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Amid Immigration Case Backlog, Retired Federal Judges Ask To Return To The Bench

Published July 25, 2018 at 12:52 PM CDT
In this June 28, 2018, photo, people line up outside the building that houses the immigration courts in Los Angeles. In recent weeks, immigration judges have been thrust into the center of the heated political controversy over how the Trump administration is handling the cases of mostly Central American immigrants caught on southwest border. (Amy Taxin/AP)
In this June 28, 2018, photo, people line up outside the building that houses the immigration courts in Los Angeles. In recent weeks, immigration judges have been thrust into the center of the heated political controversy over how the Trump administration is handling the cases of mostly Central American immigrants caught on southwest border. (Amy Taxin/AP)

With more than 700,000 open immigration cases across the country, judges face a lengthy backlog. Two retired District Court judges in California have proposed a solution: They petitioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions to let them and other retired federal judges return to the bench.

Here & Now‘s Robin Young talks with Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, one of the judges who wrote to the Justice Department, about why retired federal judges are a good fit for the job.

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