
Attorney General Garland restores discretion for immigration judges that was stripped under Trump
CNN
Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a ruling Thursday restoring discretion to immigration judges by allowing them to administratively close cases, a move that could prove significant in chipping away at the more than million case backlog facing immigration courts.
Thursday's ruling would allow immigration judges to put cases on hold or remove them from the active docket, if appropriate -- an authority that was stripped during the Trump administration to the frustration of some judges. The US immigration court system falls under the Justice Department. "It's a very practical tool that judges need to control their dockets," said Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president emerita at the National Association of Immigration Judges, the immigration judges union.More Related News