Following a recent move by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cut down on the powers immigration judges have to indefinitely suspend cases, lawyers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement are looking to reopen thousands of closed deportation cases. Attorneys at ICE this fiscal year have sought to reopen almost 8,000 cases that were either shelved or closed by immigration judges for administrative reasons, according to a review of the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. In comparison, requests to reopen cases in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 only totaled 3,551 and 4,847, respectively. He also ruled in May that immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals lack the authority to close cases for administrative reasons. The National Association of Immigration Judges filed a formal grievance against Sessions this month, asking for federal immigration officials to stop interfering with their legal autonomy.

Source: Fox News August 20, 2018 16:41 UTC