GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley is accusing the Biden administration of attempting to silence immigration judges who often highlight shortcomings in the immigration court system.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley is accusing the Biden administration of improperly attempting to silencejudges who frequently highlight shortcomings in the immigration court system, calling a recent Justice Department decree a "blatant attempt" to "discourage and obstruct" federal workers from exercising legally protected speech.
The policy change reverses more than 50 years of precedent, according to Matt Biggs, the president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers , a broader organization that includes the judges' union. Immigration judges, who are federal employees housed within the Justice Department, have for decades been entitled to speak publicly at forums, before Congress, and in press interviews.
Judge Mimi Tsankov, the president of the judges' union and a recipient of McNulty's email decree, has been a vocal critic of the backlog of some three million cases pending resolution in the immigration court system. "We end up getting pressure that ordinarily is not the type of thing that you would see a court experience," she said. "A judge should never feel pressure to complete a case any faster than it's supposed to be addressed from a fairness standpoint."
"Following receipt of an email from the Chief Immigration Judge on February 15, I'm not permitted to participate in writing or speaking engagements, including any interviews in my capacity as president of the National Association of Immigration Judges without prior supervisory approval," she said. "So, for this reason, I need to decline this interview at this time.