NAIJ Statement: An End to a Highly Controversial Quota System Imposed on Immigration Judges

This week Immigration Judges received an email message from Chief Immigration Judge Tracy Short stating that the performance metrics imposed by the Trump administration which violated judicial ethics are now “suspended.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A deeply flawed and inefficient U.S. Department of Justice program that evaluated Immigration Judges primarily on the number of cases they heard, has been “suspended.”  The DOJ will no longer evaluate judges on the number of cases they decide Chief Judge Tracy Short wrote in an email sent to the nation’s roughly 500 Immigration Judges this week.  

Over the past three plus years, Immigration Judges have looked over their shoulders, worried about being disciplined, just for doing their jobs -- providing due process.  

“This week’s actions by the Department of Justice under Executive Office for Immigration Review Director David Neal are a step in the right direction toward restoring a greater measure of integrity to our nation’s Immigration Courts,” said Mimi Tsankov, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges.  “Our organization looks forward to working with management to restore a fairer process that allows judges to focus on doing their jobs properly. The performance metrics developed by the Trump administration were a violation of judicial ethics, they belong in the trash bin.” 

“The Agency is in the process of developing new performance measures, drawing from past successful measures and appropriate input, that will accurately reflect the workload of an immigration judge,” the chief judge wrote in his emailed message. “These new performance measures will focus on balance and equity for the various types of docket assignments.” 

 In 2018, then U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session imposed a quota of 700 decisions per year on each Immigration Judge, tied to performance reviews, regardless of the complexity of the cases.

The Trump administration also attempted to silence NAIJ from speaking out on the quota system and other policies by decertifying the union.  While the union-busting efforts of the previous administration were not completely successful, full collective bargaining rights have yet to be restored to NAIJ. 

The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), founded in 1971, is a voluntary organization formed with the objectives of promoting independence and enhancing the professionalism, dignity, and efficiency of the Immigration Court. 

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 Download this NAIJ-IFPTE Judicial Council 2 press release here.