Whereas they ought to be independent. and ought to function in the traditional role of judges. as impartial. they have. regrettably. been subjected to pressures from within their own agencies. There is substantial evidence. illustratively. in the Social Security branch. where these judges have made decisions which are not impartial. where. in fact. they have yielded to pressures from the executive branch in which they serve. The same thing has happened illustratively in the immigration laws. where we have found that the immigration administrative law judges have yielded to pressures within the administrative branch. Senator HEFLIN. who heads the subcommittee of Judiciary. himself a former chief justice of Alabama. has been a leader on this critical issue of independence of the judiciary. It is a matter where I have long been concerned. because if you do not have impartial judges. the whole system of justice is for naught.
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immigration