"From our perspective, streamlining reforms is working and doing precisely what the reforms were intended to do," said Susan Eastwood, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the Justice Department agency that oversees the appeals board. "Appeals are being adjudicated in a timely manner and are carefully considered to ensure that each appellant receives due process."
Immigrants in the system have violated some U.S. immigration law -- perhaps illegally entering the country for economic reasons or to seek political asylum; overstaying a visa or committing a crime -- and already have been turned down by an immigration judge. Many do not have lawyers.
They can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, whose members may have little background in immigration law. If immigrants lose there, they can appeal to federal district courts, but that can be expensive; most don't take their cases that far.
The system has long been considered slow and inefficient, enabling illegal immigrants to postpone deportation for months or even years. But the fast pace of recent decision-making has startled even some of those who think the board needed an overhaul.
A Times review of appeals board decisions indicates that some members are dispensing justice at a brisk pace. On Oct. 31, Frederick Hess, a member of the Board of Immigration Appeals, signed more than 50 cases -- a decision nearly every 10 minutes if he worked a nine-hour day without a break.
Edward Grant, Hess' colleague, signed more than 50 cases that same day, The Times found. Altogether that day, the board issued nearly 400 decisions, ranging from complex asylum cases to simple jurisdictional matters.
The Justice Department, contending it is not tracking how many cases each board member is reviewing, says it is unfair to count the number of cases a board member signs each day because that date "reflects the date the case was mailed to the parties," not necessarily the date it was decided. But board members privately do not dispute The Times' findings that some members are deciding as many as 50 cases a day. Neither Hess nor Grant agreed to comment.
Close observers of the process say that although some cases can be decided quickly, the current pace is surprising.
"I think that's a lot of cases to do in a day. We're talking minutes," said Fred Vacca, who was appointed to the board by President Reagan and who retired last year after 20 years. "I hope these decisions go out correctly and we don't trample on people's rights."
