美国国家公共电台 NPR Immigration Judge Says Quota Will Cripple Already Overburdened System

 

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Immigration courts are so overwhelmed that their backlog¹ is approaching 700,000 unresolved cases. Unlike other courts, immigration judges report to the attorney general, and Jeff Sessions wants to impose quotas³ on them to tackle the backlog - 700 cases completed per judge per year starting in October. Judges learned about the quotas in a memo⁴ last week.

Joining us now is Judge Dana Leigh Marks. She's an immigration judge in San Francisco and with the union the National Association of Immigration Judges. Welcome to the program.

DANA LEIGH MARKS: Thank you for having me, Audie.

CORNISH: I think I've been reading that the average judge clears about 700 cases a year. So is this really that much of a difference for you all?

MARKS: Those figures that have been widely reported do not jive with the numbers that we ourselves have run internally. And one of the reasons why is that what constitutes a completion can be interpreted in different ways, and as statistics are maintained, it's not clear what is being included and what is not.

CORNISH: So everyone has a different idea of what it means to close a case, so to speak.

MARKS: There is no clear definition of what it means to complete a case. And in fact, there's a joke in the field that a case is not over until the respondent wins, or the case is not over until the respondent leaves the country because individuals can come back and move to reopen cases.

CORNISH: That joke is less funny when we look at the backlog - right? - because it's 700,000...

MARKS: Right.

CORNISH: ...Cases that are still open. And so what would this mean, having a quota², in terms of the day-to-day life in your courtroom? Does your workload⁵ change?

MARKS: I have a duty to afford every individual who comes before me due process. So I have to give that individual the amount of time they need in order to complete the case which is before me. What this quota is going to mean is that when I deny a continuance or I say that one more witness is duplicative and not necessary, the people before me are going to ask, is Judge Marks making a decision based on her legal judgment⁶, or is she concerned about trying to improve her own personal performance rating? When those kinds of concerns are raised, then appeals abound⁷. And that is going to cripple our already overburdened immigration court system.

CORNISH: At the same time, there is a backlog, right? And it's something that hurts the immigrants involved as well because their cases are in limbo⁸. What are your suggestions to get through it?

MARKS: You are absolutely correct that the backlog is unacceptable. We have the solution. The solution is simple. It's two steps. We need more resources, and we need them now. And we also need structural⁹ reform. Congress has recently taken a very important step to address the inadequacy¹⁰ of resources by just in the last budget cycle providing money for a hundred more immigration judges. That's the first step. But the necessary second step is to take the immigration courts out of the Department of Justice where they're currently placed. And the reason for that is the mission of an independent and neutral court is incompatible¹¹ with the role of a law enforcement agency. And...

CORNISH: That seems a long way away, right? I mean, this has been the way it's been structured for a very long time.

MARKS: That is precisely¹² why it could happen quickly. The issue has been studied. The concept of an independent immigration court has been endorsed¹³ by the American Bar Association, by the Federal Bar Association, by numerous other legal scholars and individuals who are knowledgeable¹⁴ with the system. And we believe that Congress could act on this very quickly and that they should because if they don't, we're going to continue to have these kinds of conflicts and threats to judicial¹⁵ independence and due process.

CORNISH: That's Judge Dana Leigh Marks. She's an immigration judge in San Francisco. She's also the spokesperson for the National Association of Immigration Judges. Thank you for speaking with ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.

MARKS: Thank you so much, Audie.

1 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

2 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

3 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

4 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

5 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 abound   

vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于

参考例句：

• Oranges abound here all the year round.这里一年到头都有很多橙子。
• But problems abound in the management of State-owned companies.但是在国有企业的管理中仍然存在不少问题。

8 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

9 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 inadequacy   

n.无法胜任，信心不足

参考例句：

• the inadequacy of our resources 我们的资源的贫乏
• The failure is due to the inadequacy of preparations. 这次失败是由于准备不足造成的。

11 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

12 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

13 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

15 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。