The report indicated that, usually the trend during the period is an increase of 10 to 20 percent - but the current drop breaks a nearly 20-year trend. Every February since the year 2000, similar data from the Customs and Border Patrol has shown an increase in apprehensions during the month of February.

Further, Secretary John Kelly said, “This is encouraging news as in the period from Oct 1, 2016 to the Presidential inauguration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 157,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants – a 35 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, with family units increasing by more than 100 percent. However, since President Trump took office on January 20, we have seen a dramatic drop in numbers." Officials figures revealed that about 840 people were caught or stopped from entering in the month of February each day. This, records show was a 36 percent drop during the same period last year.

In January, Trump issued an executive order that meant immigrants would be held in detention centres until their cases were heard - in effect ending the “catch and release” policy, where immigrants would be released from detention on the expectation that they would appear in court on the specified date. Further, the country is also said to be dealing with a chronic shortage of immigration judges and space in detention centres. Meanwhile, Trump’s revised travel ban is set to come into effect on Thursday even though it is currently facing an increasingly uphill legal battle in court by five states.

President deploys 50 judges to immigration detention facilities across America to speed up deportations

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - is all Obama an' Hillary's fault...

Immigration Court Backlog: Time to Complete a Deportation Hearing Increased by 700%
June 14, 2017 – Experts are blaming the U.S. Supreme Court, Obama-era policies, a surge in illegal immigrant children, a hiring freeze on judges and an uptick in asylum requests for a doubling in the backlog of cases pending at immigration courts in the U.S.

The backlog is so great, some courts are scheduling cases years into the future, according to a report this month by the government’s General Accounting Office (GAO). Findings by the report included:

--a more than doubling in the number of backlogged cases from 212,000 in fiscal year 2006 and to 437,000 in fiscal year 2015;

--a 25 percent decline in the number of cases ending in deportation during the same period, from 77 percent of completed cases in 2006 to 52 percent in 2015;

--a 700 percent increase in the time judges take to compete a deportation proceeding, from 42 days in 2006 to 336 days in 2015.

The report also found that while the number of immigration judges increased during the period covered, the number of cases completed declined annually – “which resulted in a lower number of case completions per immigration judge at the end of the 10-year period.” Finally, the report said that the time it took to complete an immigration case shot up “more than fivefold” during the period studied. “Immigration judges, court administrators, DHS attorneys, experts and stakeholders told us that a lack of court personnel, such as immigration judges, legal clerks, and other support staff, was a contributing factor to the case backlog,” the report said. “Further, some of these experts and stakeholders told us that EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review) did not have sufficient funding to appropriately staff the immigration courts.” “The current backlog is unacceptable,” a Department of Justice spokesman told CNSNews.com.

The immigration court system, he said in an email, “is actively engaged in a multi-front effort to reverse the backlog’s growth that occurred over the past several years.” The spokesman noted that the system is hiring more judges, and “reviewing internal practices, procedures, and technology in order to identify ways in which it can enhance immigration judge productivity without compromising due process.” Jean King, general counsel for the EOIR, blamed decisions by the Supreme Court and appeals courts for the immigration courts’ slowdown and backlog. “Immigration cases have become significantly more complex due to Supreme Court decisions and hundreds of decisions by the United States Courts of Appeals, contributing to an increasingly intricate legal landscape in the immigration system,” King said in a letter to the GAO last month. She also blamed the slowdown and backlog on an uptick in immigrants requesting asylum, more cases involving detained aliens, and a three-year hiring freeze on judges during the time the report was compiled.

MORE

See also:

U.S. arrests nearly 200 Iraqis in deportation sweep
Wed Jun 14, 2017 | U.S. immigration authorities have arrested and moved to deport 199 Iraqi immigrants, mostly from the Detroit area, in the last three weeks after Iraq agreed to accept deportees as part of a deal removing it from President Donald Trump's travel ban, officials said on Wednesday.

In the Detroit area, 114 Iraqi nationals were arrested over the weekend, and 85 throughout the rest of the country over the past several weeks, Gillian Christensen, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said in a statement. The actions came as part of the Trump administration's push to increase immigration enforcement and make countries, which have resisted in the past, take back nationals ordered deported from the United States. The crackdown on Iraqi immigrants followed the U.S. government's decision to drop Iraq from a list of Muslim-majority nations targeted by a revised version of Trump's temporary travel ban issued in March. The overwhelming majority of those arrested had criminal convictions for crimes including murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons violations and other offenses, Christensen said.

