IFPTE Applauds Labor Caucus Letter Requesting Attorney General Garland Withdraw DOJ’s the Petition to Decertify the NAIJ Union
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC – The campaign to halt the Trump-era effort to decertify the National Association of Immigration Judges-IFPTE Judicial Council 2 received a helpful boost with the House Labor Caucus’ letter to Attorney General Garland requesting the Department of Justice withdraw the Trump-era petition that seeks to deny immigration judges the statutory union rights they've had since 1979.
The Labor Caucus letter is signed by Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Mark Pocan (WI), Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ), Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA), Rep. Steven Horsford (NV), Rep. Tom Suozzi (NY), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (MI), as well as 30 Labor Caucus members. The Labor Caucus was formed last November as serve as a resource, advocate, and voice for labor unions and working people in the House of Representatives.
IFPTE President Paul Shearon expressed the union’s appreciation for the Labor Caucus’ letter, saying:
“Our union is grateful to the House Labor Caucus Members and Co-Chairs – particularly Rep. Pocan and Rep. Sanchez – for standing up for the union rights of immigration judges represented by NAIJ. President Biden has made a strong and unmistakable affirmation of workers’ rights and a commitment to rescinding the Trump Administration's anti-union actions against federal employees. The Labor Caucus' letter echoes the President's commitment and urges Attorney General Garland to stop his predecessor's politicized and ideologically motivated attack on these Department of Justice employees.”
IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer/Legislative Director Matt Biggs remarked on the Labor Caucus support:
"We thank the Labor Caucus for their leadership on union rights and we applaud their letter calling for Attorney General Garland to stop the Trump-era decertification effort against the NAIJ. The attempt to silence immigration judges and strip them of their statutory union rights is a product of the Trump Administration’s anti-union, anti-federal worker, and anti-immigrant agenda and the Department of Justice can take action by withdrawing the petition at the Federal Labor Relations Authority.”
NAIJ-IFPTE Judicial Council 2 represents upwards of 500 immigration judges at the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), a component of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Full text of the letter and Labor Caucus press statement can be found here.
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