End Political Control Of Immigration Judges

CONGRESS MUST CREATE AN INDEPENDENT AND FULLY STAFFED IMMIGRATION COURT As a constituent, I urge you to reform the immigration court system by removing it from the Department of Justice and establishing an independent Article I court staffed with qualified, career immigration judges. These courts decide whether individuals are deported, detained, or granted asylum. When the system fails, the consequences include wrongful removals, prolonged detention, and the denial of due process in life-altering cases. The current system operates under the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the Justice Department office that oversees immigration courts. It is not functioning adequately. The backlog exceeds three million cases, while the number of experienced judges has declined significantly. EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF IMMIGRATION JUDGES UNDERMINES JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE Immigration judges are employees of EOIR within the Department of Justice. They therefore operate under the authority of the same executive branch that is prosecuting the cases before them. This structure raises serious constitutional concerns. It conflicts with the principle that judicial decisions should be made independently, free from executive influence. Leading legal organizations, including the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the National Association of Immigration Judges, support restructuring immigration courts as independent Article I courts, as proposed in H.R. 6577. REPLACING CAREER JUDGES WITH MILITARY LAWYERS IS STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND Recent policy decisions have intensified these concerns. After removing large numbers of experienced immigration judges, the administration authorized the use of military lawyers from the Judge Advocate General Corps to serve as temporary immigration judges. These attorneys may have little or no background in immigration law. Yet they are being assigned to decide asylum claims, detention, and removal cases that require specialized expertise. At the same time, qualification standards were lowered so that virtually any licensed attorney may be appointed to this role. Legal experts have warned that using military lawyers in civilian immigration courts raises serious concerns. These include lack of subject-matter expertise, potential conflicts with military chain-of-command obligations, and erosion of the separation between civilian judicial functions and military authority. STAFFING LOSSES AND SPEED PRESSURES ARE DISTORTING JUSTICE The system is further strained by staffing losses and operational pressure. Public reporting indicates that at least 104 immigration judges have been fired since January 2025, while roughly a similar number have also resigned, retired, or accepted buyouts. At the same time, EOIR has imposed aggressive performance targets requiring most cases and motions to be completed within strict deadlines. Fewer experienced judges, reduced staff support, and pressure for speed together risk turning immigration courts into high-volume processing systems rather than forums for careful and impartial adjudication. CONGRESS MUST TAKE THESE SPECIFIC STEPS NOW (1) Enact legislation to remove immigration courts from the Department of Justice and establish an independent Article I court with full judicial protections. (2) Provide funding to recruit, train, and retain a sufficient number of qualified, career immigration judges and professional staff. (3) Restore rigorous qualification standards for immigration judges and prohibit reliance on inadequately trained temporary personnel in place of experienced judges. (4) Prohibit performance metrics that prioritize speed over due process or compromise judicial independence. Thank you.