Think Immigration: It Is So Clear Why We Need Fair, Independent, and Efficient Immigration Courts

In a series of policy briefs published recently, AILA has provided in-depth evaluations of the Trump Administration’s policies and the seismic impact they have had on all Americans. As an immigration lawyer who has handled removal defense (immigration court) cases for over 20 years, the brief “America Needs Independent, Fair, and Efficient Immigration Courts,” jumped out at me on a professional and personal level.

Removal defense has always been hard. There’s a lot at stake for the client, and you can’t help but become entwined with your client’s lives; especially when the average case takes 3-5 years, and some cases even longer - I have some that have been pending 10+ years! You see clients’ children grow, you hear about their jobs, their hopes for the future, and about their love for this country. In some cases, you hear about terrible circumstances from their past, and begin to understand why they made the hard decision to leave their home country. Their applications for relief from removal really mean something more than just a piece of paper or a green card.

That’s why it’s so important that Congress make changes to the Immigration Court system, to ensure that those who are eligible for relief get a fair shot at it. The current administration’s policies of terror, placed on both immigration judges, trial attorneys, and respondents, have completely undermined the integrity of the process. Firing a slew of qualified, experienced immigration judges does not make sense when there is a backlog of over 3.5 million cases. Arresting people when they show up in good faith for their immigration hearings does not encourage others to appear when their time comes.

Immigration law is complicated, it’s nuanced, it’s complex, and requires judges with a deep understanding to make informed and fair decisions. Metrics should not be based on the number of people a judge orders deported, it should be based on the quality of their decisions. Not everyone is qualified for asylum, or cancellation of removal, two common forms of relief requested in immigration court. But everyone deserves a fair and impartial jurist to give them due process through a full and fair hearing.

Enforcement policies and priorities always shift with the changing of administrations. But this administration’s blatant effort to effectively wipe out due process, making the default to find any reason to deny a case before even reviewing its merits, has shown more than ever that Immigration Courts need to be independent of the Department of Justice. The “Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2026” would do just that. Immigration Judges need to be allowed to keep their oaths to the Constitution, not to any one president.

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U.S. immigration courts are facing mounting backlogs and growing threats to judicial independence, putting due process at risk for countless individuals and families. AILA offers an easy way for anyone to take action by contacting their representatives and asking them to co-sponsor H.R. 7836, the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2026, which would strengthen judicial independence, improve court efficiency, and help ensure fair hearings.