Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led her House colleagues in sending a letter to the House Appropriations Committee requesting that Congress increase funding for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review to hire additional highly qualified immigration judges, which would help reduce the nearly 2.8 million pending immigration cases, improve our immigration system, and ensure due process.  A total of 73 members of Congress signed the letter. 

“As you consider the Fiscal Year 2025 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 members wrote, noting that it is critical that EOIR has the resources it needs to ensure due process within our immigration process and secure our border.

“This growing backlog impedes the proper functioning of our immigration system, creating a significant barrier for people legally seeking asylum, migrants, pregnant women, and people with disabilities who seek to enter the United States,” the members continued.  “These complex cases can take up to seven years before receiving a hearing, leaving migrants, families, and communities in legal limbo as they wait for hearings and decisions.  As we seek to address immigration and border security more broadly, funding EOIR is one important way we can help address issues in our immigration system and bolster national security today.”

In 2022 and again in 2023, Congresswoman Fletcher led similar letters requesting more resources to address the immigration courts’ backlog by hiring more highly qualified immigration judges. 

To read the full text of this year’s letter, click here.