HCM
02-14-2017, 12:08 PM
As ICE enforcement grows, immigration courts can't keep up
As the number of people detained in a series of ICE operations across the country continues to grow, some say already backlogged immigration courts won't be able to handle the caseloads, leaving families in limbo.
One U.S. congressman from Texas is taking up the issue. In December, Representative Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, introduced the "End the Backlog Act."
Rep. Veasey writes, "For years, Republicans in Congress have drastically increased funding for border security without keeping pace with the needs of immigration courts. A shortage of immigration judges not only creates a backlog of cases but also keeps immigrant families in legal limbo."
After numerous requests for more judges over the past decade, the 250 immigration judges in 58 courts across the country are bogged down with backlogged cases, which are now at an all-time high.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice tells CBS Austin News the latest executive review shows 534,019 pending immigration cases.
http://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/as-ice-enforcement-grows-immigration-courts-cant-keep-up
I support border security but this is where I have an issue with putting significant amounts of money into a wall. A wall is only as good as the resources you put into defending and supporting it. By itself, it's a speed bump. Wall or no wall, for border enforcement to work, you need a high likelihood of violators getting caught and timely and significant consequences when they are caught.
If you want border security, rather than the appearance of border security we need to invest in the post arrest process. Detention space to end catch a release, and immigration judges and attorneys to ensure timely adjudication of administrative deportation cases. You will also need to invest in more federal magistrates, judges and U.S. Attorneys to prosecute criminal illegal entry and re-entry cases, as well as more BOP / US Marshals detention space to accommodate these cases.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has approximately 44.000 LEO's including the U.S. Border Patrol and CBP Air and Marine. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has another 16,000 to 17,000 LEO's. That is 60,000 LEO's. If just half of them are doing immigration enforcement, that is 30,000 officers making arrests which are funneled into 58 courts with a total of 250 judges.
An illegal alien arrested today, who is not detained, whether released on recognizance, bond, etc will wait 2 to 3 years for a court appearance. That means an alien arrested by ICE or CBP today will not have their first court date until 2019 or 2020.
If they are contesting their case it may take two or three court appearances to adjudicate. That is 5 to 10 years. If they even show up for court.
As the number of people detained in a series of ICE operations across the country continues to grow, some say already backlogged immigration courts won't be able to handle the caseloads, leaving families in limbo.
One U.S. congressman from Texas is taking up the issue. In December, Representative Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, introduced the "End the Backlog Act."
Rep. Veasey writes, "For years, Republicans in Congress have drastically increased funding for border security without keeping pace with the needs of immigration courts. A shortage of immigration judges not only creates a backlog of cases but also keeps immigrant families in legal limbo."
After numerous requests for more judges over the past decade, the 250 immigration judges in 58 courts across the country are bogged down with backlogged cases, which are now at an all-time high.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice tells CBS Austin News the latest executive review shows 534,019 pending immigration cases.
http://foxsanantonio.com/news/local/as-ice-enforcement-grows-immigration-courts-cant-keep-up
I support border security but this is where I have an issue with putting significant amounts of money into a wall. A wall is only as good as the resources you put into defending and supporting it. By itself, it's a speed bump. Wall or no wall, for border enforcement to work, you need a high likelihood of violators getting caught and timely and significant consequences when they are caught.
If you want border security, rather than the appearance of border security we need to invest in the post arrest process. Detention space to end catch a release, and immigration judges and attorneys to ensure timely adjudication of administrative deportation cases. You will also need to invest in more federal magistrates, judges and U.S. Attorneys to prosecute criminal illegal entry and re-entry cases, as well as more BOP / US Marshals detention space to accommodate these cases.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has approximately 44.000 LEO's including the U.S. Border Patrol and CBP Air and Marine. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has another 16,000 to 17,000 LEO's. That is 60,000 LEO's. If just half of them are doing immigration enforcement, that is 30,000 officers making arrests which are funneled into 58 courts with a total of 250 judges.
An illegal alien arrested today, who is not detained, whether released on recognizance, bond, etc will wait 2 to 3 years for a court appearance. That means an alien arrested by ICE or CBP today will not have their first court date until 2019 or 2020.
If they are contesting their case it may take two or three court appearances to adjudicate. That is 5 to 10 years. If they even show up for court.