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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2014 7:46:35 GMT -5
Interesting article on what the immigration AJ's are going through, with some data on what hiring they would like to do. They have 40 open positions they are trying to fill? That doesn't seem likely to me. Regardless, I think we've heard this song before: underfunded, understaffed, hiring freeze, backlog, long wait times for hearing. Makes me appreciate our SSA staff members. www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/immigration-courts-backlog-child-migrant-crisis |
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Post by futuressaalj on Jul 17, 2014 7:51:56 GMT -5
Interesting article on what the immigration ALJ's are going through, with some data on what hiring they would like to do. They have 40 open positions they are trying to fill? That doesn't seem likely to me. Regardless, I think we've heard this song before: underfunded, understaffed, hiring freeze, backlog, long wait times for hearing. Makes me appreciate our SSA staff members. www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/immigration-courts-backlog-child-migrant-crisis I thought they were AJs and not ALJs. They face immense pressure and do not have the APA protections from what my friend who works at ICE tells me. |
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 17, 2014 7:56:05 GMT -5
Thanks Future, I was about to post that correction - please don't call immigration judges ALJs!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2014 8:10:05 GMT -5
My bad. Consider the 'L' stricken from the record. Still an intesting read, though?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2014 8:10:38 GMT -5
Interesting article on what the immigration A LJ's are going through, with some data on what hiring they would like to do. They have 40 open positions they are trying to fill? That doesn't seem likely to me. Regardless, I think we've heard this song before: underfunded, understaffed, hiring freeze, backlog, long wait times for hearing. Makes me appreciate our SSA staff members. www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/immigration-courts-backlog-child-migrant-crisis |
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Post by bartleby on Jul 17, 2014 8:16:05 GMT -5
"They face immense pressure and do not have the APA protections from what my friend who works at ICE tells me." It appears that we no longer have APA protextion either and from what I recently heard, there are changes afoot to remove our tenure.. And to place us under annual evaluations like the line and staff employees of ODAR.. The times they are achanging..
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 17, 2014 9:04:50 GMT -5
"They face immense pressure and do not have the APA protections from what my friend who works at ICE tells me." It appears that we no longer have APA protextion either and from what I recently heard, there are changes afoot to remove our tenure.. And to place us under annual evaluations like the line and staff employees of ODAR.. The times they are achanging.. Bartleby, I know you like to stir the pot, but I would ask you how serious is that being considered by management? As long as you are an ALJ, the APA does protect you, that has not gone away. Also, what effect would removing your tenure have to do with the Congressional spotlight on "bad" ALJs? Nothing - discipline may be dispensed at agency discretion and may be appealed to MSPB, regardless of tenure or not. The annual evaluations is MY sticking point - I hate those useless things and would glad to be rid of the process if I become an ALJ. I ask members of the board who are current GS-15 federal employees, why in the world would you become an ALJ if they are going to treat you like a GS-15? Especially if you are already in a job you like? I gotta tell you, if that is seriously being considered (as oppossed to a rumour and it won't really ever happen) then I would not want to leave my happy agency for essentially a lateral job. What's the point? |
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Post by bartleby on Jul 17, 2014 9:57:12 GMT -5
Sealaw90, Sorry I come off as always trying to stir the pot. How serious is it? I will give you the opportunity to find out. I feel like I am nothing but a party pooper in at a 3 year old's birthday party. I think it is about time for me to sign off. Good luck to you all.
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Post by cowboy on Jul 17, 2014 10:11:10 GMT -5
I know several GS-15 employees (all the ones I know are HODs) and none of them like their job as much as an ALJ does. They have a very difficult job of managing the staff in the HO and get a lot of grief from up above (read: the Regional Office). Some work well with their ALJs, others do not, but for the most part, the difficult part of a manager's job is the people they manage and the stress they get from their superiors. I've heard many ALJs point out all the good things about their job. I have not heard that from a GS-15 employee.
The ICE Judges have a different application process and as far as I know, they don't take ALJs from SSA or other components of the Executive Branch. I know, I applied to that too. However, we see a common theme here. ICE is taking heat (pun intended) for not being able to manage the huge influx of illegal immigrants and Congress has been besieged by trying to fix an overwhelmed system. The same heat was laid upon SSA recently for ALJ conduct, while opponents to the criticism pointed out the enormous backlog and stress on the system to render decisions quickly. The VA is also currently being criticized for not addressing their backlog in a timely manner with patients waiting to have treatment in a system overwhelmed by Vets. Clearly, the cuts to these programs are denying the American public of timely and quality service. If change is going to happen, reducing the staff or drastically changing employee job positions isn't going to help the American people.
