U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH) this week proposed two bipartisan amendments to a fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill that would increase the number of new immigration judges and decrease their hiring time.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” Rep. Stivers said. “To have hundreds of thousands of individuals stuck in limbo is a failure of our nation of laws and a failure to respect the dignity and rights of migrants seeking a better life in our country.”
Rep. Stivers and U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) proposed two amendments to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2020, H.R. 3055, to double the number of new immigration judges and support staff and decrease the hiring time for new judges.
H.R. 3055 would authorize funding for 100 additional judges and support staff, according to Rep. Stivers’ office, which said the amendment requests appropriations for an additional 100 teams for a total of 200 new judge teams to decrease detention periods and speed up immigration processing.
“This effort is about providing the gold standard of due process to all migrants seeking entry into the U.S.,” Rep. Stivers said. “Our nation should ensure every individual is treated humanely and with the full protections and rights afforded by our judicial system. This is the type of commonsense effort to address the immigration problem that should have support from both sides of the aisle.”
The second amendment to H.R. 3055 offered by Reps. Stivers and Gonzalez would reduce hiring time of judges from the now roughly two years it takes to complete the hiring process and would ensure that the quality of judges does not decline, according to Rep. Stivers’ office.
“As a legislator, it is not my place to comment on the decisions of the judicial branch and how many claims they are accepting or rejecting, but it is Congress’s place to ensure that they have the resources to do their jobs,” said Rep. Stivers.