Immigration Law

Recent Posts

I’m an immigration judge. Here’s how we can fix our courts.
Posted on 14 Apr 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Hon. Dana Leigh Marks, Apr. 12, 2019 "... Many of the flaws in our operations stem from the fact that we are administrative courts located within a law enforcement agency, so crucial decisions are made by officials with little or no experience... Read More

Whose Court Is This Anyway?
Posted on 2 Apr 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Lorelei Laird, ABA Journal, April 2019 Immigration judges accuse executive branch of politicizing their courts [Please read this detailed "deep dive" into the murky world of EOIR, including the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration... Read More

ABA: Immigration Courts 'Irredeemably Dysfunctional, On Brink of Collapse'
Posted on 21 Mar 2019 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, March 20, 2019 "The American Bar Association is proposing a major overhaul of the US immigration system, calling the courts that decide whether to deport immigrants "irredeemably dysfunctional." "The immigration... Read More

Let Immigration Judges Be Judges
Posted on 11 May 2014 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"Immigration courts must be restructured as real courts under Article I of the Constitution, similar to Tax and Bankruptcy Courts, so we can maintain administrative independence and ensure total transparency in our proceedings. This would free them... Read More

Immigration Court Reform: Congress, Heed the Call
Posted on 15 Oct 2016 by Daniel M. Kowalski

Christine Lockhart Poarch, Oct. 2016 - "The call for immigration court reform is an old refrain among immigration practitioners and judges, and Congress is beginning to add its voice to the chorus. In January 2016, in response to increasing and substantial... Read More

The State of Immigration Courts: A View from the Inside
Posted on 19 Jul 2013 by Daniel M. Kowalski

"The problems plaguing the Immigration Court system have been documented for years. ln 1983, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) was created to provide independence and insulation for the immigration courts from the enforcement functions... Read More