Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2019

To clarify the status and enhance the effectiveness of immigration courts, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2019 2. Finding; sense of Congress (a) Finding Congress finds that the United States tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants is best served by effective, fair, and impartial immigration judges who have decisional independence and are free from political influence. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) immigration judges— (A) should be fair and impartial; and (B) should have decisional independence that is free from political pressure or influence; and (2) in order to promote even-handed, non-biased, decision-making that is representative of the public at large, immigration judges should be selected from a broad pool of candidates with a variety of legal experience, such as law professors, private practitioners, representatives of pro bono service and other nongovernmental organizations, military officers, and government employees. 3. Professional treatment of immigration judges (a) Defined term Section 101(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(4) (4) (A) The term immigration judge (i) has been appointed by the Attorney General to serve as a United States immigration judge; and (ii) is qualified to conduct proceedings under this Act, including removal proceedings under section 240. (B) An immigration judge shall be subject to such supervision and shall perform such duties as the Attorney General shall prescribe as long as such supervision does not interfere with the immigration judge’s exercise of independent decision-making authority over cases in which he or she presides. (C) An immigration judge shall be an attorney at the time of his or her appointment by the Attorney General and shall maintain good standing or appropriate judicial status (as defined solely by the licensing jurisdiction) with the bar of the highest court of any State. (D) The service of an immigration judge is deemed to be judicial in nature. Actions taken by an immigration judge while serving in a judicial capacity shall be reviewed under the applicable Code of Judicial Conduct. Immigration judges shall not be subject to any code of attorney behavior for conduct or actions taken while performing duties as an immigration judge. (E) An immigration judge may not be disciplined for any good faith legal decisions made in the course of hearing and deciding cases. Criticism of an immigration judge, in a decision of any appellate court may not be considered or construed as a finding of misconduct. . (b) Performance appraisals Any system of completion goals or other efficiency standards imposed on immigration judges (as defined in section 101(b)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act)— (1) may be used solely as management tools for obtaining or allocating resources; and (2) may not be used— (A) to limit the independent authority of immigration judges to fulfill their duties; or (B) as a reflection of individual judicial performance. (c) Judicial complaint process Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a transparent judicial complaint process that is consistent with— (1) the Guidelines for the Evaluation of Judicial Performance developed by the American Bar Association; and (2) the judicial performance evaluation principles developed by the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System. (d) Annual leave Every immigration judge shall be presumed to have 15 years of Federal civilian service for the purpose of the accrual of annual leave. (e) Continuing legal education (1) In general In addition to the training required under section 603(c) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( 22 U.S.C. 6473(c) (A) meaningful, ongoing training, including annual, in-person training, to maintain current knowledge of immigration cases, changes in the law and effective docketing practices; and (B) time away from the bench to assimilate the knowledge gained through such training. (2) Service to the legal profession Because of the ethical duty owed by immigration judges to participate in continuing legal education, including teaching of law at institutions of higher learning and other activities to educate the public and to improve the legal profession, the Attorney General may not prevent or interfere with the participation of an immigration judge in any such bona fide activities if— (A) undertaken in conjunction with an established university, law school, bar association, or legal organization; and (B) the immigration judge clearly indicates that such participation is in his or her personal capacity and does not reflect any official positions or policies. (f) Contempt authority (1) Rulemaking (A) Interim regulations Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate interim regulations governing the exercise of the authority given to immigration judges under section 240(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(1) (B) Final regulations Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall promulgate final regulations governing the authority described in subparagraph (A). (2) Effect of failure to promulgate regulations If the Attorney General fails to comply with subparagraph (1)(B), immigration judges shall— (A) make appropriate findings of contempt; and (B) submit such findings to the United States District Court for the judicial district in which the immigration judge is physically located.

Summary: Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2019 This bill revises the definition of "immigration judge" by establishing that an immigration judge is judicial by nature, and actions taken while serving in a judicial capacity shall be reviewed under the applicable Code of Judicial Conduct, not any code of attorney behavior. It also establishes that an immigration judge may not be disciplined for good faith legal actions made while hearing and deciding cases. Completion goal systems or efficiency standards imposed on immigration judges may not be used to limit such judges' independent authority or as a reflection of individual judicial performance. The Department of Justice shall (1) establish a transparent judicial complaint process consistent with various professional guidelines, and (2) promulgate regulations governing an immigration judge's contempt authority.