Immigration judges form the NAIJ union to protect their independence

Immigration judges established the National Association of Immigration Judges in 1979, seeking collective bargaining rights and professional independence from INS supervisors who oversaw both enforcement and adjudication. The union affiliated with the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers in 1998, gaining formal federal labor recognition. NAIJ pursued ethics codes, tenure protections, and the right to speak publicly about immigration court conditions — rights the executive branch would repeatedly contest.