	Experts and Stakeholders Have Proposed Restructuring EOIR’s Immigration Court System

As we reported in June 2017, some immigration court experts and  stakeholders have recommended restructuring EOIR’s administrative  review and appeals functions within the immigration court system— immigration courts and BIA—and the Office of the Chief Administrative  Hearing Officer, to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the system  or, among other things, increase the perceived independence of the  system and professionalism and credibility of the workforce. We found that the 10 experts and stakeholders we interviewed generally  supported one of the following scenarios for restructuring the immigration  court system, all of which would require a statutory change to implement: a court system independent (i.e., outside) of the executive branch to  replace EOIR’s immigration court system, including both trial and  appellate tribunals; a new, independent administrative agency within the executive branch  to carry out EOIR’s quasi-judicial functions with both trial-level  immigration judges and an appellate level review board; or a hybrid approach, placing trial-level immigration judges in an  independent administrative agency within the executive branch, and  an appellate-level tribunal outside of the executive branch. Six of the 10 experts and stakeholders we interviewed supported  restructuring the immigration court system into a court independent of the  executive branch. As we reported in June 2017, experts and stakeholders offered several  reasons for each of the proposed scenarios, such as potentially  increasing judicial autonomy over courtrooms and dockets; as well as  provided reasons against restructuring options, such as that restructuring  may not resolve existing management challenges. EOIR Has Initiated Actions to Improve Its Management of the Immigration Courts, but Additional Steps Are Needed to Address Long- Standing Challenges

We also reported in June 2017 that EOIR could take several actions to  address long-standing management and operational challenges and  reduce the case backlog. EOIR  generally concurred with our recommendations, and, has initiated actions  to address them. Hiring. Additionally, in our June 2017 report, we found that EOIR did not  have efficient practices for hiring new immigration judges, which has  contributed to immigration judges being staffed below authorized levels  and to staffing shortfalls. Specifically, we found that from February 2014 through  August 2016, EOIR took an average of 647 days to hire an immigration  judge—more than 21 months. Hiring these additional judges is a positive step;  however, EOIR remains below its fiscal year 2017 authorized level of 384  immigration judges based on funding provided in fiscal years 2016 and  2017. To fully address our  recommendation, EOIR will need to continue to improve its hiring process  by (1) assessing the prior hiring process to identify opportunities for  efficiency; (2) developing a hiring strategy targeting short- and long-term  human capital needs; and (3) implementing corrective actions in response  to the results of its assessment of the hiring process. Performance Assessment. EOIR agreed with this recommendation and has taken steps to address it. The agency reports this information publicly in  DOJ’s Annual Performance Report. As of April 2018, EOIR has not indicated that it  has developed such a plan. In June 2017 we also reported on ways EOIR could enhance its VTC  program. We further found  that EOIR had not, in accordance with best practices, (1) evaluated its  VTC program to ensure that it is outcome-neutral, or (2) established a  mechanism to solicit feedback and comments about VTC from those who  use it regularly to assess whether it meets user needs. EOIR concurred and  implemented this recommendation in December 2017 by establishing a  mechanism on its public website to solicit open-ended feedback from  respondents regarding their satisfaction with VTC hearings, including the  audio and visual quality of the hearing. These efforts should help EOIR ensure VTC hearings it conducts  meet all user needs and identify and address technical issues with VTC  hearings.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOJ's EOIR is responsible for conducting immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings to fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly administer and interpret U.S. immigration laws and regulations.
This statement addresses (1) scenarios that experts and stakeholders have proposed for restructuring EOIR's immigration court system and the reasons they offered for or against these proposals; and (2) how EOIR manages and oversees the immigration courts, including hiring and performance assessment, among other things.
This statement is based on a report GAO issued in June 2017, with selected updates conducted through April 2018 to obtain information from EOIR on actions it has taken to address the report's recommendations. GAO's report incorporated information obtained by reviewing EOIR documentation, analyzing EOIR data, and interviewing agency officials and immigration court experts and stakeholders. For the selected updates, GAO reviewed EOIR documentation.

What GAO Found

In June 2017, GAO reported that some immigration court experts and stakeholders have recommended restructuring the Executive Office for Immigration Review's (EOIR) administrative review and appeals functions within the immigration court system—immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals—to improve its effectiveness and efficiency. The 10 experts and stakeholders GAO interviewed stated that they generally supported one of the following scenarios for restructuring the immigration court system, all of which would require a statutory change to implement:
a court system outside of the executive branch to replace EOIR's immigration court system, including both trial and appellate tribunals;
a new, independent administrative agency within the executive branch to carry out EOIR's quasi-judicial functions with both trial-level immigration judges and an appellate level review board; or
a hybrid approach, placing trial-level immigration judges in an independent administrative agency within the executive branch, and an appellate-level tribunal outside of the executive branch.
Six of the 10 experts and stakeholders GAO interviewed supported restructuring the immigration court system into a court independent of the executive branch. Experts and stakeholders offered several reasons for each of the proposed scenarios, such as potentially improving workforce professionalism and credibility. They also provided reasons against restructuring options, including that restructuring may not resolve existing management challenges, such as difficulties related to hiring immigration judges.
GAO also reported in June 2017 that EOIR could take several actions to address management challenges. EOIR has since taken some steps to address these challenges, but additional actions are needed. For example, GAO found that EOIR did not have efficient practices for hiring immigration judges, which contributed to judges being staffed below authorized levels. EOIR hiring data showed that on average from February 2014 through August 2016, EOIR took more than 21 months to hire an immigration judge. GAO recommended that EOIR assess the immigration judge hiring process to identify opportunities for efficiency. As of January 2018, EOIR had increased the number of its judges but remained below its authorized level for fiscal year 2017. Hiring additional judges is a positive step; however, to fully address GAO's recommendation, EOIR needs to assess its hiring process to identify opportunities for efficiency.
In June 2017, GAO also reported on ways EOIR could enhance its video teleconferencing (VTC) program, through which judges conduct hearings by VTC. GAO found that EOIR had not, in accordance with best practices, established a mechanism to solicit feedback and comments about VTC from those who use it regularly to assess whether it meets user needs. GAO recommended EOIR develop and implement such a mechanism. EOIR concurred and implemented this recommendation in December 2017 by establishing a mechanism on its public website to solicit feedback from respondents regarding their satisfaction with VTC hearings. This effort should help EOIR ensure VTC hearings it conducts meet all user needs.

What GAO Recommends

In its June 2017 report GAO made 11 recommendations to improve EOIR's hiring process and performance assessment, among other things. EOIR generally concurred with the recommendations, has implemented 1, and reported actions planned or underway to address the remaining 10.