Immigration

The pushback against the quotas has renewed calls to fortify the independence of immigration judges.  The National Association of Immigration Judges has long argued that the immigration courts  should be taken out of the Department of Justice, a law enforcement agency, and given real independence and more resources.Proponents of the quotes point to the need to reduce the exploding backlog of cases. Colorado leads the nation with the longest wait time to get a case resolved, about 1,000 days, according to the Syracuse University-based Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC. Texas comes in third, after Illinois.In Dallas immigration courts, cases move at a faster clip than Texas as a whole at about 560 days vs. about 900 days for the whole state, according to TRAC. But even the Dallas number has been climbing for several years.Faster decision-making could cut the backlog, but it also has many worried about fairness.  The pressure for speed means … [Read more...] about Immigration judges, attorneys worry that Sessions’ quotas will cut into justice in clogged court system

Heart-wrenching conflicts play out. There are emotional family separations, or reunions — sobs breaking the quiet of the day. The last event was in December. Lilliana Dominguez, 27, traveled from Houston to reunite with her boyfriend, Rogelio Dominguez.The two had met at a concert in Houston. Rogelio was the sound engineer. He had lived illegally in the country for much of his life. In February of last year, he was deported. In December, a priest married the couple as they held hands across the fence. Next month, the two will be reunited.  "The wall represents tears, sadness, separation for so many families," said Lilliana Dominguez. Asked what the fence meant to her personally, Dominguez paused. "Hurt," she said.Mixed feelings Timmerman has mixed feelings about the fence, the National Guard deployment, the everyday drama taking place on the border. It's become a daily conversation between him and his wife, he said, with no easy answers. He supports … [Read more...] about ‘Farther north, people just don’t get it’: Feelings about Trump and immigrants on the Mexico border aren’t simple

POLITICS 05/07/2018 07:16 pm ET Attorneys are already fighting back. By Roque Planas and Elise Foley In a sweeping enforcement change, Donald Trump’s administration will increasingly prosecute members of immigrant families who cross the border illegally, even if that means splitting children from their parents and regardless of whether they’re seeking safety in the U.S., Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday. It’s already happening. On April 27, Border Patrol officers picked up a 30-year-old Salvadoran woman, Morena Mendoza Romaldo, with one of her children after she crossed into the U.S. near San Diego. She fled El Salvador because of sexual violence, according to court filings. She clearly told Border Patrol that she was afraid to return there; an arrest narrative filed in court has “credible fear claim” written on it. Crossing the border illegally is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. But previously the … [Read more...] about Trump Administration To Divide Immigrant Families To Prosecute Parents For Illegal Entry

POLITICS 05/15/2018 10:45 pm ET This is getting very House of Cards-y. By Matt Fuller WASHINGTON ― House Freedom Caucus leaders are pushing a legislative gambit this week in which roughly a dozen conservatives offer their support for the farm bill in exchange for a vote on a hardline immigration bill. The scheme would at least temporarily kill an effort from moderate Republicans to pass an immigration plan palatable to Democrats. Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) emerged from a meeting with the conservative group late Tuesday night, telling reporters that they had not taken an official position on making a vote on the immigration bill a condition of their support for the farm bill. But Meadows said a “significant number” of conservatives would be “moved” if leadership promised a vote on the hardline immigration bill authored by Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), which is also known as the “Goodlatte bill.” … [Read more...] about Conservatives Cook Up Farm Bill Gambit to Get Vote On Hardline Immigration Bill

POLITICS 05/25/2018 08:17 pm ET Last month a Health and Human Services official revealed the government was unable to locate nearly 1,500 children who had been released from its custody. By Elise Foley and Roque Planas Tens of thousands of children from Central America are apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border each year, straining the government system caring for minors traveling to the U.S. without their parents. Now Donald Trump’s administration is stretching the system even further. Until recently, families that illegally crossed together generally faced deportation proceedings in civil court. But as of this month, the Trump administration is following a blanket policy of referring for prosecution all people who cross illegally. The change means that authorities send parents to jails run by the U.S. Marshals Services and their children wind up in the same agency as minors who came to the U.S. without their parents ― sometimes without their … [Read more...] about Trump’s Crackdown On Immigrant Parents Puts More Kids In An Already Strained System