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 17, 2014 10:44:21 GMT -5
Sealaw90, Sorry I come off as always trying to stir the pot. How serious is it? I will give you the opportunity to find out. I feel like I am nothing but a party pooper in at a 3 year old's birthday party. I think it is about time for me to sign off. Good luck to you all. Bart, I don't think you are being a party pooper. If you go, will the kitties stay? I recently lost my dog, so I am only left with a kitty cat at home to keep us real... cats are good like that.  |
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 17, 2014 10:50:43 GMT -5
Sealaw90, Sorry I come off as always trying to stir the pot. How serious is it? I will give you the opportunity to find out. I feel like I am nothing but a party pooper in at a 3 year old's birthday party. I think it is about time for me to sign off. Good luck to you all. Bart, I don't think you are being a party pooper. If you go, will the kitties stay? I recently lost my dog, so I am only left with a kitty cat at home to keep us real... cats are good like that. Sorry sealaw for the loss of your pet. It is hard as they are like a member of the family. Bart, don't take your baseball bat and ball and leave us here without the ability to play baseball. (pun intended) Many of us appreciate your sage words of wisdom. Keep on posting my friend. |
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 17, 2014 10:52:04 GMT -5
I know several GS-15 employees (all the ones I know are HODs) and none of them like their job as much as an ALJ does. They have a very difficult job of managing the staff in the HO and get a lot of grief from up above (read: the Regional Office). Some work well with their ALJs, others do not, but for the most part, the difficult part of a manager's job is the people they manage and the stress they get from their superiors. I've heard many ALJs point out all the good things about their job. I have not heard that from a GS-15 employee. The ICE Judges have a different application process and as far as I know, they don't take ALJs from SSA or other components of the Executive Branch. I know, I applied to that too. However, we see a common theme here. ICE is taking heat (pun intended) for not being able to manage the huge influx of illegal immigrants and Congress has been besieged by trying to fix an overwhelmed system. The same heat was laid upon SSA recently for ALJ conduct, while opponents to the criticism pointed out the enormous backlog and stress on the system to render decisions quickly. The VA is also currently being criticized for not addressing their backlog in a timely manner with patients waiting to have treatment in a system overwhelmed by Vets. Clearly, the cuts to these programs are denying the American public of timely and quality service. If change is going to happen, reducing the staff or drastically changing employee job positions isn't going to help the American people. Cowboy - Thanks for pointing out a failure in my question. What I meant to say is how many NON-supervisory GS-15's out there want to switch to ALJ when they may be potentially having to deal with the minutiae that they have now, all to be 'demoted' to nothing more than a hearing officer or AJ? A supervisory GS-15 vs. ALJ? - that's a no-brainer (to me at least) But non-supervisory GS-15 vs. ALJ? Not so sure. |
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 17, 2014 11:00:58 GMT -5
Bart, I don't think you are being a party pooper. If you go, will the kitties stay? I recently lost my dog, so I am only left with a kitty cat at home to keep us real... cats are good like that. Sorry sealaw for the loss of your pet. It is hard as they are like a member of the family. Bart, don't take your baseball bat and ball and leave us here without the ability to play baseball. (pun intended) Many of us appreciate your sage words of wisdom. Keep on posting my friend. Thanks mpd. She definitely was a member of the family for over 13 years. No one to greet me at the door when I get home from work - the cat doesn't want to pick up that responsibility, but he does talk to me more and lay at my feet like the dog did. |
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Post by luckylady2 on Jul 17, 2014 11:08:02 GMT -5
My condolences Sealaw. I've had dogs & cats & over recent years had my share of losing them. It's one of the toughest , suckiest things to go through The only silver lining is the great time you had with her and that she has left to, after a respectful time has passed, make room for a goofy puppy!
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Post by moopigsdad on Jul 17, 2014 11:09:53 GMT -5
Sorry sealaw for the loss of your pet. It is hard as they are like a member of the family. Bart, don't take your baseball bat and ball and leave us here without the ability to play baseball. (pun intended) Many of us appreciate your sage words of wisdom. Keep on posting my friend. Thanks mpd. She definitely was a member of the family for over 13 years. No one to greet me at the door when I get home from work - the cat doesn't want to pick up that responsibility, but he does talk to me more and lay at my feet like the dog did. I understand completely sealaw. It is likely I may be "moopig" less sooner rather than later and will become "formerly moopigsdad". She is having serious health issues and her time may be nigh. It will be one of the worse days in my life as she is a wonderful spoiled child who I adore. |
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Post by sealaw90 on Jul 17, 2014 11:12:15 GMT -5
Thanks, it did/does suck. A new puppy is on hold right now - I might have to move to a small apartment for a new job (hope, hope, hope) and we want a big, goofy dog - not fair to shove them in an apartment!
