Immigration Courts
Immigration courts play a crucial role in ensuring that immigration laws are applied fairly and consistently, providing due process to those facing removal. Learn more about issues facing the courts today and explore the actions we're taking to ensure the rights of immigrants are upheld and legal integrity is maintained.
Court Says Class Action Challenging Abusive Conditions in Hieleras Can Move Forward
A federal court in Tucson, Arizona held that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) must answer allegations of horrific conditions experienced by individuals in Tucson Sector detention facilities (a.k.a. “hieleras”) along the southern border. In decisions handed down on January 11, the court decided that the case, Doe V. Read More
Second Circuit Requires Government to Notify Affected Parties Prior to Visa Petition Revocation
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 (USCIS) must provide notice of its intent to revoke an immigrant visa petition to those who… Read More
Operation Streamline: Ten Years of Criminalizing Immigrants
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. These prosecutions, often referred to as Operation Streamline, were intended to deter illegal entry and reentry. Instead, they have clogged up the… Read More
Giving the Immigration Facts a Fighting Chance
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 decades without meaningful upgrades to its immigration system. Current U.S. law does not provide sufficient… Read More
Diverse Coalitions Urge Supreme Court to Hear Case on Executive Action
Seven groups have filed amicus briefs in support of a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, requesting that the Court overturn the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to enjoin, or halt, the President’s 2014 deferred action initiatives. The briefs were… Read More
Texas Sues Federal Government Again, This Time Over Refugees
This week, Texas filed a lawsuit against the federal government and International Rescue Committee (IRC) to prevent the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family in the state. The family was originally scheduled to arrive in Texas today. The state is the first to take legal action to block refugees… Read More
Will the Immigration Court Backlog Finally Go Down?
Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)—a division within the Department of Justice (DOJ) department which houses the immigration courts—at an oversight hearing… Read More
The Battle Over Birth Certificates in Texas
In May, a group of undocumented parents, represented by South Texas Civil Rights Project and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas for denying their children, born in the state, birth certificates. The legal team also asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction—a… Read More
Immigration Courts Have New Rules Governing Legal Representation Processes
Last week, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced changes to the regulations governing legal representation in immigration court and at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Every year, thousands of immigrants are forced to represent themselves in immigration court. The changes are intended to increase representation of… Read More
Restrictionists Continue to Attack H-4 Work Authorization
Save Jobs USA—an organization comprised of IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers—still wants to overturn the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that allows certain H-4 spouses (i.e., spouses of H-1B workers) to apply for work authorization. Although Save Jobs was unsuccessful in stopping… Read More
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