Nancy Guan, WUSF, Sept. 19, 2024 "Maria and her family arrived in the U.S. in December of 2021 — the tail end of a year where encounters at the southern border reached record highs. Many of...
Human Rights Watch, Sept. 18, 2024 "Dear President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken, We, the undersigned human rights, humanitarian, civil society , and faith-based organizations...
EOIR, Sept. 16, 2024 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) invites interested stakeholders to participate in its live Model Hearing Program (MHP) event on Sept. 30, 2024. The event...
Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, Sept. 16, 2024 "This past week, Trump and J.D. Vance have gone viral for some particularly bizarre rhetoric, alleging that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio...
EOIR "Open & closing dates: 09/13/2024 to 10/04/2024 Salary: $147,649 - $221,900 per year The Justice Access Counsel is responsible for the collections and analysis of stakeholder feedback...
GAO, Aug. 31, 2021
"What GAO Found
The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) took steps to modify immigration court operations and guidance to respond to COVID-19. For instance, EOIR implemented health and safety measures at immigration courts, such as requiring social distancing. From mid-March 2020 until mid-June 2020, EOIR also temporarily suspended hearings for individuals not in immigration detention. Immigration courts took other steps to reduce the number of people physically present in EOIR space, such as rotating immigration judges' and staffs' schedules. EOIR data indicate its courts delayed nearly 600,000 hearings from March through October 2020 due to court closures.
Senior EOIR officials told GAO that EOIR expected all those present in a courtroom to wear masks for the duration of a hearing. However, EOIR did not issue mask-wearing guidance tailored to courtrooms—nontraditional office settings, according to DOJ—that articulated this expectation because officials said that DOJ's existing guidance applies to all EOIR space. GAO identified several instances in which judges did not always require or wear masks in their courtrooms. Issuing tailored guidance could help EOIR better ensure that court staff and visitors understand expectations during hearings, particularly as public health guidance evolves.
Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) and Department of Justice COVID-19 Actions
EOIR did not regularly engage with stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stakeholders told GAO that the pandemic highlighted long-standing limitations in EOIR's stakeholder engagement. For example, from fall of 2017 through April 2021, EOIR generally ceased holding regular stakeholder meetings. Stakeholders said these meetings historically provided opportunities for two-way communication with EOIR, which was increasingly important during the pandemic. Stakeholders noted challenges engaging with EOIR on their concerns regarding modifications to court hearing schedules and health and safety matters, such as EOIR's process to respond to COVID-19 exposures. Taking steps to regularly engage with court stakeholders could help EOIR address their concerns about its response to the pandemic and maintain positive relationships in the future."