Immigration Courts

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

Empty Benches: Underfunding of Immigration Courts Undermines Justice

Backlogs and delays benefit neither immigrants nor the government—keeping those with valid claims in limbo and often in detention, delaying removal of those without valid claims, and calling into question the integrity of the immigration justice system.

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All Immigration Courts Content

  • Fact Sheet

Providing Noncitizens With Their Day in Court

Publication Date: 
May 15, 2013
Our legal system rests upon the principle that everyone is entitled to due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. But for far too long, immigration courts have failed to provide...
  • Fact Sheet

Prosecutorial Discretion: A Statistical Analysis

Publication Date: 
June 11, 2012
In August 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would review more than 300,000 pending removal proceedings to identify low-priority cases meriting favorable exercises of...
  • Special Report

The Rush to Limit Judicial Review

Publication Date: 
September 1, 2006
Access to an independent judiciary with the power to hold the government accountable in its dealings with individuals is a founding principle of the United States. In contrast, imagine a system...
  • Fact Sheet

Crossing Borders Alone: The Treatment of Unaccompanied Children in the United States

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2003
Children who travel unaccompanied to the United States experience not only the trauma of family separation and the frequently predatory behavior of the traffickers who bring them, but also harsh...
  • Litigation

Stopping Policies Endangering Immigration Attorneys, Clients, and the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Council filed a lawsuit to close the immigration courts and ensure due process.
  • FOIA

FOIA Request Seeks Information About the Secretive Expansion of Immigration Courts

The American Immigration Council filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) seeking information relating to the expansion and...

  • FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit Demands Release of Information on the Institutional Hearing Program

This FOIA lawsuit sought information from the EOIR on the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP), which it runs jointly with ICE and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
  • Litigation

Standards for Avoiding Deportation Cannot Be Shrouded in Secrecy

We filed a FOIA request seeking statistical information, as well as policies and guidance, regarding Board of Immigration Appeals standards for issuing stays of removal. Because the government failed to respond, we're filing a lawsuit.
  • FOIA

Immigration Judge Performance Quotas FOIA Request

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—the...

  • Amicus Briefs

Matter of Castro-Tum

Publication Date: 
February 19, 2018
In the case, Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself questions related to administrative closure. This move by Sessions could signal an attempt to end administrative closure altogether—which could force over 350,000 immigrants back into immigration court, exacerbating the challenges of an already overburdened immigration court system.
  • Litigation

Challenging Immigration Judges' Refusal to Conduct Bond Hearings

This lawsuit challenges the actions of immigration judges in Charlotte, North Carolina who have refused to conduct bond hearings for people who properly file bond motions with the Charlotte Immigration Court.
  • Litigation

Challenging Obstacles to Meeting The One Year Filing Deadline for Filing An Asylum Application

This lawsuit challenged obstacles faced by asylum-seekers in satisfying the statutory requirement that they apply for asylum within one year of entering the United States.
  • Amicus Briefs

In re C-C-C- - Board of Immigration Appeals

Publication Date: 
August 17, 2015
The Council submitted an amicus brief arguing that immigration judges’ duty to develop the record is particularly important in pro se litigants’ cases, and that this duty requires immigration judges to provide noncitizens with information about the types of relief they are seeking and to actively elicit relevant information. For more information about this topic, contact the Council's legal department.
  • Amicus Briefs

Romero-Escobar v. Holder - Ninth Circuit

Publication Date: 
April 16, 2015
The Council and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild submitted an amicus brief in support of rehearing addressing immigration judges’ duty, in pro se cases, to fully inform litigants of the consequences of their legal decisions and to ensure that any waivers of appeal are knowing and intelligent. The Ninth Circuit denied the petition for rehearing in a non-precedent decision. For more information on this topic, contact the Council's legal department.
  • Practice Advisories

Preserving the One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Cases Stuck in the Immigration Court Backlog

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2015
The immigration courts’ unprecedented backlogs are creating procedural and substantive challenges for attorneys trying to comply with the One-Year Filing Deadline (OYFD) in asylum cases. This Practice Advisory discusses strategies and procedures for complying with the OYFD.
  • Practice Advisories

Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock

Publication Date: 
February 5, 2014
The American Immigration Council’s Practice Advisory, Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock, has been updated to reflect extensive changes to the manner in which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) determine an asylum applicant’s eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
  • Practice Advisories

Departure Bar to Motions to Reopen and Reconsider: Legal Overview and Related Issues

Publication Date: 
November 20, 2013

This Practice Advisory discusses the "departure bar" to motions to reopen and arguments adopted by circuit courts that have rejected or upheld the bar.

