House Democrats will hear testimony Thursday on the prospect of making the immigration court system — now housed within the Justice Department — independent.
The hearing by the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration panel will feature current and former immigration judges, as well as representatives from major bar associations. It comes amid the release of a new report that found the current immigration backlog is approaching 1.6 million cases.
The hearing also comes as the subcommittee’s chairwoman, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., prepares to put forth legislation to revise the immigration court system. A committee staffer said Lofgren continues to work on the bill and did not provide a timeline for the legislation to be unveiled.