As of April 17, 2017, there were 1,444 Iraqi nationals with final orders for removal, she said. Since the March 12 agreement with Iraq regarding deportees, eight Iraqi nationals have been removed to Iraq. Dozens of Iraqi Chaldean Catholics in Detroit were among those targeted in the immigration sweeps, some of whom fear they will be killed if deported to their home country, immigration attorneys and family members said. “It is very worrisome that ICE has signaled its intention to remove Chaldean Christians to Iraq where their safety not only cannot be guaranteed, but where they face persecution and death for their religious beliefs,” Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kurdish Iraqis also were picked up in Nashville, Tennessee, attorneys, activists and family members said. At least some of those arrested came to the United States as children, got in trouble and already served their sentences, according to immigration attorneys and activists. Some have lived in the United States so long they no longer speak Arabic. An Iraqi official previously said Iraqi diplomatic and consular missions would coordinate with U.S. authorities to issue travel documents for the deportees.

U.S. arrests nearly 200 Iraqis in deportation sweep

 

[MikeK]

Granny says, "Dat's right - is all Obama an' Hillary's fault...

Immigration Court Backlog: Time to Complete a Deportation Hearing Increased by 700%
June 14, 2017 – Experts are blaming the U.S. Supreme Court, Obama-era policies, a surge in illegal immigrant children, a hiring freeze on judges and an uptick in asylum requests for a doubling in the backlog of cases pending at immigration courts in the U.S.

The backlog is so great, some courts are scheduling cases years into the future, according to a report this month by the government’s General Accounting Office (GAO). Findings by the report included:

--a more than doubling in the number of backlogged cases from 212,000 in fiscal year 2006 and to 437,000 in fiscal year 2015;

--a 25 percent decline in the number of cases ending in deportation during the same period, from 77 percent of completed cases in 2006 to 52 percent in 2015;

--a 700 percent increase in the time judges take to compete a deportation proceeding, from 42 days in 2006 to 336 days in 2015.

The report also found that while the number of immigration judges increased during the period covered, the number of cases completed declined annually – “which resulted in a lower number of case completions per immigration judge at the end of the 10-year period.” Finally, the report said that the time it took to complete an immigration case shot up “more than fivefold” during the period studied. “Immigration judges, court administrators, DHS attorneys, experts and stakeholders told us that a lack of court personnel, such as immigration judges, legal clerks, and other support staff, was a contributing factor to the case backlog,” the report said. “Further, some of these experts and stakeholders told us that EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review) did not have sufficient funding to appropriately staff the immigration courts.” “The current backlog is unacceptable,” a Department of Justice spokesman told CNSNews.com.

The immigration court system, he said in an email, “is actively engaged in a multi-front effort to reverse the backlog’s growth that occurred over the past several years.” The spokesman noted that the system is hiring more judges, and “reviewing internal practices, procedures, and technology in order to identify ways in which it can enhance immigration judge productivity without compromising due process.” Jean King, general counsel for the EOIR, blamed decisions by the Supreme Court and appeals courts for the immigration courts’ slowdown and backlog. “Immigration cases have become significantly more complex due to Supreme Court decisions and hundreds of decisions by the United States Courts of Appeals, contributing to an increasingly intricate legal landscape in the immigration system,” King said in a letter to the GAO last month. She also blamed the slowdown and backlog on an uptick in immigrants requesting asylum, more cases involving detained aliens, and a three-year hiring freeze on judges during the time the report was compiled.

MORE

See also:

U.S. arrests nearly 200 Iraqis in deportation sweep
Wed Jun 14, 2017 | U.S. immigration authorities have arrested and moved to deport 199 Iraqi immigrants, mostly from the Detroit area, in the last three weeks after Iraq agreed to accept deportees as part of a deal removing it from President Donald Trump's travel ban, officials said on Wednesday.

In the Detroit area, 114 Iraqi nationals were arrested over the weekend, and 85 throughout the rest of the country over the past several weeks, Gillian Christensen, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said in a statement. The actions came as part of the Trump administration's push to increase immigration enforcement and make countries, which have resisted in the past, take back nationals ordered deported from the United States. The crackdown on Iraqi immigrants followed the U.S. government's decision to drop Iraq from a list of Muslim-majority nations targeted by a revised version of Trump's temporary travel ban issued in March. The overwhelming majority of those arrested had criminal convictions for crimes including murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, burglary, drug trafficking, weapons violations and other offenses, Christensen said.

