Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has responded to reports of abusive immigration judges by sending out a warning memorandum to all immigration judges in the US as well as a separate memorandum to members of the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Gonzales expressed his concern regarding judges who “fail to treat aliens appearing before them with appropriate respect and consideration and who fail to produce the quality of work that I expect from employees of the Department of Justice.”

Gonzales noted that while most immigration judges are doing their jobs professionally, there are some whose conduct is intemperate or even abusive. To deal with these problem judges, he has ordered a comprehensive review of both the immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals to include a report on the quality of work and the manner in which it is performed.

Problems with immigration judges and the administrative appeals process have recently made from page news. The New York Times ran a story in late December (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/26/national/26immigration.html?oref=login) regarding scathing criticism being leveled against immigration judges by judges on the US Circuit Courts of Appeals. Conservative judge Richard Posner of the 4^th Circuit concluded that “concluded that 'the adjudication of these cases at the administrative level has fallen below the minimum standards of legal justice.'”

According to the Times story, the Circuit Court in Philadelphia stated in September “that it had 'time and time again' been forced to rebuke immigration judges for their 'intemperate and humiliating remarks.' Citing cases from around the country, the court wrote of 'a disturbing pattern' of misconduct in immigration rulings that sent people back to countries where they had said they would face persecution.”

Some observers are blaming changes made under former Attorney General John Ashcroft that dramatically reduced funding and staffing levels at the Board of Immigration Appeals. The changes have made it difficult for the BIA to critically review most of the cases it reviews.

That has led to a dramatic rise in the number of appeals to the US Circuit Court of Appeals and many of the decisions going to these courts are coming with virtually no analysis from the BIA.

According to the Times story, “The solution to some of what recent criticisms identified as problems, several federal appeals court judges said, is to add positions to the immigration board and to require judges there to explain the reasons for their decisions.”