Immigration Courts: Actions Needed to Address Workforce, Performance, and Data Management Challenges
GAO-23-105431
Published: Apr 26, 2023. Publicly Released: Apr 26, 2023.
Fast Facts
Immigration judges at the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review hold hearings to decide whether foreign nationals may be removed from the U.S.
Despite our 2017 recommendation to develop a strategic workforce plan to address current and future staffing needs, EOIR hasn't done so—even though it had a significant and growing backlog of 1.8 million pending cases at the start of FY 2023, more than triple the number that it had in FY 2017.
The office also doesn't have assigned roles and responsibilities to guide its workforce planning efforts.
We recommended that EOIR improve workforce planning and other management practices.
Pending Cases in Immigration Courts, FYs 2017–2022
Highlights
What GAO Found
Within the Department of Justice, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is responsible for conducting immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and other hearings to interpret and administer U.S. immigration laws and regulations. EOIR has taken steps to improve its management practices since GAO's 2017 report but continues to face several challenges. Specifically:
- Workforce planning. EOIR has taken some steps to improve its workforce planning—a systematic process to align an agency's human capital with its mission needs and goals—but its practices do not fully align with GAO-identified key principles for strategic workforce planning.
- As of January 2023, EOIR had not yet developed a strategic workforce plan or set workforce planning goals. In 2017, GAO recommended that EOIR develop and implement a strategic workforce plan that addresses the key principles of workforce planning—such as identifying critical skills, developing strategies to address skills gaps, and monitoring progress—to better position EOIR to address current and future staffing needs. GAO maintains that developing and implementing a strategic workforce plan would better position EOIR to address current and future staffing needs.
- In June 2022, EOIR signed a contract with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to help develop workforce planning processes. However, EOIR does not have a governance structure—consisting of assigned and documented roles and responsibilities—to guide its workforce planning efforts and hold leadership accountable for progress on workforce goals. Given its longstanding challenges in this area, EOIR does not have reasonable assurance that it will make the investments necessary to implement the results of the contract. Establishing a documented governance structure for workforce planning would better position EOIR to institutionalize improvements moving forward.
- Immigration judge performance appraisal program. EOIR evaluates how immigration judges perform their duties but has not evaluated its overall judge performance appraisal program. For example, in recent years, EOIR has revised the criteria against which it evaluates judges. But, it has not assessed whether they or their supervisors are satisfied with the program's equity, utility, and accuracy, consistent with OPM guidance. Implementing a process to periodically evaluate its performance appraisal program for judges can better position EOIR to determine the program's effectiveness.
- Data quality. EOIR reports various immigration case data to the public and takes some steps to ensure such data are accurate and reliable, such as running regular reports on the data to identify and address any anomalies. However, EOIR does not have updated guidelines for reporting quality information—information that is secure, objective, and useful—to the public. Developing such guidelines could further ensure that EOIR consistently provides the public with accurate, reliable immigration data.
Why GAO Did This Study
Each year, EOIR issues decisions for hundreds of thousands of cases of foreign nationals charged as removable under U.S. immigration law. EOIR is facing a significant and growing backlog of cases pending before the immigration courts. At the start of fiscal year 2023, EOIR's backlog was about 1.8 million pending cases—more than triple the number of pending cases at the start of fiscal year 2017. In 2017, GAO reported on EOIR's management practices, including how it manages and oversees workforce planning and immigration judge hiring.
GAO was asked to review various EOIR management functions, including actions taken since GAO's 2017 report. This report assesses, among other things, EOIR's (1) workforce planning practices; (2) judge performance appraisal program; and (3) policies and procedures for reporting quality data to the public. GAO analyzed EOIR staffing data from fiscal years 2017 through 2022—the most current data available. GAO reviewed EOIR documentation and interviewed officials from headquarters and four immigration courts selected to include different caseloads, among other factors.
Recommendations
GAO is making six recommendations to improve, among other things, EOIR's workforce planning, judge performance appraisal program management, and data quality practices. EOIR identified ongoing and planned steps to address these recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Office for Immigration Review | The Director of EOIR should develop a schedule, including target time frames, for completing EOIR's strategic plan. (Recommendation 1) |
In March 2024, EOIR published its Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2024 - 2028 and made it publicly available on its website, meeting the intent of our recommendation. Having completed the strategic plan, EOIR will be better positioned to ensure its activities support its objectives, and to measure progress on agency goals.
