Immigration Courts

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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

  • Blog

Despite Obstacles, A Majority of Child Migrants Appear in Immigration Court

May 17, 2016

Reuters reported last week that the Obama Administration would begin to round up Central American women and children, including “minors who have entered the country without a guardian and since...

  • Blog

Immigration Court Backlog Shows No Sign of Shrinking

April 22, 2016

The latest figures show that the number of cases pending in immigration court continue to grow. According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), there were 486,206 cases in the...

  • Blog

District Court Holds Hearing in Case About Kids’ Right to Attorneys in Immigration Court

March 25, 2016

A federal district court in Seattle heard arguments in a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to ensure that all children in immigration court have legal representation. The case received a flurry of...

  • Blog

Judge Who Believes Toddlers Can Represent Themselves, Only Part of the Problem in the Battle over Representation for Kids

March 9, 2016

Over the past week, several media outlets reported that Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Jack Weil claimed that he could teach immigration law to three- and four-year-old children such...

  • Blog

D.C. Circuit Hears Case Seeking Records Regarding Immigration Judge Misconduct

February 23, 2016

Last Tuesday, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which seeks the disclosure of...

  • Blog

D.C. Circuit Hears Case Seeking Records Regarding Immigration Judge Misconduct

February 23, 2016

Last Tuesday, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which seeks the disclosure of...

  • Blog

Court Says Class Action Challenging Abusive Conditions in Hieleras Can Move Forward

January 13, 2016

A federal court in Tucson, Arizona held that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must answer allegations of horrific conditions experienced by...

  • Blog

Second Circuit Requires Government to Notify Affected Parties Prior to Visa Petition Revocation

January 8, 2016

In a breakthrough decision issued at the end of last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which sits in New York City, ruled that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (...

  • Blog

Operation Streamline: Ten Years of Criminalizing Immigrants

December 15, 2015

For the last 10 years, in federal courts across the Southwest border, the federal government has systematically prosecuted unlawful border crossers in group hearings with little-to-no due process...

  • Blog

Giving the Immigration Facts a Fighting Chance

December 14, 2015

As we move through the 2016 presidential election cycle, the issue of immigration will continue to be a central topic of the debate. The United States is at a tipping point after more than two...

  • Blog

Justice Department Will Not Halt Legal Orientation Program for Detained Immigrants, Reversing Course for Now

April 25, 2018

Just two weeks after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a suspension of the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified today that DOJ will reverse course and...

  • Blog

Department of Justice Ignores Its Own Evaluators’ Recommendations on Immigration Courts

April 23, 2018

A newly-released document obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is making radical changes to the immigration court system that...

  • 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...

  • Blog

The Justice Department Is Halting Its Legal Advice Program for Detained Immigrants

April 11, 2018

In its latest attack on due process and access to counsel in the immigration court system, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has decided to suspend its Legal Orientation Program (...

  • Press Release

DOJ Cuts Immigrants’ Access to Counsel in Latest Attack on Due Process

April 11, 2018
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), part of the Department of Justice (DOJ), announced its intention to cancel the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) despite its immensely positive impact on judicial efficiency and fundamental fairness, and Congress’ express instruction to continue such programming, along with the provision of funding in the fiscal year 2018 appropriations bill, recently signed by the president.
  • Blog

Immigration Judge Quotas Could Result in Assembly Line Justice

April 4, 2018

In a controversial move, the Department of Justice recently announced new case completion quotas for immigration judges. These new quotas will result in time constraints and pressure for judges to...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Finds No Right to a Bond Hearing Under Immigration Law

February 28, 2018

Indefinitely detained immigrants facing possible deportation lost ground in their fight for the right to a bond hearing following a Supreme Court decision on Tuesday. Their sole remaining weapon...

  • 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.
  • Blog

Trump’s Budget Proposal Would Increase Harsh Immigration Enforcement

February 13, 2018

President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which doubles down on his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The proposed budget seeks to fund the...

  • Blog

Government Shuts Down While Negotiations Continue on Dream Act, but Most Immigration Functions Continue

January 20, 2018

With the national conversation focused squarely on Dreamers, Congress was unable to find common ground on a budget deal and has shut down the U.S. Government. Congressional leadership decided not...

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