Immigration reform: More and more deportations are defeated in court
| WASHINGTON
Nearly half of聽immigrants聽facing deportation from the US are now winning their cases before an聽immigration聽judge, their highest success rate in more than 20 years, according to a new analysis of court data published Thursday.
The US government has been losing more deportation cases each year since 2009, according to the Transaction Records Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, which collects and studies federal prosecution records.
It does not say how many deportation cases聽Immigration聽and Customs Enforcement, whose lawyers represent the government in聽immigration聽courts, successfully appealed to the Board of聽Immigration聽Appeals. The government can appeal聽immigration聽court rulings to the Board of聽Immigration聽Appeals, part of the Justice Department.
Since the start of the 2014 budget year in October,聽immigration聽judges ruled in favor of聽immigrants聽in about half of the 42,816 cases heard, TRAC reported. In 2013 the government won about 52 percent of cases.
Immigrants聽in California, New York and Oregon have been most successful recently, while judges in Georgia, Louisiana and Utah have sided more often with the government, according to TRAC.
Immigration聽supporters accuse the Obama administration of deporting too many people, but Republicans say the president is too lenient on聽immigrants聽living in the country illegally.
Nearly 2 million聽immigrants聽have been removed by聽Immigration聽and Customs Enforcement under President Barack Obama.
"ICE's enforcement strategies and policies are designed to prioritize its resources on public safety, national security and border security threats," said ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen. "ICE continues to focus on sensible, effective聽immigration聽enforcement that prioritizes the removal of criminal aliens and those apprehended at the border while attempting to unlawfully enter the United States."
In recent years the Obama administration has issued policy orders directing聽immigration聽authorities to exercise discretion when deciding which聽immigrants聽living in the country illegally should be deported. Then-Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said discretion should be used for聽immigrants聽who didn't pose a threat to national security or public safety.
In 2011, the government reviewed hundreds of thousands of cases pending in聽immigration聽courts. The effort was designed to curtail the backlog of more than 300,000 pending cases. Tens of thousands of cases were eventually dismissed but there are now more than 360,000 cases pending, according to TRAC.
In 2012 Obama also created a program, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, to allow tens of thousands of young聽immigrants聽living in the United States illegally to apply to stay in the country for up to two years and get a work permit.
Kathleen Campbell Walker, an El Paso, Texas,聽immigration聽lawyer, said it may be too soon to know what the TRAC data means for聽immigration聽enforcement. She said聽immigration聽court backlogs mean cases now being heard by聽immigration聽judges could be years old. And though聽immigration聽laws have not changed in recent years, some聽immigrants聽may be more successful in arguing that they should be allowed to stay in the country based on those discretion memos.
"The true implications of these numbers are murky and people shouldn't jump to conclusions yet," Walker said.
Obama pledged during both of his presidential campaigns to overhaul the country's聽immigration聽laws.
The Democrat-led Senate passed a wide-ranging bill last year but similar legislation has stalled in the Republican-controlled House.
Last month, House Republicans announced a plan that touched on both border security and the fate of the more than 11 million聽immigrants聽thought to be living in the United States illegally. A week later, however, House Speaker John Boehner said it would be difficult for an聽immigration聽bill to pass this year.
"The American people, including many of our members, don't trust that the聽reform聽we're talking about will be implemented as it was intended to be," Boehner told reporters at his weekly news conference earlier this month.
The administration has made several聽immigration聽policy changes in recent years and during his State of the Union address last month Obama pledged to keep using his authority to address a variety of issues.
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