AMNA NAWAZ: A sweeping new investigation# by the Associated Press is raising serious## questions about what's happening# inside America's immigration courts.

White House correspondent Liz Landers# has more on how the administration has## circumvented the asylum process.

LIZ LANDERS: Every day, all across## the country, asylum cases are being tossed out,## and asylum seekers exit the courtroom into the# waiting arms and cuffs of immigration officers,## that according to a new report from the# Associated Press headlined "Migrants## thought they were in a court for a routine# hearing.

Instead, it was a deportation trap."

One of its authors, Josh Goodman, joins us now.

Josh, thank you for joining the "News Hour."

JOSH GOODMAN, Associated Press: Thank you.

LIZ LANDERS: In reporting this story, you and you.. describe the scene as you watch migrants walk# into court and then walk out into a legal snare?

JOSH GOODMAN: Yes, we witnessed multiple# arrests over several months.

This was a## routine practice by which government attorneys# would go before a judge, dismiss a case,## which would typically be a good outcome for# someone trying to stay in the United States.

And as soon as they would leave the courtroom,# they would be arrested by ICE agents or federal## agents, frequently with masks.

Nationwide, it's# estimated that there were over 2,000 arrests## in this manner.

Some of the courts were quite# chaotic, arresting people in hallways.

People## were being trapped in elevators.

Journalists# were being rough-handled, scenes of fathers## being torn from their children, women begging# federal agents to let their husbands go.

These are people who wanted to follow the# rules.

They didn't have a criminal record.## They were making an asylum claim# and going through all the stages## that are required and were completely# blindsided by what happened to them.

LIZ LANDERS: What has changed in these immigration# courts under this new Trump administration?

JOSH GOODMAN: So these immigration courts# were kind of structurally flawed from the## very beginning.

They are not part of the# independent judiciary in the way that tax## court or federal court or any multiple# courts around the United States are.

They are part of the executive branch.

They# actually are part of the Justice Department.## They had a degree of professionalism over time# that was built up.

And these judges were allowed## to really rule like any other court.

But they were# always very vulnerable to some sort of takeover.

What we have seen now under the second# Trump administration, they are effectively## exploiting those vulnerabilities, issuing new# orders about what judges can and cannot rule## on.

And they're really narrowing the scope# that these judges have to decide the cases.

LIZ LANDERS: How do the attorneys and judges# within the immigration court system feel about## the role that they're playing under# this new Trump administration tactic?

JOSH GOODMAN: What I found is that overall# these are people who are very patriotic.## They signed up to work in the immigration system# because they wanted to protect America's borders,## root out the true people who need# asylum from some of the people who## are claiming it for nonlegal reasons# or economic refugees, for example.

And they did not sign up for this at# all.

One of the judges I talked to said,## this is really like deciding death penalty cases# in a traffic court environment, because they have## so few tools to actually mete out justice that --# and they have such a huge docket -- that they are## rushing through these cases without giving# them the due consideration that they need.

And I noticed in some of the text# messages between the federal agents## and the attorneys a great deal of empathy# and people kind of saying to themselves,## this is cruel and we don't# really want to be a part of this.

LIZ LANDERS: I was struck by that in# your reporting, that these attorneys## who are arguing in front of these# judges are in direct contact, it seems,## with the ICE agents who are waiting outside.

JOSH GOODMAN: This process starts about two weeks# in advance.

Every attorney is assigned a number of## people, like maybe 40 cases that day.

They have# to come up with a list for the client -- the## client here is ICE -- of people who they would --# quote, unquote -- call "amenable" to detention.

And then, on the day of the hearings, the# attorney and the ICE officer in the hallway are## coordinating almost in real time so that they# can identify what the individual looks like,## what kind of shirt, black shirt, a# white shirt, whatever they're wearing,## as well as if indeed the judge dismissed# the case, because that was the hook.

If the judge didn't dismiss the case,# they couldn't arrest these individuals.## If they're trying to reach a quota every day,# it's a lot easier to pick up people at court.

LIZ LANDERS: One of the stated reasons that# the Trump administration has adopted this## new policy is to work through the# asylum system's yearslong backlog.## Is it affecting the backlog and# is it affecting other systems?

JOSH GOODMAN: That's a great question.

The# backlog is a huge challenge.

It has been## for many, many years.

It keeps growing.

The# numbers themselves are not 100 percent clear.

The government has said that they have# managed to reduce the backlog from about## 4.2 million to 3.8 million cases, which is still# mind-boggling for only 600 judges nationwide.

But## they're also benefiting from the fact that# the border itself is sealed.

In other words,## there's not a lot of new people# coming in and clogging up the system.

But every time that there are arrests in the# streets, any time there are major roundups,## those people also get sort of# thrown back into the system,## and they can actually increase the numbers.# So, it's not entirely clear, but I think,## at a very minimum, what we can say is that the# backlog is not growing as fast as it once was.

LIZ LANDERS: So you find in this reporting that# a number of these judges, these immigration court## judges have been laid off.

You guys profile in# your story a judge in Ohio who had been fired.

Why are immigration judges getting fired right now# if there is such a backlog to process these cases?

JOSH GOODMAN: Yes, I mean, this is# a great conundrum.

There's about 90## judges that have been fired since February.# And the government, Trump administration,## very clearly says that they are not targeting# anyone from a viewpoint perspective.

But the data speaks for itself.# These judges were more favorable to## migrants than the national average.

LIZ LANDERS: Josh Goodman, thank# you so much for joining us.

JOSH GOODMAN: Thank you for having me.