The Public Administration of Justice

Immigrants in the U.S. are often deported or denied welfare benefits as a consequence of decisions made by agencies such as The Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR). Serious injustices occur when these agencies lack the capacity to accurately decide the fate of vulnerable populations, as shown in a recent article published by the Social Science Research Network entitled The Public Administration of Justice. The author found that the insufficient capacity of adjudicatory agencies, evidenced by a lack of material resources, expert judges and support staff, results in unjustly shortened court hearings, biases based on appearance, and the use of cognitive shortcuts in decision-making. The author looked at over 1.5 million removal hearings and 32,000 personnel records from the EOIR and discovered that simple changes such as hiring a single law clerk to support an immigration judge can lead to significant improvements in outcomes like a 5.2 percent lower chance of removal and a 4.4 percent higher chance of asylum status being granted to an immigrant. These problems arise from a lack of political motivation for either Congress or the President to invest in agencies like the EOIR. The author concludes that despite this fact, our leaders are duty-bound to increase the capacity of these agencies. If they do not, then the courts must reform administrative law doctrine to promote due process. (The Immigrant Learning Center’s Public Education Institute)

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