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Post by hilltopper on Jul 17, 2014 13:49:44 GMT -5
Getting back to the main subject of the thread. The practice I'm leaving is principally Immigration law. I do a lot of general and commercial litigation myself, some immigration work, and supervise a staff that does Immigration work almost exclusively. I have always heard the judges referred to as IJ's (Immigration Judge). They generally recruit IJ's from the ranks of those who have practiced or are practicing immigration law. With the influx of unaccompanied minors predominantly coming from Guatemala and Mexico, The EOIR (Executive Office Immigration Review) the division of HHS that adjudicates removal and deportation has promulgated a proposed rule change, published in the Federal Register on July 11, 2014, that would permit the EOIR to recruit sitting ALJs from the other agencies to sit as temporary IJ's in order to handle the massive influx across our southern border. See www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-07-11/pdf/2014-16279.pdf - to look at the proposed rule change. I think they are primarily attempting to permit the temporary rehire of retired IJs. But, if there are ALJs out there with familiarity with the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) and the immigration system, I suspect they will ask the other agencies to send out an email asking if anyone is interested. ht |
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Post by aljwatch on Jul 17, 2014 14:28:07 GMT -5
To clarify: Immigration Judges are administrative judges within the Department of Justice, not in DHS/ICE or HHS. They conduct immigration hearings throughout the country and have been underfunded for years and subject to a hiring freeze for the last 2 1/2 years . . . so IJs are overworked and will likely be overworked for years to come. Now that the freeze is over, DOJ/EOIR will likely be hiring a number of permanent IJs (I doubt 40 is out of line with expected hires). But, until that can happen, they want the authority to appoint Temporary IJs to assist with the burgeoning caseload. DHS/ICE trial attorneys are essentially the prosecutors in immigration cases. And, HHS has only a peripheral role, ensuring the health and safety of unaccompanied minors who enter the US.
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Post by hilltopper on Jul 17, 2014 16:33:57 GMT -5
To clarify: Immigration Judges are administrative judges within the Department of Justice, not in DHS/ICE or HHS. They conduct immigration hearings throughout the country and have been underfunded for years and subject to a hiring freeze for the last 2 1/2 years . . . so IJs are overworked and will likely be overworked for years to come. Now that the freeze is over, DOJ/EOIR will likely be hiring a number of permanent IJs (I doubt 40 is out of line with expected hires). But, until that can happen, they want the authority to appoint Temporary IJs to assist with the burgeoning caseload. DHS/ICE trial attorneys are essentially the prosecutors in immigration cases. And, HHS has only a peripheral role, ensuring the health and safety of unaccompanied minors who enter the US. My apologies. ... ALJWatch is correct, of course. The prosecuting attorneys are employed by DHS/ICE -- who also have enforcement, control and custody of all detainees. The IJ's are under the auspices of the DOJ. My HHS reference was likely an unintended Freudian slip. Immigration law is an interesting field but - from what I have observed, IJ's are indeed overworked with huge dockets. In the past two years it seems like the IJ's we practiced in front of have aged 10 years. I know a "dog year" is 7 calendar years. I suspect an "IJ year" may be pretty close to that. With the recent influx, they will need at least 40 more judges and all the temporary help they can find. ht |
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Post by cowboy on Jul 18, 2014 10:12:15 GMT -5
[/quote]Cowboy - Thanks for pointing out a failure in my question. What I meant to say is how many NON-supervisory GS-15's out there want to switch to ALJ when they may be potentially having to deal with the minutiae that they have now, all to be 'demoted' to nothing more than a hearing officer or AJ?
A supervisory GS-15 vs. ALJ? - that's a no-brainer (to me at least) But non-supervisory GS-15 vs. ALJ? Not so sure.
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I wasn't trying to correct you, but lead to a specific point that is relevant to most everyone applying for this job, or any other ALJ job, including the Immigration Judges. The ALJ corps is greatly needed and noise from advocates or Congress that they will change the position to simple hearing officers is just that, noise. In a practical sense, it cannot happen unless Congress wants other more severe problems to arise. In a separate post, I pointed out numbers that SSA ALJs adjudicated nearly 800,000 cases in FY 2013. This is the agencies own numbers as pointed out by Acting Commissioner Colvin during her testimony. About 25% (~175,000) of these cases were appealed to the AC, the last administrative remedy before SSA. Only 10% (~17,000) of those cases were filed before the Federal District Court as the next step in challenging the Agency's decision. The numbers are dramatic. Most people find the ALJ level decision to be their day in court and satisfied or not, they don't go further with that decision. Turning an ALJ into a hearing officer would effectively remove the significance of that step and a greater number of cases would be filed before the District Court. Imagine 200,000 or 300,000 cases filed before the District Court instead of 17,000. It would overwhelm the system. Now think of multiple agencies doing away with the ALJ system. Aside from denying due process in an administrative system, it would simply overwhelm another part of the government.
You may see a lot of grandstanding this year, as in every election year. What actually happens is a different story.
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