FOIA Response Highlights Importance of Independent Judges, Court Reform

On December 13, 2017, AILA and the American Immigration Council (the Council) filed a FOIA request with the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), requesting documents related to the imposition of numeric quotas on immigration judges. We have received several responsive documents (listed in full below), including the "Legal Case Study: Summary Report" dated April 6, 2017. EOIR commissioned Booz, Allen, Hamilton to conduct a year-long legal case study of immigration courts around the country, and the report summarizes the findings of that case study. For more information on AILA's response to the study, see our press release. For more information on changes made by this administration to the immigration courts, see www.aila.org/immigrationcourts.

View Legal Case Study

Documents Released on February 16, 2018

On February 16, 2018, AILA and the Council received a response to an EOIR FOIA request. The response included EOIR's labor agreement with the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), updated articles on official time, work schedules, and performance appraisals, and an MOU on NAIJ written and verbal disclaimers.

• Labor Agreement Between the National Association of Immigration Judges and USDOJ, Executive Office for Immigration Review (Signed 11/19/98)
• Article 5: Official Time, Article 17: Work Schedules, Article 22: Performance Appraisals. (Effective Date: 12/6/17)
• Memorandum of Understanding Relating to NAIJ Representatives' use of Written and Verbal Disclaimers when Speaking or Writing on Behalf of NAIJ (Signed 4/7/15)

Documents Released on April 11, 2018

On April 11, 2018, AILA and the Council received a subsequent response containing a partially redacted copy of a report dated April 6, 2017 and titled "Legal Case Study: Summary Report." The report was written by Booze, Allen, Hamilton after a year-long case study on the U.S. immigration court system. The report summarizes the process of the case study, the key products developed in the study, and the resulting recommendations.

• Booz, Allen, Hamilton "Legal Case Study: Summary Report" (Dated 4/6/17)

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 18040300.