Summary of the Administrative Issue
In this article, Chand, Schreckhise and Bowers (2016) examine the factors that influence the decisions of Federal Immigration Judges when granting or refusing asylum to immigrants in various regions. According to them, politics and political affiliations to a great extent influence the granting of asylum by these judges. This is consistent with a similar observation by Post (2013) who notes that politics obviously has a hand in such decisions but questions the efficacy of this in ensuring fair outcomes. For, immigration judges in areas under the control of Republicans rarely give asylum to immigrants while those in regions dominated by Democratic governors tend to give asylum easily. They argue, however, that though these judges have the authority to hear immigration cases where an immigrant shows that they are subject to racial, religious or ethnic minorities, the standards and rules for making such a decision are both unclear and uncertain. They also note that these factors are context-dependent as they vary with the environment.
According to them, these factors could also be classified as those relating to immigration judges, asylum applicants, local context and state context. Some of the judge-related factors influencing their decision include sex, prior work experience with government, years served in the bench and prior immigration enforcement experience with either the INS or DHS. The asylum seeker specific factors include representation by attorneys and the percentage of applicants from Guatemala, Honduras or El Salvador. The local context factors include local economic conditions and crime rates in the community. Finally, the state-specific factors include the direction of state immigration laws and party control of state government.
A Critical Review
Moreover, Johnson argues that equality, predictability and consistency are principles that underpin the rule of law and hence should also define administrative decisions and actions when it comes to immigration cases. This supports these authors’ claim that the lack of clear federal rules on immigration affects decisions by federal judicial judges sometimes leading to injustice.
References
Chand, D. E., Schreckhise, W. D., & Bowers, M. L. (2016). The dynamics of state and local contexts and immigration asylum hearing decisions. Journal of Public Administration Research And Theory, xx(xx), 1-15. doi:10.1093/jopart/muw043.
Johnson, E. (n.d.). Should 'inconsistency' of administrative decisions give rise to judicial review? AIAL Forum, 72(1), 50-62.
Pakula, D.B., Latif, L.P. (2004). Judicial review of administrative immigration decisions: Can the doctrine of "ejusdem generis" save it from extinction? The Florida Bar Journal, LXXVIII, 32.
Post, L.F. (2013, September 2). Administrative decisions in connection with immigration. American Political Science Review, 10(02), 251-261.
