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

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...

  • 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 (...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Blog

Lawsuit Filed Against DOJ and Judges in North Carolina Who Refuse to Hold Bond Hearings

January 18, 2018

In a sharp departure from the practice of immigration courts around the country, immigration judges in North Carolina are refusing to conduct bond hearings for detained immigrants who come before...

  • Blog

Already Facing a Backlog, Sessions Aims to Add 350,000 Cases to Immigration Courts

January 16, 2018

In a rare move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently referred an immigration case to himself, invoking a federal statute that allows attorneys general to reconsider cases decided by the Board...

  • Blog

Court Rules Detained Iraqis Are Entitled to Bond Hearings

January 5, 2018

In another victory for over 300 Iraqis whose deportation was halted last July, a Michigan district court ruled that they must be permitted to seek bond while their immigration cases are pending....

  • Blog

Mexican Nationals and Detained Individuals Are Uniquely Disadvantaged in Immigration Court, Data Finds

October 20, 2017

Immigrants facing deportation fare far better if they have a competent attorney representing them. For example, studies show that for asylum seekers, representation generally doubles the...

  • Blog

Chaos and Dysfunction at the Border: The Remain in Mexico Program Firsthand

September 9, 2019

The first thing many people forcibly returned to Mexico tell you is that they’re afraid. Afraid of the cartels, afraid of Mexican immigration officials, and afraid of the months of uncertainty....

  • 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...

  • Fact Sheet

Immigrants and Families Appear in Court

Publication Date: 
July 30, 2019
Comprehensive analyses of the government’s own data show that in the vast majority of situations, immigrants placed into removal proceedings appear for all of their court hearings.
  • 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...

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