Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) is leading an effort to provide increased funding for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to address the immigration court backlog throughout the United States.  Recently, she led 12 of her House colleagues in a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting that Congress increase resources for EOIR to hire more highly qualified immigration judges, allowing for a more expeditious process to help reduce the nearly 1.7 million pending immigration cases, improve our immigration system, and ensure due process.

“As you consider the Fiscal Year 2023 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, we respectfully request that you include robust funding for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR),” the letter reads.  “It is critical that EOIR has the resources to do its critical work.  

“The primary mission of EOIR is to adjudicate immigration cases by fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly interpreting and administering the nation’s immigration laws.  Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, EOIR conducts immigration court proceedings, appellate review, and administrative hearings.  It is essential that EOIR hire highly qualified, diverse immigration judges to ensure the adjudication process is impartial and consistent with due process.  Doing so is important not only to those currently participating in the process but to everyone in the country.

“This backlog impedes the functioning of our immigration system, creating a significant barrier for people legally seeking asylum, migrants, pregnant women, and people with disabilities that seek to enter the United States.  These complex cases can take up to three years before receiving a hearing, leaving migrants, families, and communities in legal limbo as they wait for hearings and decisions.  Even with improvements and measures from the Biden administration, there is still a great deal of work to be done.”

To read the full text of the letter, click here.