Immigration Courts

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

  • Blog

Tent Immigration Courthouses Are Being Built at the Texas Border

August 29, 2019

Immigration judges from across the country will soon be reassigned from their normal caseload to  preside over thousands of immigration cases along the U.S.-Mexico border, reportedly in an effort...

  • Blog

DOJ Moves to Further Politicize Immigration Court System

August 27, 2019

The Trump administration implemented more drastic changes to the U.S. immigration court system on Monday. A new rule gives the director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—a...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Moves to ‘Disband and Destroy’ Immigration Judges Union

August 12, 2019

Immigration judges around the country are denouncing the Trump administration’s latest move to “disband and destroy” their union. The judges’ union has been openly critical of the administration’s...

  • Blog

Rushing Immigration Court Cases Through ‘Rocket Dockets’ Deprives Families of Due Process

August 9, 2019

In an attempt to rush through immigrant families’ court cases, the government began implementing “rocket dockets” in September 2018 for parents and children who had recently entered the United...

  • Blog

Trump Administration’s Plan to Subject Hundreds of Thousands to Fast-Track Deportations Faces New Lawsuit

August 6, 2019

The Trump administration recently announced it would start applying a fast-tracked deportation process known as “expedited removal” to hundreds of thousands more people than ever before. People...

  • Blog

Attorney General Barr Rolls Back Asylum Protections for Families

July 31, 2019

Attorney General William Barr issued a decision that significantly restricts the ability of many current asylum seekers to win their cases on Monday. In Matter of L-E-A-, Barr issued a new...

  • Blog

Appeals Court Decision Means Hundreds of Migrants Were Unlawfully Convicted

July 26, 2019

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision clarifying limits on when federal prosecutors can charge immigrants with illegal entry and reentry into the United States this week.  Under...

  • Blog

Advocates Seek Information About a Secretive Program That Fast-Tracks Deportations

July 19, 2019

Since the mid-1980s, immigration courts have operated the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP). The program is designed to quickly deport people serving criminal sentences. Despite how long it’s...

  • Blog

Cutting Interpreters From Immigration Court Risks Due Process

July 12, 2019

Every day, hundreds of non-English speaking immigrants show up to court for initial hearings where they will see an immigration judge for the first time. But due to a new policy, many immigrants...

  • Blog

A New EOIR Rule Expands Powers of the Board of Immigration Appeals and Attorney General

July 9, 2019

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a final rule last week that expands the authority of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and Attorney General William Barr when...

  • Blog

New ‘Dedicated Docket’ Could Rush Asylum-Seeking Families Through Court

June 3, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 28 the creation of a new “Dedicated Docket” in immigration court for the claims of asylum-seeking...

  • Letters

Request to Repeal EOIR Rule Imposing Immigration Fee Increases

Publication Date: 
May 21, 2021

The American Immigration Council and over 150 organizations supporting people in proceedings before the Immigration Courts or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) sent a letter to the Executive...

  • Special Report

Tracking the Biden Agenda on Immigration Enforcement

Publication Date: 
May 20, 2021
This report analyzes the Biden administration's 100 days progress in reforming immigration enforcement and recommendations for how to best move forward.
  • Letters

Coalition Letter Urges Biden Administration to End Migrant Protection Protocols

Publication Date: 
May 18, 2021
The Council urged the Biden administration to improve MPP wind down processing and toy move ahead with a second phase to include all individuals subjected to MPP.
  • Blog

First Round of Biden Immigration Judges Fails to Increase Diversity

May 13, 2021

The Biden administration announced its first round of immigration judge appointments on May 6. Unfortunately, the immigration court appointments do not show the commitment to diversity that ...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Rejects Government Practice of ‘Notice-by-Installment’ in Niz-Chavez v. Garland

April 30, 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week in Niz-Chavez v. Garland that immigration law requires the government to give noncitizens complete notice about the initiation of their immigration court...

  • Blog

A Federal Defender System for Immigrants Is Long Overdue

February 26, 2021

The stakes in immigration court could not be higher—many people face the possibility of being permanently torn away from their families and communities in the United States. Others seeking...

  • Blog

In a Win for Transparency, Court Orders Board of Immigration Appeals to Make Immigration Court Decisions Public

February 18, 2021

The Second Circuit has found that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) must publish immigration decisions, reversing an earlier federal district court decision. The case challenged the...

  • Letters

Coalition Letter on Continued Issues in Immigration Courts During COVID-19 Pandemic

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2021
The American Immigration Council urged the Biden administration to address the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigration courts that continue to place everyone's health at risk during...
  • Letters

Coalition Letter to President Biden on Justice Department Reform of Immigration Courts and Enforcement Priorities

Publication Date: 
February 1, 2021
The American Immigration Council joined AILA and other organizations in calling for vital reforms to ensure fairness and integrity in the immigration courts and the enforcement system.

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