Pete Sessions: “we had a very fine hearing this morning. I think five Federal judges, and the Department of Justice represented, and a…”

“we had a very fine hearing this morning. I think five Federal judges, and the Department of Justice represented, and a professor, to deal with a problem in our immigration system. Senator Cornyn has rightly said a bill is a bill is a bill, but what does it say? In Chairman Specter's mark, he dealt with a crisis in appeals in immigration. During the course of our committee markup, an amendment was offered that said that wasn't good and whatever, and we struck that reform. So the bill that would be the Judiciary markup bill on the floor does not have any action whatsoever to deal with this problem. Since 2001, we have had a 601-percent increase in appeals, Bureau of Appeals, immigration appeals cases. Six times they have increased since the year 2000. It now takes, on average, 27 months for one of those cases to be handled because of the backlog. Judge Bea of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, who has one of the biggest backlogs in that circuit, said this this morning: Second, as petitioners and attorneys see appeals piling up in the circuit courts, they realize their appeals will be delayed. During the period of delay, events may change the alien's chances of staying in the country. Those changes may be personal, such as a marriage to a U.S. citizen or the birth of a child, or any number of other conditions that might affect their removability.…”