[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 14, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S1108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1989. Ms. HIRONO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
her to the bill H.R. 2579, to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
to allow the premium tax credit with respect to unsubsidized COBRA
continuation coverage; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
SEC. __. IMMIGRATION JUDGES.
(a) Short Title.--The section may be cited as the
``Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2018''.
(b) Finding; Sense of Congress.--
(1) Finding.--Congress finds that the United States
tradition as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants is
best served by effective, fair, and impartial immigration
judges, who have decisional independence and are free from
political influence.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(A) immigration judges should be fair and impartial and
have decisional independence that is free from political
pressure or influence; and
(B) in order to promote even-handed, non-biased, decision
making that is representative of the public at large,
immigration judges should be selected from a broad pool of
candidates with a variety of legal experience, such as law
professors, private practitioners, representatives of pro
bono service and other nongovernmental organizations,
military officers, and government employees.
(c) Professional Treatment of Immigration Judges.--
(1) Defined term.--Section 101(b)(4) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(4)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(4)(A) The term `immigration judge' means an attorney
who--
``(i) has been appointed by the Attorney General to serve
as a United States immigration judge;
``(ii) is qualified to conduct proceedings under this Act,
including removal proceedings under section 240.
``(B) An immigration judge shall be subject to such
supervision and shall perform such duties as the Attorney
General shall prescribe as long as such supervision does not
interfere with the immigration judge's exercise of
independent decision making authority over cases in which he
or she presides.
``(C) An immigration judge shall be an attorney at the time
of his or her appointment by the Attorney General and shall
maintain good standing or appropriate judicial status (as
defined solely by the licensing jurisdiction) with the bar of
the highest court of any State.
``(D) The service of an immigration judge is deemed to be
judicial in nature. Actions taken by an immigration judge
while serving in a judicial capacity shall be reviewed under
the applicable Code of Judicial Conduct. Immigration judges
shall not be subject to any code of attorney behavior for
conduct or actions taken while performing duties as an
immigration judge.
``(E) An immigration judge may not be disciplined for any
good faith legal decisions made in the course of hearing and
deciding cases. Criticism of an immigration judge, in a
decision of any appellate court may not be considered or
construed as a finding of misconduct.''.
(2) Performance appraisals.--Any system of completion goals
or other efficiency standards imposed on immigration judges
(as defined in section 101(b)(4) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act)--
(A) may be used solely as management tools for obtaining or
allocating resources; and
(B) may not be used--
(i) to limit the independent authority of immigration
judges to fulfill their duties; or
(ii) as a reflection of individual judicial performance.
(3) Judicial complaint process.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney
General shall establish a transparent judicial complaint
process that is consistent with the Guidelines for the
Evaluation of Judicial Performance developed by the American
Bar Association and the judicial performance evaluation
principles developed by the Institute for the Advancement of
the American Legal System.
(4) Annual leave.--Every immigration judge shall be
presumed to have 15 years of Federal civilian service for the
purpose of the accrual of annual leave.
(5) Continuing legal education.--
(A) In general.--In addition to the training required under
section 603(c) of the International Religious Freedom Act of
1998 (22 U.S.C. 6473(c)), the Attorney General shall provide
immigration judges with--
(i) meaningful, ongoing training, including annual, in-
person training, to maintain current knowledge of immigration
cases, changes in the law and effective docketing practices;
and
(ii) time away from the bench to assimilate the knowledge
gained through such training.
(B) Service to the legal profession.--Immigration judges
have an ethical duty to participate in continuing legal
education, including teaching of law at institutions of
higher learning and other activities to educate the public
and to improve the legal profession. The Attorney General may
not prevent or interfere with the participation of an
immigration judge in any such bona fide activities if--
(i) undertaken in conjunction with an established
university, law school, bar association, or legal
organization; and
(ii) the immigration judge clearly indicates that such
participation is in his or her personal capacity and does not
reflect any official positions or policies.
(6) Contempt authority.--
(A) Rulemaking.--
(i) Interim regulations.--Not later than 60 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
promulgate interim regulations governing the exercise of the
authority given to immigration judges under section 240(b)(1)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(1))
to sanction contempt of an immigration judge's exercise of
authority under such Act.
(ii) Final regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
promulgate final regulations governing the authority
described in clause (i).
(B) Effect of failure to promulgate regulations.--If the
Attorney General fails to comply with subparagraph (A)(ii),
immigration judges shall--
(i) make appropriate findings of contempt; and
(ii) submit such findings to the United States District
Court for the judicial district in which the immigration
judge is physically located.
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