Improving Our Immigration Court System: Analyzing the Effects of Immigration Reform for the United States Courts of Appeals

• Main Author: Mercer, Elizabeth Ann
• Language: en
• Published: The University of Arizona. 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10150/244491

The United States immigration system is challenged by a case backlog that plagues the ability for our courts to quickly and fairly adjudicate immigration cases and appeals. With over 275,000 immigration cases awaiting trial, there have been a number of ways in which scholars and policy-makers propose that the courts alleviate this issue. Although there have been constitutional challenges against the way our immigration court system adjudicates its hearings and appeals, the U.S. Courts of Appeals has continued to provide the oversight necessary in making sure that due process has been met. This paper provides a comprehensive look at the judicial structure of immigration cases. It explores the procedural problems with the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the U.S Courts of Appeals, as well as addresses the streamlining changes affecting this the immigration court system starting in 1999. It identifies multiple court cases in which the U.S. Courts of Appeals has provided oversight in assuring that court practices do not breach an alien’s due process. Although there is no clear-cut solution to address the burdening backlog of cases, an Article I Immigration Court would be the most viable solution we have to fix our immigration court problems.