Attorney General Sessions Primed To Overhaul Asylum Law
(CNN) -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions will announce a major decision that could impact thousands of asylum seekers from Central America on Monday -- his latest move to use his unique authority to single-handedly reshape immigration law.
Sessions made the announcement at an annual training conference for the nation's hundreds of immigration judges, telling them the decision would be coming and reminding them that they will be obligated to follow his interpretation of the law.
Though Sessions did not explicitly name the decision, it is widely expected to be a case involving asylum protections for domestic violence victims. Sessions referred the case to himself earlier this year and invited interested parties to submit briefs. In his remarks, Sessions implied he would be restricting the use of asylum for victims of crime, which would reverse previous court decisions and overrule a significant 2014 Board of Immigration Appeals decision that ruled Central American domestic violence victims who cannot escape their abusive partners can qualify under asylum law for protection in the US.
"Asylum was never meant to alleviate all problems, even all serious problems, that people face every day all over the world," Sessions said, reiterating the particular requirements of asylum under the law. "Today I will be exercising the responsibility given to me under the (Immigration and Nationality Act), I will be issuing a decision that restores sound principles of asylum and long standing principles of immigration law."
The ruling and announcement is the latest evidence of Sessions taking full advantage of his authority over the immigration courts -- a separate court system designed by law to be under the auspices of the Justice Department. The attorney general functions as a one-person Supreme Court in the system, in addition to hiring and evaluating the lower court judges themselves.
Sessions also reminded judges that his decision will be final, unless a federal appellate court were to overturn it on appeal.
In addition to impacting domestic violence victims, the case could also have large-scale implications for victims of other forms of crime and violence -- rampant in Central America, where a majority of US asylum seekers at the southern border come from.
"In my judgment, this will be a correct interpretation of the law," Sessions said. "It advances the original intent and purpose of the INA, and it will be your duty, of course, to carry that out."
Sessions received a warm welcome and reception from the judges present, who gave him multiple standing ovations at the beginning and end of his speech. But some leading immigration judges reacted unfavorably to the announcement.
President Emeritus of the National Association of Immigration Judges Judge Dana Leigh Marks told CNN it was "unsettling" that immigration judges are finding out about a precedential decision from Sessions at the same time as the public.
"While it's not a surprise that a major decision is going to be announced today, it's rather unsettling, because we feel like we're the last to know," Marks said. "And we need time to study and digest it."
Pro-immigration advocates have criticized Sessions for taking the case and targeting protections for victims they say have already been settled as a matter of law.
In his remarks, Sessions also touted recent efforts he's made to require judges to complete a certain number of cases per year -- an effort that has been opposed by the immigration judges union who argue it trades due process rights for unreasonable expectations of completions that could encourage or force judges to issue more deportation orders.
He also repeatedly discussed what he considers abuse of the nation's immigration laws, which the judges he spoke to are sworn to uphold. He referred to the 2016 election results as a bellwether for the judges.
"Let's be clear: We have a goal. And that goal is to end the lawlessness that now exists in our immigration system," Sessions said. "The American people have spoken. They have spoken in our laws and they have spoken in our elections. They want a safe, secure border and a lawful system of immigration that actually works and serves the national interest. Thank you for what you do, let's deliver this for the American people."
Marks and current National Immigration Judges Association President Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor criticized Sessions for touting the case completion targets in his speech, as well, with Tabaddor saying two-thirds of judges are not on track for the Department of Justice's 700 cases per year target.
"We're still in labor negotiations to discuss ways to achieve more numerical completions ... we don't agree that 700 is a realistically achievable number," Marks added. "It's frustrating while we're in the midst of these negotiations to hear such a firm assertion from the attorney general. It's as if our concerns are not going to be taken seriously."
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.