WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has created its first-ever ethics manual for the nation's immigration judges, spelling out a standard of behavior for a corps that has been criticized for its treatment of immigrants.
The 34-page manual, released publicly this week, instructs immigration judges to be "patient, deliberate, dignified and courteous." It tells them to "respect and adhere to the principles of ethical conduct to ensure that both citizens and noncitizens can have complete confidence in the integrity of the federal government."
But the handbook lacks teeth. In a memo to the judges, Executive Office for Immigration Review Director Kevin Rooney noted that the manual "does not impose any additional standards or requirements" upon them. He said that references to the American Bar Assn.'s Model Code of Judicial Conduct were not binding but were "intended to serve as aspirational guidance."
Work Continues on Standards
Rick Kenney, a spokesman for the immigration review office, said the manual is merely a guideline.
"The immigration judges and EOIR are working on drafting standards that would be more binding," Kenney said, adding that it will take two more years for its completion.
Immigration judges have enormous power over the lives of many immigrants seeking to live in the United States. Most immigrants appear before them without lawyers in what is usually a futile effort to avoid deportation.
Some of the people in immigration court are seeking asylum; others are seeking permanent residency. All have been charged with violating immigration laws, in many cases by entering the country illegally. There are 219 immigration judges across the country, including 54 in California.
A Los Angeles Times study of the U.S. immigration courts earlier this year documented a system in which judges were overburdened, immigrants were intimidated and justice was often arbitrary. In nine out of 10 cases, judges ordered immigrants deported. But those with lawyers were 17 times more likely to avoid deportation than those without them.
Despite calls for accountability, immigration judges--unlike other judges--were not subject to a written code of conduct.
The new manual, which was years in the making, is the first time a standard of conduct for immigration judges has been codified.
It notes that most of the people who appear before the judges are noncitizens but that they too deserve to have faith in the system.
