WASHINGTON (May 18, 2011) – The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing today on the immigration courts, the Justice Department's appeals system for aliens challenging deportation. To contribute to this reassessment of an important component of America's immigration infrastructure, the Center for Immigration Studies will release a report next week examining the serious problems in our immigration courts and offer solutions to address them.
The report, “Built to Fail: Deception and Disorder in America's Immigration Courts,” is authored by Mark H. Metcalf. Metcalf is a former immigration judge and former Special Counsel at the Domestic Security Section within the Justice Department.
Metcalf's report finds that there are inherent flaws in the immigration courts that lead to widespread disregard of its rulings by the aliens who appear before them. What's more, Justice Department statistical reporting downplays these shortcomings, making solutions less likely. Metcalf also offers recommendations for reform.
The report will be released Tuesday, May 24, at 9 a.m. at a panel discussion at the National Press Club, 14th & F streets, N.W. Please RSVP to press@cis.org.
Panelists:
- Mark H. Metcalf, author of 'Built to Fail: Deception and Disorder in America's Immigration Courts'
- Grisel Ibarra, immigration attorney and activist
- Andrew McCarthy, former federal prosecutor and Senior Fellow at the National Review Institute
- Moderator: Mark Krikorian, Executive Director, Center for Immigration Studies
