http://www.wcpo.com/news/2005/local/11/ ... ation.html

Reported by: A.P.
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
11/15/2005 12:45:40 AM

The Department of Justice has approved an Immigration Court for Ohio to help alleviate a backlog of cases and provide speedier proceedings, the state's U.S. senators announced Monday.

In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last month, Republican Senators Mike DeWine and George Voinovich wrote that Ohio had about 3,000 pending immigration cases, most among the 27 states that don't have a court to handle them.

The court, expected to begin work in the summer, would end the need for Ohio cases to be heard through videoconferencing with the Immigration Court of Virginia, the senators said in a news release.

Immigration judges can better assess a person's claim during a face-to-face hearing, Voinovich said.

"The 3,000 individuals in our state currently awaiting decisions of their asylum cases deserve to receive timely and fair decisions," he said.

The Justice Department hasn't selected a location for the court, DeWine spokesman Jeff Sadosky said.