Challenge

The Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is responsible for hearing the cases of detained aliens, criminal aliens, and aliens seeking asylum. While there are more than 60 immigration courts located throughout the country, many states – such as Montana, North and South Dakota, Idaho, and Iowa – do not have immigration courts; as a result, illegal aliens often have to be transported across state lines to the closest immigration court to appear before a judge. In some cases, EOIR judges themselves travel to remote locations for an extended period of time to hear cases.

In 2005, EOIR began looking into video teleconferencing (VTC) as a way to reduce the need for travel and thus reduce costs for both its own organization and for the Department of Homeland Security, which detains and houses illegal aliens until their court hearings. Working with Visual Systems Group, Inc. (VSGi) to plan and develop its VTC solutions, EOIR equipped its immigration courts and several DHS detention centers with TANDBERG video communications equipment, achieving positive results for both organizations.

The reason we looked into VTC was to reduce the cost of travel... VSGi understands our mission and understands the DHS mission. They have been very accommodating giving us whatever we need.

Solution

Ron Brown, VTC Specialist for EOIR, says, “The reason we looked into VTC was to reduce the cost of travel and reduce the need to open courts all over the country. VSGi understands our mission and understands the DHS mission. They have been very accommodating giving us whatever we need.”

VSGi began by supplying EOIR with videoconferencing hardware and followed up with the creation of an integrated portable solution based on TANDBERG equipment. The firm then set up a network for EOIR so the agency can connect videoconferencing calls through both an IP-based network and an ISDN-based network.

“Since 2001, the number of detainees has increased dramatically,” Brown remarks. “Videoconferencing has made it so much easier for EOIR and DHS to get detainees in front of a judge. DHS arrests the illegal aliens, takes them to the detention center, and boom – the EOIR judge holds the hearing immediately.”

“Before, adds Brown, “if DHS caught someone in Montana, EOIR either had to fly a judge out there or DHS had to fly the detainee to one of our courts. Because of VSGi, DHS now has the video units set up in their detention centers and judges can hear cases without anyone having to travel.”

Brown says that EOIR hears hundreds of thousands of cases each year, and while he can’t estimate how many are now heard via video, “The savings have to be through the roof.

”In addition to reducing costs, VTC is helping EOIR handle the backlog of cases. As Brown notes, “We have more illegal aliens than we have courts to hear cases. It’s overwhelming. Some courts have more hearings than others. For example, in San Antonio, Texas, they are completely inundated because they are close to one of the biggest borders in the country. So we now have some courts that are strictly VTC courts. In fact, we have four here at headquarters alone that only hold hearings via video, helping other courts like the one in San Antonio with their overflow.”

Results

EOIR has had so much success using video that local governments are now clamoring for their own equipment.

“Many local governments are acting as pseudo-immigration officers, detaining illegal aliens,” Brown explains. “They want them out of their custody – they want their own video communications units so the hearings can be held immediately.”

Because hearings now occur much more quickly, the amount of time DHS has to hold detainees is greatly reduced – delivering even more cost savings.

“I believe there’s a daily cost to house and feed each individual, somewhere around $128 per day,” says Brown. “While that money comes from the DHS budget, it’s ultimately the taxpayers who fund that. So video helps DHS save a lot of money that way.”

“Saving money is the biggest benefit of videoconferencing,” Brown proclaims. “That’s the bottom line.”