A Proposal To Create A New Article III Court of Immigration Review

I pass along this proposal from an attorney who recently clerked on the Ninth Circuit. I think this proposal has some merit, and could potentially garner sixty votes in the Senate:

The American people have spoken: migration must be controlled. President Trump won not only the electoral and popular vote, but also Congressional majorities. Surveys show that most Americans approve of "mass deportations." Concern about the border is also bipartisan, with the Biden Administration having moved to restrict asylum claims over the last year.

But while President Trump's Administration may try crack down on immigration, he likely will not be able to achieve the goals of the American people unless Congress is also willing to change how the federal judiciary reviews deportation orders and challenges to immigration policy. To solve this problem, Congress should create a new Article III court with exclusive jurisdiction over all immigration cases—call it the Court of Immigration Review (COIR).

The basic contours of America's mass-migration problem are well understood. Economic migrants travel from distant places—sometimes flying from Asia and Africa—to South America, walk or ride to the U.S. border, and file a claim for asylum (along with other, arguably redundant claims). Most of these claims are meritless. But simply by articulating a fear of persecution, most migrants will be issued a notice to appear and released to await a hearing before an immigration judge (IJ). This process is so backlogged that even scheduling the hearing can take years, leading to what DHS agents call "catch and release."

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