As of April 17, 2017, there were 1,444 Iraqi nationals with final orders for removal, she said. Since the March 12 agreement with Iraq regarding deportees, eight Iraqi nationals have been removed to Iraq. Dozens of Iraqi Chaldean Catholics in Detroit were among those targeted in the immigration sweeps, some of whom fear they will be killed if deported to their home country, immigration attorneys and family members said. “It is very worrisome that ICE has signaled its intention to remove Chaldean Christians to Iraq where their safety not only cannot be guaranteed, but where they face persecution and death for their religious beliefs,” Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kurdish Iraqis also were picked up in Nashville, Tennessee, attorneys, activists and family members said. At least some of those arrested came to the United States as children, got in trouble and already served their sentences, according to immigration attorneys and activists. Some have lived in the United States so long they no longer speak Arabic. An Iraqi official previously said Iraqi diplomatic and consular missions would coordinate with U.S. authorities to issue travel documents for the deportees.

U.S. arrests nearly 200 Iraqis in deportation sweep

 

[MikeK]

We need to end the useless, wholly counterproductive drug war and shift those resources to where they are really needed -- purging the illegal Muslims. They are a real danger to this Country.

 

[waltky]

Green card rules to be updated...

Trump Endorses Bill to Limit Green Card Immigration
August 03, 2017 — President Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed a measure to dramatically reduce the number of low-skilled immigrants admitted to the United States and introduce a merit-based points system.

The RAISE (Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy) Act would limit the number of permanent residence permits, or green cards, to half a million a year. The current level is 1 million. The points system would let would-be residents' ability to speak English and earn a living be taken into account when their green card applications are considered.

Campaign promise

With the bill's sponsors, Republican Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, by his side, Trump hailed the measure as another step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to put America first. He called it "the most significant reform to our immigration system in a half century." "As a candidate I campaigned on creating a merit-based immigration system that protects U.S. workers and taxpayers, and that is why we are here today," Trump said. "This legislation will not only restore our competitive edge in the 21st century, but it will restore the sacred bonds of trust between America and its citizens," he said. "This legislation demonstrates our compassion for struggling American families who deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first and that puts America first."

Green card holders attend a citizenship clinic in Rockville, Maryland.​

Cotton and Perdue argue that the "generation-long influx of low-skilled immigrants has been a major factor in the downward pressure on the wages of working Americans." "The current system doesn't work," Perdue said. "We need a new approach. We need to fix this immigration system." He noted that the bill was based on laws that are working well in other countries with large immigrant populations. "What we're introducing today is modeled on the current Canadian and Australian systems — it's pro-worker, pro-growth, and it's been proven to work. Both have been extremely successful in attracting highly skilled workers to those countries."

Senior White House official Stephen Miller, briefing reporters Wednesday, said the current immigration system has promoted a shift in wealth from the working class to wealthier corporations and businesses. "It has been very unfair for American workers, but especially for immigrant workers, African-American workers and Hispanic workers," he said. Miller, describing green cards as "the golden ticket to U.S. immigration," said the bill mandates several major changes. Among the most significant is elimination of "chain migration," which allows green card holders to bring in a large number of family members, who in turn can bring in more relatives in a chainlike series, he said.

The White House event was designed to encourage support for the bill, which had been getting little attention on Capitol Hill. The Republican leadership has shown little inclination to vote on immigration this year. One key Republican, Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, tweeted Wednesday that while he supported the idea of merit-based immigration, "if [the] proposal were to become law, [it would be] devastating to [South Carolina's] economy, which relies on this immigrant workforce."

'A nation of immigrants'

See also:

Text of President Donald Trump's Bill on Merit-based Immigration System
August 02, 2017 | PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP BACKS RAISE ACT - Bill will create a merit-based immigration system that protects our workers, our taxpayers, and our economy

A SURGE IN UNSKILLED IMMIGRATION: For decades, low-skilled and unskilled immigration into the United States has surged, depressing wages and harming America’s most vulnerable citizens. Our system does not prioritize the most highly skilled immigrants—just 1 out of every 15 immigrants to the United States comes here because of their skills. On average, 1 million immigrants are accepted into the United States for legal permanent residency annually, and most of them are low or unskilled workers. This influx is the equivalent of adding more than the population of San Francisco to the country every year.

More than 50 percent of all immigrant households receive welfare benefits, compared to only 30 percent of native households in the United States that receive welfare benefits. Immigrants with a college education or higher are, on average, less likely to be welfare recipients than those without the same degree of education. Since 1979, Americans with a high school diploma or less have seen their real hourly wages decline. American workers without a high school diploma have seen their real hourly wages fall by 17 percent.

--------------------------------------

THE RAISE ACT PUTS AMERICAN WORKERS FIRST: President Donald J. Trump supports the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act to prioritize immigrants based on the skills they bring to our Nation while safeguarding the jobs of American workers. The RAISE Act replaces the current permanent employment-visa framework with a skills-based system that rewards applicants based on their individual merits. The system rewards education, English-language ability, high-paying job offers, past achievements, and entrepreneurial initiative. This system is similar to the merit-based immigration systems used by Canada and Australia.

MORE