This bill would create a new, independent system called the United States Immigration Courts under Article I of the Constitution. The new courts would replace the current immigration adjudication functions in the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The Immigration Courts would have three parts: an appellate division (21 presidentially appointed appeals judges), a trial division (immigration trial judges in regional courts), and an administrative division (an administrative office and an administrative council).
The bill sets qualifications, appointment processes, terms (15 years for judges), pay rules (appeals judges paid at district court judge level; trial judges at 92 percent of that salary), removal rules, retirement and benefits, and continuing education. It defines the courts' jurisdiction: trial courts would handle removal proceedings, bond and detention matters, credible and reasonable fear reviews, asylum referrals, and related administrative reviews; the appellate division would hear appeals of trial court decisions and other matters that the Board of Immigration Appeals handled before the transition.
Procedures would include single-judge trials, three-judge appellate panels or en banc review, written opinions and precedent, contempt authority, rules of practice set by the appellate division, and possible collection of filing fees with hardship waivers. The bill requires interpreter services and a legal orientation program, preserves confidentiality for sensitive records, and requires publication of precedents and many non-precedent records. The EOIR functions, personnel, and pending cases would transfer to the new Immigration Courts on the bill's defined application date. The bill also creates transition rules for current immigration judges to become interim trial judges, temporary judge appointment authority, reporting to Congressional Judiciary Committees, and periodic review by the Judicial Conference.
No publicly available information on total costs or specific funding amounts. The bill says the Immigration Courts would set their own annual budget and that budget would be included in the President's budget as submitted. The courts may receive and spend appropriated funds directly or by transferring funds to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, another Article I court, or an executive agency to cover administrative support (payroll, security, IT, and similar services). The bill does not include dollar amounts or official cost estimates.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.