Justice Department targets slow immigration judges to clear immigration backlog

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department is trying to identify immigration judges it believes are either ruling too slowly or not applying immigration law as required, as the Trump administration seeks to reduce a national backlog of immigration cases. Speaking in Phoenix on Wednesday, Blanche tied the court-focused effort to the administration’s wider goal of speeding up removals.

Blanche, who has led the Justice Department since Pam Bondi was ousted last month, said his comments followed his appearance at the Border Security Expo. The yearly conference, held in Phoenix, draws senior immigration and border officials, local and state law enforcement officers, and representatives from companies that do business with the federal government.

In remarks reported by The Associated Press, Blanche said judges are bound by their oath and should not decide cases based on sympathy or personal preference. “You take an oath and you’re not allowed to make decisions based upon what appear to be just sympathy or your whim,” Blanche said, adding that the department would look to replace judges who he described as not applying the law properly or creating unacceptable delays.

Blanche said the Justice Department would focus on judges who “delaying inappropriately” or whose “backlogs” he characterized as “unacceptable.” “If there’s judges that are just not applying the law in the way that it needs to be applied, delaying inappropriately, have backlogs that are just unacceptable, they’re the folks that we’re going to try to find somebody different to fill that spot,” Blanche said.

The department’s effort comes as the Trump administration has made mass deportations a central priority, including an all-of-government approach described by AP as aimed at reaching its goals faster. While the Department of Homeland Security leads the detention and enforcement operations, immigration courts are run under the Justice Department, giving the attorney general authority that federal courts do not typically share, AP reported.

AP said critics view the administration’s changes as part of a broader effort to remake the immigration courts and cut due process safeguards. Those critics point to earlier actions that included removing dozens of immigration judges, according to AP, with some opponents saying judges were removed because they were approving too many asylum claims.

AP also reported that some critics describe immigration courts as increasingly becoming “traps,” where people come for hearings and later face arrest. Critics also argued that the administration directed enforcement actions at closed asylum hearings and sent memos instructing judges to fall into line, though Blanche dismissed criticism that policies are being applied inconsistently with the law.

Blanche brushed aside arguments that a board inside the immigration-courts system has issued decisions under the Trump administration that narrowed pathways to asylum. He said there were problems with judges repeatedly delaying cases and with cases where, in his view, judges were not following the law “because of sympathy towards individuals.”

The American Immigration Lawyers Association, in a policy brief last fall, argued that the Trump administration is “systematically dismantling due process protections in U.S. immigration courts,” prioritizing speed and enforcement over fairness, accuracy and fundamental justice, AP reported. AP also said the group pointed to court-system decisions as contributing to narrowed access to asylum.

Blanche said Congress provided funding last summer that enabled the department to hire more immigration judges, and AP reported the department is rapidly adding new judges. Blanche described what he said was a rigorous interview and approval process and said the department would then “watch” the new hires, expressing confidence in the approach.

Blanche also said the Justice Department is prioritizing denaturalization, the process of stripping citizenship in cases where the administration alleges fraud. He said between 1990 and 2017, denaturalization was used in only about a dozen cases per year, and he said the department is now pursuing it “aggressively,” without providing specific numbers.