This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

31461 

Vol. 80, No. 106 

Wednesday, June 3, 2015 

1The Department last expanded the number of 

Board members—from 11 to 15 members—on 

December 7, 2006, when it published in the Federal 

Register an interim rule amending 8 CFR 1003.1. 

See 71 FR 70855 (Dec. 7, 2006). On June 16, 2008, 

the Department published a final rule adopting, 

without change, the interim rule. See 73 FR 33875 

(Jun. 16, 2008). 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Executive Office for Immigration 

Review 

8 CFR Part 1003 

[Docket No. EOIR 183; A.G. Order No. 3534– 

2015] 

RIN 1125–AA79 

Expanding the Size of the Board of 

Immigration Appeals 

AGENCY: Executive Office for 

Immigration Review, Department of 

Justice. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule amends the 

Department of Justice regulations 

relating to the organization of the Board 

of Immigration Appeals (Board) by 

adding two Board member positions, 

thereby expanding the Board to 17 

members. 

DATES: Effective date: This rule is 

effective June 3, 2015. Comment date: 

Written comments must be submitted 

on or before August 3, 2015. Comments 

received by mail will be considered 

timely if they are postmarked on or 

before that date. The electronic Federal 

Docket Management System (FDMS) 

will accept comments until midnight 

eastern time at the end of that day. 

ADDRESSES: Please submit written 

comments to Jean King, Acting General 

Counsel, Executive Office for 

Immigration Review, 5107 Leesburg 

Pike, Suite 2600, Falls Church, VA 

20530. To ensure proper handling, 

please reference RIN No. 1125–AA79 or 

EOIR docket No. 183 on your 

correspondence. You may submit 

comments electronically or view an 

electronic version of this interim rule at 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jean 

King, Acting General Counsel, Executive 

Office for Immigration Review, 5107 

Leesburg Pike, Suite 2600, Falls Church, 

VA 20530, telephone (703) 305–0470 

(not a toll-free call). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Posting of Public Comments 

Please note that all comments 

received are considered part of the 

public record and made available for 

public inspection online at 

www.regulations.gov. Such information 

includes personally identifiable 

information (such as your name, 

address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by 

the commenter. 

If you want to submit personally 

identifiable information (such as your 

name, address, etc.) as part of your 

comment, but do not want it to be 

posted online, you must include the 

phrase ‘‘PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also locate 

all the personally identifiable 

information you do not want posted 

online in the first paragraph of your 

comment and identify what information 

you want redacted. 

If you want to submit confidential 

business information as part of your 

comment but do not want it to be posted 

online, you must include the phrase 

‘‘CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS 

INFORMATION’’ in the first paragraph 

of your comment. You must also 

prominently identify confidential 

business information to be redacted 

within the comment. If a comment has 

so much confidential business 

information that it cannot be effectively 

redacted, all or part of that comment 

may not be posted on http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Personally identifiable information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will be placed in the agency’s public 

docket file, but not posted online. 

Confidential business information 

identified and located as set forth above 

will not be placed in the public docket 

file. If you wish to inspect the agency’s 

public docket file in person by 

appointment, please see the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

paragraph. 

II. Background 

The Executive Office for Immigration 

Review (EOIR) administers the Nation’s 

immigration court system. Generally, 

cases commence before an immigration 

judge when the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) files a 

charging document against an alien with 

the immigration court. See 8 CFR 

1003.14(a). EOIR primarily decides 

whether foreign-born individuals who 

are charged by DHS with violating 

immigration law pursuant to the 

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 

should be ordered removed from the 

United States, or should be granted 

relief or protection from removal and be 

permitted to remain in the United 

States. EOIR’s Office of the Chief 

Immigration Judge administers these 

adjudications in immigration courts 

nationwide. 

Decisions of the immigration judges 

are subject to review by EOIR’s 

appellate body, the Board of 

Immigration Appeals (Board), which 

currently comprises 15 permanent 

Board members. The Board is the 

highest administrative tribunal for 

interpreting and applying U.S. 

immigration law. The Board’s decisions 

can be reviewed by the Attorney 

General, as provided in 8 CFR 1003.1(g) 

and (h). Decisions of the Board and the 

Attorney General are subject to judicial 

review. 

