The accidental history of the U.S. Immigration courts : war, fear, and the roots of dysfunction

How the immigration courts became part of the nation’s law enforcement agency—and how to reshape them. During the Trump administration, the immigration courts were decried as more politicized enforcement weapon than impartial tribunal. Yet few people are aware of a fundamental flaw in the system that has long pre-dated that administration: The immigration courts are not really “courts” at all but an office of the Department of Justice—the nation’s law enforcement agency. This original and surprising diagnosis shows how paranoia sparked by World War II and the War on Terror drove the structure of the immigration courts. Focusing on previously unstudied decisions in the Roosevelt and Bush administrations, the narrative laid out in this book divulges both the human tragedy of our current immigration court system and the human crises that led to its creation. Moving the reader from understanding to action, Alison Peck offers a lens through which to evaluate contemporary bills and proposals to reform our immigration court system. Peck provides an accessible legal analysis of recent events to make the case for independent immigration courts, proposing that the courts be moved into an independent, Article I court system. As long as the immigration courts remain under the authority of the attorney general, the administration of immigration justice will remain a game of political football—with people’s very lives on the line. How the immigration courts became part of the nation's law enforcement agency-and how to reshape them.0 During the Trump administration, the immigration courts were decried as more politicized enforcement weapon than impartial tribunal. Yet few people are aware of a fundamental flaw in the system that has long pre-dated that administration: The immigration courts are not really "courts" at all but an office of the Department of Justice-the nation's law enforcement agency. This original and surprising diagnosis shows how paranoia sparked by World War II and the War on Terror drove the structure of the immigration courts. Focusing on previously unstudied decisions in the Roosevelt and Bush administrations, the narrative laid out in this book divulges both the human tragedy of our current immigration court system and the human crises that led to its creation. Moving the reader from understanding to action, Alison Peck offers a lens through which to evaluate contemporary bills and proposals to reform our immigration court system. Peck provides an accessible legal analysis of recent events to make the case for independent immigration courts, proposing that the courts be moved into an independent, Article I court system. As long as the immigration courts remain under the authority of the attorney general, the administration of immigration justice will remain a game of political football-with people's very lives on the line How the immigration courts became part of the nation's lawenforcement agency-and how to reshape them. During theTrump administration, the immigration courts were decried as morepoliticized enforcement weapon than impartial tribunal. Yet fewpeople are aware of a fundamental flaw in the system that has longpre-dated that administration: The immigration courts are notreally "courts" at all but an office of the Department ofJustice-the nation's law enforcement agency. This original andsurprising diagnosis shows how paranoia sparked by World War II andthe War on Terror drove the structure of the immigration courts.Focusing on previously unstudied decisions in the Roosevelt andBush administrations, the narrative laid out in this book divulgesboth the human tragedy of our current immigration court system andthe human crises that led to its creation. Moving the reader fromunderstanding to action, Alison Peck offers a lens through which toevaluate contemporary bills and proposals to reform our immigrationcourt system. Peck provides an accessible legal analysis of recentevents to make the case for independent immigration courts,proposing that the courts be moved into an independent, Article Icourt system. As long as the immigration courts remain under theauthority of the attorney general, the administration ofimmigration justice will remain a game of political football-withpeople's very lives on the line "Despite public concern with the increasing politicization of U.S. immigration courts, few people are aware of the system's fundamental flaw: the immigration courts are not really 'courts' but an office of the Department of Justice--the nation's law enforcement agency. Alison Peck's original and surprising account shows how paranoia sparked by World War II and the War on Terror drove the structure of the immigration courts. Focusing on previously unstudied decisions in the Roosevelt and Bush administrations, this book divulges both the human tragedy of our current immigration system and the human crises that led to its creation. Peck provides an accessible legal analysis of recent events to make the case for independent immigration courts, proposing that the courts be moved into an independent, Article I court system. As long as the immigration courts remain under the authority of the attorney general, the administration of immigration justice will remain a game of political football--with people's very lives on the line." -- back cover