  • Practice Advisories

The Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine: FOIA and Petitions for Review

Publication Date: 
April 29, 2013
This Practice Advisory examines how the courts and the agencies apply the fugitive disentitlement doctrine which arises in the immigration context when courts of appeals use the doctrine to dismiss petitions for review and when government agencies invoke the doctrine to deny FOIA requests. This Practice Advisory examines how the courts and the agencies apply the doctrine in these contexts.
  • Practice Advisories

Return to the United States After Prevailing on a Petition for Review or Motion to Reopen

Publication Date: 
December 21, 2012
This Practice Advisory contains practical and legal suggestions for individuals seeking to return to the United States after they have prevailed on a petition for review or an administrative motion to reopen or reconsider to the immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals.
  • Practice Advisories

Dent v. Holder and Strategies for Obtaining Documents During Removal Proceedings

Publication Date: 
June 12, 2012
This Practice Advisory discusses Dent v. Holder, requiring the government to turn over copies of documents in an A-file where removability is contested, and offers strategies for making document requests pursuant to the INA and due process.
  • Practice Advisories

How To File A Petition For Rehearing, Rehearing En Banc And Hearing En Banc In An Immigration Case

Publication Date: 
April 29, 2011

This Practice Advisory discusses the procedures and requirements for filing a petition for rehearing, rehearing en banc or hearing en banc in the court of appeals.

  • Practice Advisories

Suggested Strategies for Remedying Missed Petition for Review Deadlines or Filings in the Wrong Court

Publication Date: 
April 20, 2005
This Practice Advisory addresses situations in which a court might excuse a late-filed petition for review and discusses other administrative and federal court options for remedying the failure to timely file a petition for review. The Advisory also provides an overview of 28 U.S.C. § 1631, which authorizes courts to transfer a case to cure a lack of jurisdiction when an action is filed in the wrong federal court.
  • Blog

New Report Reveals Widespread Failures by DHS To Prosecute Immigration Court Cases

August 3, 2022

Thousands of immigration court cases have been dismissed this year for an astonishing reason: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has failed to file the most basic paperwork with the courts....

  • Blog

I Visited Biden’s MPP Tent Courts. The Changes Since Trump Don’t Fix the Program’s Flaws.

April 21, 2022

More than two years after visiting the Trump administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) tent courts in Laredo, Texas, I returned to see how they had changed under the Biden...

  • Blog

ICE’s New Guidance to Government Attorneys Aims to Reduce Immigration Court Backlog

April 7, 2022

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a long-awaited memo on Sunday to guide ICE attorneys on exercising their prosecutorial discretion in immigration court. Authored by ICE’s...

  • Blog

The Board of Immigration Appeals Will Now Provide the Public with Access to Its Unpublished Decisions

February 15, 2022

Immigrants and their representatives will gain access to decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that were not publicly available. As a result of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the...

  • Blog

Immigration Court Comes Into the 21st Century with Electronic Filing for Attorneys

February 3, 2022

Immigration courts will soon take a big step into the digital age. On February 11, 2022, immigration attorneys, accredited representatives, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers, will...

  • Blog

New Report Amplifies Concerns About ‘Dedicated Docket’ for Asylum Seekers

January 20, 2022

When the Biden administration announced a new “dedicated docket” in immigration court for families seeking asylum at the border, many advocates raised concerns that the docket would forgo due...

  • Blog

New Memo to Immigration Judges Reaffirms Availability of Administrative Closure

December 17, 2021

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a memorandum last month providing guidance to immigration judges about administrative closure—a critical tool for docket management and...

  • Blog

Department Of Justice Urges Immigration Courts to Help Make Pro Bono Representation Easier

November 11, 2021

Research has long shown that access to a lawyer is one of the most important factors that determines whether an immigrant in removal proceedings will be able to remain in the United States. A new...

  • Blog

New Illinois Law Allows Public Defenders to Represent Immigrants Facing Deportation

September 2, 2021

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law in August that would allow the Cook County Public Defender to represent immigrants in the Chicago immigration court. The law is part of a movement to...

  • Blog

Attorney General Garland Brings Back Administrative Closure for Immigration Judges

July 16, 2021

Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated Matter of Castro-Tum on July 15, reviving a key tool to help judges prioritize cases in the overburdened immigration court system and allow people facing...

  • Press Release

Supreme Court Rebuffs 5th Circuit and Reaffirms the Importance of Federal Court Review

June 16, 2015

Washington, D.C.

  • Press Release

Second Circuit Narrowly Interprets Aggravated Felony Bar Under INA § 212(h)

January 22, 2015

Washington, D.C.—Recently, the U.S.

