Work Inside a Small DOJ Office That Helps Indigent Immigrants Get Legal Aid Stalls After Personnel Shuffle

The Justice Department program that accredits nonprofit organizations to help provide legal aid to low-income immigrants has failed to approve a single new application since March— after its attorneys were quietly reassigned to other offices, sources with direct knowledge of the program told CBS News.

A month ago, the small group of senior attorneys who operated the Recognition and Accreditation program, part of the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, were transferred without explanation to work in nearby immigration courts, CBS News previously reported.

The Recognition and Accreditation program certifies non-attorneys who work for largely faith-based legal advocacy organizations such as Catholic Charities and Jewish Family Services so they are authorized to assist immigrants on everything from naturalization petitions to representation in the Justice Department’s immigration courts.

The reassigned DOJ lawyers were responsible for renewing and approving new applications for the program.

The only two employees who were not transferred are support staff who do not have the legal authority to approve or deny applications. Since the reassignment took place, the office has continued to receive between 40 and 60 new applications per week, one of the sources told CBS News.

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