[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 2 (Thursday, January 7, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E31-E32]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       U.S. IMMIGRATION COURT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL McCOLLUM

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 6, 1999

  Mr. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation to establish 
a new United States Immigration Court. The title of the bill is the 
``United States Immigration Court Act of 1999.'' This bill would remove 
the immigration adjudication functions from the Justice Department and 
invest them in a new Article I court. The court would be composed of a 
trial division and an appellate division whose decisions would be 
appealable to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
  The system for adjudicating immigration matters has matured 
tremendously over the last 15 years. Special inquiry judges have become 
true immigration judges. The Board of Immigration Appeals has been 
greatly expanded, and the whole Executive Office for Immigration Review 
has been separated from the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
  Yet much of this system, including the Board of Immigration Appeals, 
does not exist in statute. And while separated from the INS, aliens 
still take their cases before judges who are employed by the same 
department as the trial attorneys who are prosecuting them.
  It is time to take the next logical step and create a comprehensive 
adjudicatory system in statute. Such a system should be independent of 
this Justice Department. This is not a new concept--in fact, I first 
introduced legislation to take this step back in 1982. I continue to 
believe that an Article I court would allow

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for more efficient and streamline consideration of immigration claims 
with enhanced confidence by aliens and practitioners in the fairness 
and independence of the process.
  The bill introduced today provides a solid framework on which to 
build debate on this important and far-reaching reform. I look forward 
to working with all interested parties in fine-tuning and further 
developing this proposal where necessary and enacting this much needed 
reform. It is my hope to see real progress made on this matter and I 
urge my colleagues to support the United States Immigration Court Act 
of 1999.

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