Immigration judges dismissed in July after the Congress sent money to hire more: NPR

Another series of immigration judges received an email on Friday informing that they are abandoned, learned NPR, adding to the growing list of staff of the immigration court reduced by President Trump in the midst of his efforts to accelerate the deportations of immigrants without legal status.

Fifteen immigration judges learned that they would be on leave and that their job would end on July 22, according to two familiar people with layoffs and confirmed by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, a union which represents the immigration judges. The two people spoke under the guise of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

“In accordance with Article II of the Constitution, the Attorney General has decided not to extend your mandate or to convert it into a permanent meeting,” said the email examined by NPR. He went to the judges of Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, New York and California.

Like the other 50 judges drawn in the past six months, the union said, the judges who have received the most recent opinions have not received a reason for dismissal. They were at the end of their two -year probation period with the executive immigration review office, or Eoir, which is part of the Ministry of Justice. Dozens of others have taken the so-called “fork on the road”, a voluntary resignation program aimed at reducing the size of the federal workforce. Eoir refused to comment.

“I wanted to climb it until the end,” said one of the licensed judges, who spoke at NPR subject to anonymity because they are still employed by the ministry for a few more days. “I wanted to continue to conclude, by revising these cases. I thought that as long as I am here, I can do good.”

The layoffs landed after the Congress approved a bill on spending which allocated more than $ 3 billion to the DOJ for immigration activities, in particular by hiring more immigration judges. Funding and additional staff aim to alleviate the backlog of the growing case, which is almost 4 million cases. Hiring and training new judges can take more than a year.

“It is scandalous and against the public interest that at an era when Congress authorized 800 immigration judges, release a large number of immigration judges without reason,” said Matt Biggs, president of the IFPTE Union. “It’s hypocritical, you cannot apply immigration laws when you dismiss the executors.”

In recent months, Eoir’s management has criticized the judges so as not to manage their cases and encouraged the arbitrators to rationalize asylum exams and give written decisions, as opposed to written decisions on layoffs. Asset also expressed his support for a plan In Florida, to deputy members of the State National Guard, the defender general of the body as immigration judges.

“There was a lot of political noise around us, I said:” They will not put me pressure on this work “,” said the dismissed judge, noting that they have extended a certain relief from the moves and also approved the final expulsion orders. “I have no regrets to stay until the end.”

On July 3, the two Democratic Senators of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, sent a letter to the acting director of EURI SORCE OWEN Lifting concerns concerning a previous series of layoffs which included judges before the courts of Massachusetts.

“While additional classes are reaching this brand in the coming months, Eoir must ensure that its conversion decisions are based solely on the performance of judges, and not their fidelity perceived towards the immigration program of the Trump administration or any other criterion,” wrote Warren and Markey, noting that 94% of judges are generally converted to permanent positions after their probationary period.

At the start of the year, there were about 700 immigration judges Through the 71 immigration courts and the country’s arbitration centers. These judges are the only ones who can revoke someone’s green card and issue a final moving order for people who have been in the country for more than two years and who are being expelled.