  • Press Release

Groups Ask Court to Block Deportation Hearings for Children Without Legal Representation

August 1, 2014

Washington D.C. – The American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Public

  • Press Release

Groups Sue Federal Government over Failure to Provide Legal Representation for Children

July 9, 2014
The American Civil Liberties Union, American Immigration Council, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Public Counsel, and K&L Gates LLP today filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of children who are challenging the federal government's failure to provide them with legal representation as it carries out deportation hearings against them.
  • Press Release

First Circuit Holds That Immigrants Can Pursue Cases From Outside the United States

October 1, 2013

Washington, D.C. - Last week, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that individuals who have been depor

  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks to Learn How Government Responds to Complaints of Misconduct by Immigration Judges

June 6, 2013

Washington, DC - The public has a right to know whether the government adequately investigates and resolves complaints alleging misconduct by immigration judges, the American Immig

  • Press Release

Bringing Fairness to the Immigration Justice System

May 15, 2013

Washington D.C. - Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee continues mark-up of S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

  • Press Release

Eleventh Circuit Holds that Filing Limitations on Motions to Reopen Are Subject to Equitable Tolling

April 23, 2013

For Immediate Release

  • Press Release

Council Challenges Denial of Motion to Suppress Evidence Obtained Through Unlawful Conduct

November 28, 2012

The American Immigration Council’s Legal Action Center argued that local police violated the Fourth Amendment by unnecessarily prolonging an individual’s detention based solely on the suspicion tha

  • Press Release

Council Commends Latest Ruling Allowing Immigration Judges to Consider Evidence of Hardship

November 13, 2012

Washington, D.C.—Last Friday, the U.S.

  • Blog

New Immigration Court Rule Would Protect Critical Docket Management Tools and Rescind Trump-Era Changes

September 14, 2023

The Department of Justice has proposed a new rule to protect immigration judges’ ability to administratively close removal proceedings and control their ever-expanding dockets. The proposed rule,...

  • Press Release

Newly Proposed Appellate Rule Would Overturn Trump-era Restrictions for Immigration Judges and Codify Judicial Discretion

September 8, 2023
On Thursday, the Biden administration proposed to rescind a Trump administration rule that stripped authority from immigration judges to manage their own dockets; here is our response.
  • Practice Advisories

Practice Alert: Overview of the Supreme Court's Decision in Pugin v. Garland

Publication Date: 
August 22, 2023
This practice advisory looks into the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court issued in Pugin v. Garland, 143 S. Ct. 1833 (2023). This immigration decision addressed the generic definition of the obstruction of justice aggravated felony ground at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S).
  • FOIA Litigation

Council Sues EOIR To Find Out Why Immigrants’ Court Hearings Are Moved Up on Short Notice

This FOIA suit seeks to compel EOIR to provide information about the immigration courts’ practice of advancing the date of immigrants’ hearings without much notice to them or their attorneys.
  • Practice Advisories

'Freedom of Information Act and Immigration Agencies

Publication Date: 
April 26, 2023
This Practice Advisory provides a broad overview of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), including how to make a FOIA request and how to appeal an inadequate response.
  • Practice Advisories

Nightingale v. USCIS and FOIA Requests for Immigration Case Files (A-Files)

Publication Date: 
April 17, 2023
This practice advisory explains 1) the ways to submit a FOIA request for a client’s immigration records, or A-File, 2) provides suggestions for avoiding agency rejections of the requests, and 3) identifies issues related to the Nightingale injunction that class counsel are monitoring.
  • Amicus Briefs

Council Files Amicus Brief with Supreme Court on Fair, Consistent Way to Interpret Aggravated Felony Deportation Ground

Publication Date: 
April 14, 2023
In this amicus brief the Council urges the Supreme Court to correct the BIA's mistake in not applying that criminal "rule of lenity" when interpreting the aggravated felony deportation ground.
  • Blog

What Is the Law? Under New Immigration Decision, the Answer Isn’t Always Clear

March 30, 2023

Written by Emma Winger and Raul Pinto of the American Immigration Council The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) published a decision last week seeking to address a seemingly basic question: what...

  • Blog

Immigration Agencies Violate FOIA, Harming Immigrants and Government Transparency Alike

March 17, 2023

Immigration agencies have a problem with transparency. With an immigration system as complex as ours and Freedom of Information Act offices that are chronically underfunded, it’s no surprise that...

  • Practice Advisories

A Guide to Obtaining Detention Records

Publication Date: 
December 13, 2022
Our comprehensive guide on obtaining detention records provides a brief overview of FOIA requirements, information about the types of records government agencies possess, tips about how to request those records, and an overview of what to expect after submitting the request.

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