Immigration Courts

Recent Features

  • Fact Sheet
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

Jeff Sessions Affirms Anti-Immigrant Views at Confirmation Hearing

January 12, 2017

Senator Jeff Sessions, who has been nominated to be Attorney General by President-elect Donald Trump, endured a 10-and-a-half-hour confirmation hearing this week where he answered questions on a...

  • Blog

Asylum Free Zones in the U.S. Examined by Inter-American Commission

December 20, 2016

Entire jurisdictions in the United States have become so hostile to asylum seekers and their representatives that the U.S. government, and its immigration court system, is failing to deliver on...

  • Blog

Jeff Sessions Nomination for Attorney General is Highly Concerning to Future of Immigration Policy

November 18, 2016
Senator Sessions has led the fight against immigration reform at every turn during his 20 years in the Senate.
  • Blog

How the Immigration Court Backlog Would Skyrocket Under Donald Trump’s Plan

November 16, 2016

For more than a decade, the immigration court system has struggled with an enormous backlog. The latest figures from  (TRAC) record the backlog at an all-time high of 521,676 as of the end of...

  • Blog

Ninth Circuit Finds Court Has No Authority to Hear Lawsuit Seeking Access to Counsel for Children

September 29, 2016

In 2014, a legal challenge was mounted against the federal government for its failure to provide legal representation to indigent children in deportation proceedings. The case, F.L.B.. v. Lynch...

  • Blog

Immigrants’ Access to Legal Representation Is Unequal and the Consequences Are Serious

September 28, 2016

Nationally, only 37 percent of all immigrants had legal representation, and only 14 percent of immigrants in detention had a lawyer. In a paper issued today, Access to Counsel in Immigration Court...

  • Blog

Court Rejects Government Attempt to Redact Names of Immigration Judges

August 9, 2016

This summer, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in its lawsuit seeking the disclosure of unredacted versions of...

  • Blog

Despite Immigration Judge Hiring, Court Backlogs Continue to Grow

July 27, 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 496,704 cases in the...

  • Blog

New Book Documents 10 Years of Operation Streamline

July 20, 2016

For more than 10 years, the federal government has operated a program in federal courts along the Southwest border targeting unauthorized border crossers for criminal prosecution. The program,...

  • Blog

DHS and Immigration Courts Sued Over One-Year Asylum Deadline

July 6, 2016

Immigration law imposes a one-year deadline, beginning upon arrival in the United States, within which an asylum seeker must apply for asylum. With very limited exceptions, an individual who...

  • Blog

Federal Court to Consider Again Whether Children Can Be Deported Without Attorneys

December 10, 2018

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in C.J.L.G. v. Whitaker, a case that addresses whether children facing deportation have the right to a court-appointed attorney....

  • Blog

What Matthew Whitaker’s Designation as Acting Attorney General Means for Immigration

December 3, 2018

Following Jeff Sessions’ resignation as Attorney General, President Trump named Matthew Whitaker to replace him—a move that has already inspired multiple lawsuits that contend the designation was...

  • Blog

Disarray in Baltimore Immigration Court Is Emblematic of Systemic Issues

October 12, 2018

Overwhelmed immigration courts and massive court backlogs have long been a nation-wide problem. Hearings are regularly scheduled years in advance—in some jurisdictions, judges are scheduling...

  • Blog

As Immigration Court Quotas Go Into Effect, Many Call For Reform

October 1, 2018

On October 1, immigration judges around the country will arrive at work and face a daunting new task; complete 700 removal cases in the next year or risk official sanction. The new court quotas...

  • Blog

Sessions Limits Immigration Judges’ Ability to Dismiss Deportation Cases

September 26, 2018

In his latest attempt to micromanage immigration judges and ensure a maximum number of deportations, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision last week restricting a judge’s ability to...

  • Blog

In a Speech to New Immigration Judges, Attorney General Sessions Attacks Immigration Lawyers and Judicial Independence

September 11, 2018

Rather than encourage the new class of 44 immigration judges to be fair and impartial adjudicators in his Monday morning speech, Attorney General Jeff Sessions advocated for a deeply flawed...

  • Blog

New Government Study Attempts to Undermine Legal Orientation Program for Detained Immigrants

September 7, 2018

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released “Phase I” of its review of the federally-funded Legal Orientation Program (LOP) this week. The review came after Attorney General Jeff Sessions attempted...

  • Blog

Sessions’ Decision Places New Burdens on Individuals in Removal Proceedings and Immigration Judges

August 21, 2018

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a decision on continuances in immigration court that both recognized their importance and decried their alleged overuse.  This decision will have widespread...

  • Blog

Immigration Judges’ Union Fights for Judicial Independence

August 17, 2018

The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), the union that represents the nation’s immigration judges, is challenging the government’s decision to remove an immigration judge from a...

  • Special Report

Detaining Families

Publication Date: 
August 16, 2018
This report presents findings from the first empirical analysis of asylum adjudication in family detention. Drawing on government data from over 18,000 immigration court proceedings initiated between...

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