Devin Connolly recently spoke with journalist Ali Bradley about recent legislature that would overhaul the immigration court system, as well as common challenges for immigrants and migrants entering the U.S.
During the in-depth interview, Devin discussed Rep. Zoe Lofgren’s introduction of sweeping legislation that would separate immigration courts from the executive branch, allowing them to function as independent courts, similar to tax or bankruptcy courts. According to Devin, if this legislation is successful, it would be an instrumental step towards consistent and fair immigration courts. “There’s not going to be huge swings in immigration courts based on who the president is,” Devin shared, noting the vastly different outcomes in immigration courts during the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations.
Other topics included in their conversation included Migrant Protection Protocols, Title 42 and COVID-19, and other major concerns for immigrants and migrants, such as an absence of suitable options for finding legal work, an inaccessibility of legal representation, and slow government process times. According to Devin, these slow process times have contributed to the extreme backlog in immigration court cases and have been magnified by the pandemic.
“There is such a backlog of cases,” Devin explained. “We have so many clients who are outside the U.S. waiting for their interview at the U.S. Embassy. They just cannot wait to get here and be reunited with family. At my office, we are doing what we can to expedite it… It’s just a long, slow process at this time.”
The full interview can be found below.
Discussing border crisis with Immigration Attorney Devin Connolly
