Pod Save the World Introducing: Runaway Country with Alex Wagner
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Oct 23, 2025 
Anam Raman Petit, a former immigration court judge, shares gripping insights on courtroom conditions, where detentions instill fear and chaos disrupt due process. She discusses how recent DOJ policies have intensified the immigration court backlog and eroded legal protections. Joining her, Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor, delves into the politicization of the DOJ and the implications for the rule of law. Together, they explore how these dynamics impact ordinary Americans seeking justice amid a turbulent political landscape.
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System Overloaded, Not Fixed By Firings
- The immigration court system cannot handle current caseloads: roughly 600 judges for 3.8 million cases.
- Firing judges and flooding courts with cases creates a structural collapse rather than solving backlog problems.
Detention During A Final Hearing
- Anam Raman Petit described a respondent being detained after showing up for what should have been a final hearing.
- She had to comfort the man's sobbing mother and then explain she had no power to locate him or stop the detention.
Breaking The System To Change Rules
- Replacing experienced immigration judges with less-qualified personnel appears intended to break the system and enable harsher rules.
- The resulting