{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://stanton.house.gov/2022/5/stanton-backed-bill-to-create-independent-immigration-court-earns-judiciary-committee-approval", "Stanton-Backed Bill to Create Independent Immigration Court Earns Judiciary Committee Approval", "2022-05-12", "2022", "2022-05", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Greg Stanton", "S001211", "stanton.house.gov", "stanton", "https://stanton.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "A bill backed by Rep. Greg Stanton to transition the nation\u2019s immigration court system into an independent judiciary, consistent with Article I of the U.S. Constitution, cleared the House Committee on the Judiciary yesterday.\n\nThe Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 will ensure that immigration courts are administered by qualified, impartial judges, have adequate court resources and support services, are defined by transparency and integrity, and are financially independent.\n\n\u201cOur immigration system doesn\u2019t work when we have a backlog of millions of cases that take years to reach a conclusion,\u201d Stanton said. \u201cCreating an independent immigration court is a commonsense step to ensure that judges can efficiently and effectively prioritize due process.\u201d\n\n\u201cOur current system is failing. An independent immigration court, that separates the judiciary from enforcement, would greatly improve access to justice for the people we represent,\" said Laura St. John, Legal Director at the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project.\n\nThe immigration court backlog now tops 1.6 million cases, up from 1.1 million before the pandemic and more than double the caseload that existed in fiscal year 2018. The average immigration case completed in January 2022 had been pending for about two-and-a-half years, with some courts averaging waits of more than three years.\n\nToday\u2019s immigration judges are not judicial officers; they are lawyers, appointed by the Attorney General. As employees of the Department of Justice, they are responsible for adjudicating cases in accordance with the policies and priorities of the current governing administration. Each Administration, Democratic and Republican, has used the immigration courts as a mechanism to shape immigration policy. But immigration judges have little say over the management of their individual courtrooms and the administration of their dockets, which undermines the fairness and efficiency of the courts as well as well as public perception of their neutrality and independence.\n\nTo solve these problems, the immigration courts require a structural overhaul. An Article I Immigration Court system, like the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, or the U.S. Bankruptcy Court would ensure that immigration judges are free from political pressure and deliver decisions in accordance with the law.\n\nThe bill is supported by the American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Federal Bar Association, National Association of Immigration Judges, American Immigration Council, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Human Rights First, Kids in Need of Defense, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Law Center, Niskanen Center, and Women\u2019s Refugee Commission.\n\nA one-pager on immigration court reform and The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act is available HERE.\n\nA section-by-section summary of The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act is available HERE.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:29:07Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://stanton.house.gov/2022/5/stanton-backed-bill-to-create-independent-immigration-court-earns-judiciary-committee-approval"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0201209224760532, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}