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The Justice Department is eliminating the use of case quotas for immigration judges — an issue that became a point of contention during the Trump administration for diminishing judges’ authority and discretion, according to an email obtained by CNN. Quotas forced judges to finish a certain amount of cases in limited time, often forcing them to hold hearings with multiple immigrants at once. Judges have argued that the quotas weren’t the correct metric to evaluate judges. There is currently a 1.5 million-case backlog in the immigration court system, and the suspension of quotas is unlikely to make a difference. CNN
In other federal immigration news…
NAIJ Responds to Quota Termination
The National Association of Immigration Judges released a statement on the termination of evaluating immigration judges on the cases they complete. The group said for the past three years, immigration judges would constantly look over their shoulders in fear of being told they were doing their jobs incorrectly. “Our organization looks forward to working with management to restore and develop a fairer process that allows judges to focus on doing their jobs properly,” Mimi Tsankov, president of the NAIJ. “The performance metrics developed by the Trump administration were a violation of judicial ethics, they belong in the trash bin.” Deanna Garcia for Documented.
Documents Reveal How People With Disabilities Were Forced into Remain in Mexico
According to a January internal government report obtained by BuzzFeed News, some individuals who had medical conditions and disabilities were forced into the Remain in Mexico program. Even though some were able to get out of the program and enter the U.S., others weren’t. The report shows how investigators believed that border officials, at certain times, didn’t comply with the agency’s “guiding principles.” The document highlights possible problems the Biden administration could face as the program is set to restart next month. These problems include inconsistent policies, unfinished training and complicated guidelines. BuzzFeed News