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| Executive Office for Immigration Review | The Director of EOIR should involve key leadership and stakeholders in establishing a documented governance structure for workforce planning that includes:
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In June 2024, EOIR released its Strategic Management of Human Capital and Workforce Plan, which includes a documented governance structure for workforce planning. Specifically, the plan includes assigned and documented roles and responsibilities for workforce planning, and measurable and observable targets and metrics to determine effectiveness in achieving strategic goals. For example, the plan includes documented responsibilities specific to EOIR's Director, Deputy Assistant Director, Chief Human Capital Officer, and EOIR Office Representatives, among others. Further, the plan includes measurable targets such as reducing the vacancy days for immigration judges; aligning EOIR's overall time-to-hire with DOJ's time; and improving the employee engagement index score. Having a documented governance structure will better position EOIR to effectively implement its strategic workforce plan.
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| Executive Office for Immigration Review | The Director of EOIR should take additional steps to communicate clear information to Congress as a part of its annual budget justification regarding EOIR's workforce needs and the extent to which its existing appropriations support its total reported positions. (Recommendation 3) |
In October 2023, EOIR reported to GAO that it is taking steps to clarify its workforce needs. For example, EOIR reported it is seeking to realign its reported positions in its fiscal year 2025 budget submission to a more realistic portrait of what additional resources the agency needs to execute its mission. GAO will continue to monitor EOIR's steps to communicate clear information to Congress as a part of its annual budget justification.
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| Executive Office for Immigration Review | The Director of EOIR should implement a process to evaluate, on a periodic basis, the performance appraisal program for adjudicative staff (immigration judges, assistant chief immigration judges, and appellate immigration judges), consistent with OPM guidance. (Recommendation 4) |
EOIR developed action plans to periodically evaluate the performance appraisal programs for immigration judges, assistant chief immigration judges, and appellate immigration judges. In June 2024, EOIR reported the results of its evaluation of the appraisal program for immigration judges. Specifically, the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) surveyed all immigration judges on specific questions related to the performance appraisal program. As a result of the survey, EOIR organized a committee of assistant chief immigration judges to review the results and evaluate if the performance elements of the judges' performance plan should be revised. The committee concluded its evaluation and proposed changes to the immigration judges' performance plan, which will be effective starting with the fiscal year 2026 performance cycle. In June 2024, EOIR also reported the results of its evaluation of the appraisal program for assistant chief immigration judges. Specifically, the regional chief immigration judges conducted a thorough review of the assistant chief immigrant judges performance appraisal plan. As a result, OCIJ made changes to the assistant chief immigration judges performance appraisal plan to include additional criteria, which will take effect starting with the fiscal year 2026 performance cycle. In May 2024, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reported to the EOIR Director that it had carried out its action plan for the evaluation of appellate immigration judges by soliciting input from appellate immigration judges during midyear performance evaluations. Based on the input provided, BIA made changes to the appellate immigration judges performance plan, which will take effect in the fiscal year 2025 performance cycle. Having developed a process to periodically evaluate the performance appraisal program for adjudicative staff, and having completed its first evaluation, EOIR will be better positioned to determine the effectiveness of its performance appraisal program.
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| Executive Office for Immigration Review | The Director of EOIR should develop guidelines for disseminating quality information to the public, including documenting EOIR's standards and procedures for information quality, consistent with DOJ and OMB guidance. (Recommendation 5) |
In August 2024, EOIR finalized EOIR's Data Quality Guidelines & Data Management Plan for Public-Level Data in August 2024. The guidelines developed were established to ensure the utility and integrity of the information EOIR uses and disseminates, maximize the objectivity of that information, and provide the public with a framework through which they can seek correction of information maintained and disseminated by EOIR that does not comply with these guidelines. EOIR's data quality guidelines are also consistent with DOJ and OMB guidance. By developing such guidelines, EOIR will better position itself to consistently provide the public with accurate, reliable data about the immigration court system and enhance the public's understanding of and trust in the information as appropriate.
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| Executive Office for Immigration Review | The Director of EOIR should develop and implement a process to regularly reassess, using quantitative and qualitative methods, whether Judicial Tools is meeting the needs of its users. (Recommendation 6) |
In May 2024 EOIR reported that it had developed a coordinated multi component process to assess whether Judicial Tools was meeting the needs of its users. As part of the process, EOIR implemented an intranet mechanism to allow Judicial Tools users to provide feedback directly through a service portal. EOIR also reviews and analyzes user reports that are submitted through the service portal. According to EOIR, it analyzes user reports to identify trends in the data and decide if any changes are needed in Judicial Tools. By implementing a process to regularly reassess Judicial Tools, EOIR can more effectively assess if it is meeting the needs of its users.
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Topics
Agency evaluationsData qualityForeign nationalsHuman capital managementImmigrationImmigration lawJudgesLabor forceLaw courtsPerformance appraisalsWorkforce planning