personally feel
THEY should be running the USA
not a supposedly fairly elected leader every 6 years
works ok for every other country on earth, but the USA has gone beyond that
greed, selfish corruption to the fore
the citizens suffer
rbkwp interferring in your politics,as well
The Executive Branch Controls Our Immigration Courts. Should That Change?
BY JAMES RAMSAY
Sketches of New York City immigration court judges. (Jane Rosenberg/WNYC)
Technically, immigration judges are independent, shielded from election cycles and voters' whims. But politics still enters the courtroom.
Immigration judges ultimately answer to the Attorney General of the United States. And ever since former A.G. Jeff Sessions imposed higher caseload quotas on judges, some legal experts fear the White House is trying to wear judges down and ultimately keep fewer immigrants from winning asylum.
"All moves made by this administration must be viewed as pieces in a puzzle designed to erode the independence of immigration judges in order to allow the administration to better control case outcomes to conform with its political goals," Jeffrey Chase, a former New York immigration judge,
told WNYC's Beth Fertig.
Partly because of the new quotas — 700 cases per year, per judge — the American Bar Association recently declared the U.S. immigration courts "on the brink of collapse."
So, the judges’ union wants to take immigration courts out of the Executive Branch and make them truly independent, similar to federal tax and bankruptcy courts. It's a move that would require Congress' approval, which is where things get tricky.
Supporters of this argue that by making the courts independent, judges would be freed from the Justice Department’s bureaucracy and politics. But making the courts independent wouldn't necessarily ease the backlog of cases. And for lawyers who want to see this change, their best hope of getting a split Congress to support it is to focus on courtroom efficiency.
"If it becomes politicized, it becomes another issue of comprehensive immigration reform," the FBA's Elizabeth Stevens told WNYC.
If immigration reform
is your goal, though, getting there runs not through the courts, but through the 2020 election.
What if Mayor de Blasio Does Become the Ambassador to Nicaragua?
Whether Bill de Blasio becomes our next president — or gets a cabinet position or an
ambassadorship and decides not to serve out his term through 2021 — New York City has a plan.
First, the public advocate will take over as acting mayor. Then, they'll have three days to pick a date for a non-partisan special election.
If de Blasio were to step down late in 2020, the winner of the special election would serve as mayor until the winner of the 2021 mayoral election takes over. But if de Blasio steps down sooner, we'd have that special election, plus an additional primary and general election just to select someone for the remainder of the term. (
City & State)
New York's GOP Is Turning Towards Trump
Republicans haven't won a statewide election in New York since 2002, and they lost eight State Senate seats last fall. So, the head of New York's GOP is stepping down in July, after being pressured by more conservative county leaders upstate.
Ed Cox, the longtime state party chair (and Richard Nixon's son-in-law), is a holdover from the Rockefeller Republican wing of the party. But moderate conservatism, at least for the last decade, hasn't delivered wins. The party hopes that
Nick Langworthy, the 38-year-old Trump loyalist who's taking over for Cox, can.
"Nick is a supporter of the working man," former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino told Gothamist. "And the working man is the future of the party." (
Gothamist)
Phil Murphy Is Investigating Possible Corruption. Will That Make Him a One-Term Governor?
A quick catch-up: Major New Jersey Democratic Party boss George Norcross benefited handsomely from a state tax incentive program.
WNYC and ProPublica reported extensively on how a Norcross-connected law firm influenced the tax break program's implementation.
And Gov. Phil Murphy, a political newcomer with no real ties to the state's Democratic Party machine, had meanwhile commissioned a probe into possible malfeasance with the tax breaks.
Now, Democrats across the state are picking sides, with Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker both coming to Norcross' defense. If Democrats continue ganging up on Murphy — and derailing his legislative agenda — it's feasible that he'll face a primary challenge if he runs again in 2021. (
Politico)