III. Expansion of Number of Board 

Members 

EOIR’s mission is to adjudicate 

immigration cases by fairly, 

expeditiously, and uniformly 

interpreting and administering the 

Nation’s immigration laws. This 

includes the initial adjudication of 

aliens’ cases in immigration courts 

nationwide, as well as appellate review 

by the Board when appeals are timely 

filed. In order to more efficiently 

accomplish EOIR’s commitment to 

promptly decide a large volume of 

cases, as well as review a large quantity 

of appeals of those cases, this rule 

amends the Department’s regulations 

relating to the organization of the Board 

by adding two Board member positions, 

thereby expanding the Board from 15 to 

17 members.1 This rule revises the third 

sentence of 8 CFR 1003.1(a)(1), leaving 


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31462 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 106 / Wednesday, June 3, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 

2EOIR’s FY2014 Statistical Year Book, prepared 

by EOIR’s Office of Planning, Analysis, and 

Technology, is available at http://www.justice.gov/ 

eoir/statspub/fy14syb.pdf. 

the remainder of paragraph (a)(1) 

unchanged. 

Expanding the number of Board 

members is necessary at this time for 

two primary reasons. First, EOIR is 

currently managing the largest caseload 

the immigration court system has ever 

seen. At the end of FY 2014, there were 

418,861 total cases pending at the 

immigration courts, marking an increase 

of 62,831 cases pending above those at 

the end of FY 2013. See 2014 EOIR Stat. 

Y.B. W1.2 This total increase included 

an increase in the number of pending 

cases involving detained aliens. The 

efficient and timely adjudication of 

cases of detained aliens is the highest 

priority for EOIR and requires 

additional resources to handle the 

increased caseload. As the caseload in 

the immigration courts increases, the 

Department anticipates that the 

corresponding caseload at the Board 

will also expand. 

Second, after the hiring freeze was 

lifted in fiscal year (FY) 2014, the 

Department processed and identified for 

hire 25 immigration judge candidates. 

Also in FY 2014, the Department 

advertised for and is now in the process 

of selecting a substantial number of 

additional immigration judges. The 

Department expects that, as these new 

immigration judges enter on duty, the 

number of decisions rendered 

nationwide by immigration judges will 

increase and, in turn, the number of 

appeals filed with the Board will also 

increase. 

The current caseload at the Board is 

burdensome and may become 

overwhelming in the future for a Board 

of 15 members. At the same time, if the 

Board becomes too large, it may have 

difficulty fulfilling its responsibility of 

providing coherent direction with 

respect to the immigration laws. In 

particular, because the Board currently 

issues precedent decisions only with the 

approval of a majority of permanent 

Board members, a substantial increase 

in Board members may make the 

process of issuing such decisions more 

difficult. 

Keeping in mind the goal of 

maintaining cohesion and the ability to 

reach consensus, but recognizing the 

challenges the Board faces in light of its 

current and anticipated increased 

caseload, the Department has 

determined that two members should be 

added to the Board at this time. These 

changes are necessary to maintain an 

efficient system of appellate 

adjudication in light of the increasing 

caseload. 

IV. Public Comments 

This rule is exempt from the usual 

requirements of prior notice and 

comment and a 30-day delay in effective 

date because, as an internal delegation 

of authority, it relates to a matter of 

agency organization, procedure, or 

practice. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b). The 

Department is nonetheless promulgating 

this rule as an interim rule, providing 

the public with opportunity for postpromulgation comment before the 

Department issues a final rule on these 

matters. 

V. Regulatory Requirements 

A. Regulatory Flexibility Act 

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(RFA), ‘‘[w]henever an agency is 

required by section 553 of [the RFA], or 

any other law, to publish general notice 

of proposed rulemaking for any 

proposed rule . . . the agency shall 

prepare and make available for public 

comment an initial regulatory flexibility 

analysis.’’ 5 U.S.C. 603(a). Such analysis 

is not required when a rule is exempt 

from notice and comment rulemaking 

under 5 U.S.C. 553(b). Because this is a 

rule of internal agency organization and 

therefore is exempt from notice and 

comment rulemaking, no RFA analysis 

under 5 U.S.C. 603 is required for this 

rule. 

B. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This rule will not result in the 

expenditure by State, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100 million or more 

in any one year, and it will not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. Therefore, no actions were 

deemed necessary under the provisions 

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995. 

C. Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 

This rule is not a major rule as 

defined by section 251 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), 5 U.S.C. 

804. This rule will not result in an 

annual effect on the economy of $100 

million or more; a major increase in 

costs or prices; or significant adverse 

effects on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

on the ability of United States-based 

enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises in domestic and 

export markets. 

D. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563— 

Regulatory Planning and Review 

The Department has determined that 

this rule is not a ‘‘significant regulatory 

action’’ under section 3(f) of Executive 

Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory Planning and 

Review,’’ and the Office of Management 

and Budget has concurred in this 

determination. Nevertheless, the 

Department certifies that this regulation 

has been drafted in accordance with the 

principles of Executive Order 12866, 

section 1(b), and Executive Order 13563, 

‘‘Improving Regulation and Regulatory 

Review.’’ Executive Orders 12866 and 

13563 direct agencies to assess all costs 

and benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits, 

including consideration of potential 

economic, environmental, public health, 

and safety effects, distributive impacts, 

and equity. The benefits of this interim 

rule include providing the Department 

with an appropriate means of 

responding to the increased number of 

appeals to the Board. The public will 

benefit from the expansion of the 

number of Board members because such 

expansion will help EOIR better 

accomplish its mission of adjudicating 

cases in a timely manner. The 

Department does not foresee any 

burdens to the public or the 

Department. 

E. Executive Order 13132—Federalism 

This rule will not have substantial 

direct effects on the States, on the 

relationship between the national 

government and the States, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. Therefore, in 

accordance with section 6 of Executive 

Order 13132, this rule does not have 

sufficient federalism implications to 

warrant the preparation of a federalism 

summary impact statement. 

F. Executive Order 12988—Civil Justice 

Reform 

This rule meets the applicable 

standards set forth in sections 3(a) and 

3(b)(2) of Executive Order 12988. 

G. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The provisions of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104– 

13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35, and its 

implementing regulations, 5 CFR part 

1320, do not apply to this interim rule 

because there are no new or revised 

recordkeeping or reporting 

requirements. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 106 / Wednesday, June 3, 2015 / Rules and Regulations 31463 

H. Congressional Review Act 

This action pertains to agency 

management and personnel and, 

accordingly, is not a ‘‘rule’’ as that term 

is used by the Congressional Review Act 

(CRA) (Subtitle E of the Small Business 

Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 

(SBREFA)), 5 U.S.C. 804(3). Therefore, 

the reports to Congress and the 

Government Accountability Office 

specified by 5 U.S.C. 801 are not 

required. 

List of Subjects in 8 CFR Part 1003 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Aliens, Immigration, Legal 

services, Organization and functions 

(Government agencies). 

Accordingly, for the reasons stated in 

the preamble, the Attorney General is 

amending part 1003 of chapter V of title 

8 of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 1003—EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR 

IMMIGRATION REVIEW 

■ 1. The authority citation for Part 1003 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301; 6 U.S.C. 521; 8 

U.S.C. 1101, 1103, 1154, 1155, 1158, 1182, 

1226, 1229, 1229a, 1229b, 1229c, 1231, 

1254a, 1255, 1324d, 1330, 1361, 1362; 28 

U.S.C. 509, 510, 1746; sec. 2 Reorg. Plan No. 

2 of 1950; 3 CFR, 1949–1953 Comp., p. 1002; 

section 203 of Pub.L. 105–100, 111 Stat. 

2196–200; sections 1506 and 1510 of Pub.L. 

106–386, 114 Stat. 1527–29, 1531–32; section 

1505 of Pub.L. 106–554, 114 Stat. 2763A–326 

to –328. 

■ 2. Amend § 1003.1 by revising the 

third sentence of paragraph (a)(1) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1003.1 Organization, jurisdiction, and 

powers of the Board of Immigration 

Appeals. 

(a)(1) * * * The Board shall consist of 

17 members.* * * 

* * * * * 

Dated: May 28, 2015. 

Loretta E. Lynch, 

Attorney General. 

[FR Doc. 2015–13459 Filed 6–2–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4410–30–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

12 CFR Parts 4, 5, 7, 14, 24, 32, 34, 100, 

116, 143, 144, 145, 146, 150, 152, 159, 

160, 161, 162, 163, 174, 192, 193 

[Docket ID OCC–2014–0007] 

RIN 1557–AD80 

Integration of National Bank and 

Federal Savings Association 

Regulations: Licensing Rules 

Correction 

In rule document 2015–11229 

beginning on page 28346 in the issue of 

Monday, May 18, 2015, make the 

following correction: 

Appendix 1 to Part 24 [Corrected] 

On pages 28475 through 28477, in 

Appendix 1 to Part 24, the form should 

appear as follows: 

BILLING CODE 1505–01–D 


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