EOIR's Flawed IJ Discipline System

Yilun Cheng, Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 16, 2022

"Nationally, EOIR receives about 100 complaints against immigration judges every year, but most of them do not carry serious consequences, EOIR statistics show. Sixty-one percent of all complaints closed in the fiscal year 2020 ended up being dismissed. Another 35% ended with additional counseling or training of the judge involved. Three percent concluded with retirement, resignation or termination, and none gave rise to other disciplinary actions like reprimand or suspension. In Cleveland, there have been seven complaints filed against the judges in the past five years, according to records obtained from the Department of Justice through a public records request. Their nature ranged from alleged due process violations to concerns over in-court conducts, records show. Two of them were dismissed. One was closed because the judge in question had since retired. Three led to oral counseling. With the seventh and latest complaint — the one led by AILA-Ohio against Riley — information regarding the investigation outcome was redacted by the Department of Justice. Montenegro declined to provide additional details about the case. Because these complaints rarely generate substantial disciplinary actions and there is a fear of retaliation from the judges, immigration attorneys and their clients often hesitate to report misconducts, said Austin Kocher, a research associate professor at the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a research institute at Syracuse University."