ImmigrationImmigration judge says changes needed in “fast-tracking” immigration cases
While the Obama administration cites evidence that the surge of migrant children from Central America is declining, a leading immigration judge is arguing that the Department of Justice (DOJ) process of “fast-tracking” the cases — often without any legal representation for the defendant — is padding the numbers and also creating other problems of its own.
While the Obama administration cites evidence that the surge of migrant children from Central America is declining, a leading immigration judge is arguing that the Department of Justice (DOJ) process of “fast-tracking” the cases — often without any legal representation for the defendant — is padding the numbers and also creating other problems of its own.
As NPR reports, Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, has argued that fast-tracking increases the chances of further congesting the court system, and could lead to a deluge of appeals based on the noncitizen’s inability to comprehend and communicate with the court.
“The court system itself is extremely well-served when noncitizens who appear before us are represented by attorneys,” she said.
Additionally, the process also could lead to further delays since the DOJ’s decisions to place the cases of minors ahead of “tens of thousands” of other immigration cases is equally damaging.
Her comments come in the wake of many reports about the shortage of pro bono immigration lawyers to meet the demand as representatives for the children.
“There’s no one to represent these people. In immigration hearings, you have the right to an attorney, but you have to pay for you attorney, and most of the minors are living with family here, but they are very low —income,” said Claire Fawcett, an attorney for Centro Legal de La Raza, a bi-lingual legal aid center.
Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, an attorney with the Immigrant Advocacy Program of the Legal Aid Justice Center, told NPR, “It’s not like we’ve been able to staff up in response to the recent crisis. So there’s no extra capacity among the nonprofit organizations.”
Groups such as those of Sandoval-Moshenberg and Fawcett are trying to not only determine the asylum claims of defendants, but also check to see if they are able to form a basic understanding of their rights within the proceedings.
In response to the claims, the White House is reassessing. At a meeting of constitutional scholars and immigration activists this week, Vice President Joe Biden urged the need for training of sufficient lawyers to determine the cases efficiently, but lawfully.
