Immigration courts need to be properly funded because people have a right to their day in court in a timely manner, said Doris Meissner, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank. In addition, she said, "Having them function effectively is important . . . to get the return on the enforcement dollar."
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Too few attorneys too
In Los Angeles, about 45 government attorneys rotate through Immigration Court, depending on other enforcement needs, said Kevin Riley, deputy chief counsel of the local Immigration and Customs Enforcement office. Riley said the attorneys also have to deal with the challenges of heavy and complex caseloads.
To ease the numbers, the federal government processes some cases without going to court. For example, if someone has previously been ordered deported and then returns to the United States, agents simply reinstate the order and deport the illegal immigrant again.
In other areas, government attorneys are trying a pilot program to keep a sole government attorney on a case from start to finish.
Vera Weisz, a Los Angeles immigration lawyer, said there are "huge inefficiencies" in the system but acknowledged that court delays are not always a bad thing.
"It works to some people's benefit, because we are trying to keep them here as long as possible," she said.
For example, time has helped Mexican immigrant Tomas Garcia's case. Since he has been fighting in court to stay in the U.S., his wife has become a U.S. citizen and filed a petition for his green card. The petition was approved, and his next court date is in January, but Weisz said it would probably be a year before a judge approves the green card.
Garcia said he understood that his is one of thousands of cases, but he wished he didn't have to live in limbo for so long.
"If I got it at the first court appearance," he said, "it would have been better because there wouldn't have been worry or stress."
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anna.gorman@latimes.com
