Source: The Hill
Events this week in the Philadelphia EOIR has brought to the forefront questions of judicial independence and due process in the immigration courts. New politically motivated decisions from the leadership of the Department of Justice under Jeff Sessions, such as implementing a quota system of already taxed immigration judges dealing daily with life and death decisions, show that independence is necessary to ensure due process. In the long run, experts have called for a new system—such as the formation of a specialized Article I court that is more like a tax or bankruptcy court. The U.S. prides itself on its “rule of law” – in order to ensure fairness in our own house, we must now practice what we preach and model that independence in our nation’s Immigration Courts. At GTH, we support any effort to get due process for our clients – including thinking big with regard to reform.