5. News from the Courts:

Immigration cases flooding U.S. courts

The Arizona Republic is reporting that stepped-up immigration enforcement is overloading U.S. immigration courts and undermining the ability of judges to rule fairly because of pressure to decide cases quickly. The influx of cases is creating backlogs that, in some places, will take years for judges to decide on immigrants’ status.

Although the long waits could aid some immigrants with weak cases who hope immigration reform arrives before their hearings do, for many others the delays also can hurt their cases. Witnesses could move, or family members with ties to the U.S. could die. Deported migrants can be separated from wives and children in the U.S. And those denied asylum could face persecution, torture or even death.

The immigration judges aren't part of the federal judiciary. Instead, they work for the Justice Department, which also employs the prosecutors, in the government's executive branch. That makes them not truly independent, which also could add to pressure to move cases quickly, said Eli Kantor, an immigration lawyer in Beverly Hills.

Suspected illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes are turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and held in detention centers for possible deportation after their criminal cases are resolved. This adds to the burden of the immigration judges. Those charged with minor crimes are also often turned over to ICE, and many agree to leave voluntarily. Those who choose to fight deportation are often released on bond and given a notice to appear in immigration court.

Most of the cases before the immigration courts involve people who have been living in the U.S. for more than 10 years and have U.S. citizen children. Those two factors make them eligible for 'cancellation of removal.' To win their cases, immigrants must prove to a judge that their deportation would cause 'exceptional and extremely unusual hardship' to a U.S. citizen spouse, parent or child. Immigration lawyers say the legal standard is extremely difficult to meet, especially if judges are rushing through cases.

A 15-month study released in June by the Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice concluded that immigration judges can no longer function properly because of the crush of new cases. 'Sometimes delay works to the advantage of an individual, and sometimes delay has adverse effects,' Executive Director Malcolm Rich said. 'But from a policy perspective, it says we have a court system that is in trouble and is dysfunctional.'

Nationally, according to the Syracuse analysis, the total number of pending cases in immigration courts in the past 10 years grew 64 percent. The number of immigration cases in Phoenix, for example, has risen 12 percent since last year alone, and 49 percent since 2007. The increase in cases stems from the federal government's crackdown on illegal immigration. The government has hired thousands of new Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in recent years to enforce immigration laws. It also has enlisted local law-enforcement agencies to help identify and arrest illegal immigrants. The crackdowns have been especially intense in Arizona. Hundreds of the new Border Patrol and ICE agents have been assigned to Arizona to arrest and deport illegal immigrants, contributing to the growing caseloads. Although most illegal immigrants caught at the border are quickly returned, others choose to fight to stay.

The crush of new cases is delaying deportation rulings by years. In early January, Judge Wendell Hollis, one of the three Phoenix immigration judges, didn't have room on his calendar to schedule final hearings for people seeking cancellation of removal until October 2011, 22 months later. Judge Lamonte Freerks was booked up until December 2012, nearly three years later. John Richardson, the senior judge, had the fullest calendar. In January, he was scheduling final hearings in August 2013!

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2010/02/14/20100214immigrationcourts.html

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Memphis Immigration Court Overwhelmed

Fox News in Memphis is reporting that to get your case heard in one Memphis immigration court, you might have to wait a year or more to see a judge. The situation is so bad, Tennessee's two Federal Senators are requesting help from the Department of Justice.

Memphis' Immigration Court handles matters in Tennessee, Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi. Only two judges were handling that caseload. Now, it's been reduced to one. Inside the federal building downtown, only one judge physically sits in Immigration Court. In 2008, that court heard more than 3400 cases.

Mauricio Calvo, Director of Latino Memphis, says this overflow shows the need for immigration reform. In February of 2010, Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker wrote to the Department of Justice, requesting a delay in transferring the court's second judge. Or, transferring another judge to Memphis until a permanent one is in place. Instead, the department rotates judges via video teleconference.

"People need to understand that immigration court is not only for un-documented immigrants. Immigration court affects people who are in the process of becoming legal, to become residents, to become citizens, citizens who are trying to bring their families, get re-united," Calvo said. Cases that can't wait a year or more for those involved, but often must.

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/022410_memphis-immigration-court-overwhelmed

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