U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has called upon the nation’s
immigration courts to decide immigration cases in a quicker and more efficient
manner, as the
increasing backlog of cases
is interfering with the administration’s efforts to crack down on
immigration enforcement laws. In an effort to reduce the backlog of 600,000
pending cases, the Trump administration has hired 50 new immigration judges.
The intent of the administration is to hire an additional 60 judges over
the next six months, with the goal of cutting the backlog in half by the
year 2020. The impact of this backlog is clear; while the government arrested
many more undocumented immigrants in the year 2017 as compared to 2016,
it still deported six percent fewer immigrants. In fact, the deportation
rate for 2017 was higher than the rate in any year during the Obama administration.
Additionally, these numbers are lower because fewer immigrants are trying
to cross the border illegally than in years past, and the deportations
of immigrants seeking asylum or who have other valid reasons for staying
in the country have slowed awaiting court hearings before an immigration
judge. Nonetheless, Sessions claims that the immigration court system
processed 2,800 more cases in 2017 than it expected. For the period from
February to November, 2017, DHS stated that removal orders were up 30%
in that same time period in the prior year, and the percentage of final
decisions issued by immigration courts was up 17% over that time period.
Sessions’ continued directives to urge immigration judges to work
more and more quickly likely will have the effect of rushing through cases
with immensely high stakes for the immigrants involved. One immigration
judge likens the process to trying death penalty cases in traffic court.
Sessions’ attitude toward the immigration court system continues
to be one of derision, which is not helpful for immigrants whose court
hearings can be the difference between remaining in their homes with their
families and being deported to a remote, dangerous country where they
no longer have any relatives or resources.
Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., has the experience that you need when you are facing deportation charges.
We know how to gather the facts that are relevant to your case, assess
your options, and determine whether you have any legal defenses that may
enable you to avoid deportation and remain in the U.S. Contact the Oakland
immigration attorneys at our office today and learn how we potentially
can help you and your family through this difficult situation.
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