Via Harvard Law Review:


"The immigration crisis in this country has reached new heights. At the root of this crisis is the placement of our immigration courts inside the DOJ, which subjects IJs to control by the AG and an untenable set of working conditions that render the U.S. immigration court system not an independent adjudicatory system but a prosecutorial one. Because these conditions stem from the very structure of the current administrative state and EOIR’s place within it rather than political pressures alone, any reform short of complete extraction and transformation of EOIR into an Article I immigration court is likely to fall short. While waiting for Congress to act, however, the executive branch has the authority to implement several crucial reforms that would allow for noncitizens to have their cases heard in fairer proceedings overseen by IJs with true, independent adjudicatory power."

"While Congress ponders the creation of an Article I immigration court in response to these concerns, the executive branch has the power to implement a variety of smaller reforms that have often gotten lost in the shadows of the structural-reform discussion. This Note cuts through that noise to provide a list of reforms that are simpler and less controversial, yet still impactful — reforms that the sitting President could implement immediately.

Part I summarizes the role IJs play within the current immigration court system and explains how this structure has opened the door for executive control and influence over IJs. Part II summarizes existing reforms and concludes that an Article I immigration court is the best way forward. Part III explains various improvements that can and should be implemented in the meantime, and then analyzes their place in the existing statutory and administrative framework."

https://harvardlawreview.org/2023/01/courts-in-name-only-repairing-americas-immigration-adjudication-system/