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.
I Visited Biden’s MPP Tent Courts. The Changes Since Trump Don’t Fix the Program’s Flaws.
More than two years after visiting the Trump administration’s “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) tent courts in Laredo, Texas, I returned to see how they had changed under the Biden administration. While some changes have been made, they haven’t resolved the program’s biggest flaws, such as the danger asylum… Read More
ICE’s New Guidance to Government Attorneys Aims to Reduce Immigration Court Backlog
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a long-awaited memo on Sunday to guide ICE attorneys on exercising their prosecutorial discretion in immigration court. Authored by ICE’s Principal Legal Advisor Kerry Doyle, the memo’s stated goal is to ensure that ICE focuses its limited resources effectively and pursues… Read More
The Board of Immigration Appeals Will Now Provide the Public with Access to Its Unpublished Decisions
Immigrants and their representatives will gain access to decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) that were not publicly available. As a result of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Public Citizen Litigation Group on behalf of New York Legal Assistance Group, the BIA has agreed… Read More
Immigration Court Comes Into the 21st Century with Electronic Filing for Attorneys
Immigration courts will soon take a big step into the digital age. On February 11, 2022, immigration attorneys, accredited representatives, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers, will be required to electronically file immigration court paperwork in new immigration cases. This update won’t make the immigration court system fully paperless. Read More
New Report Amplifies Concerns About ‘Dedicated Docket’ for Asylum Seekers
When the Biden administration announced a new “dedicated docket” in immigration court for families seeking asylum at the border, many advocates raised concerns that the docket would forgo due process for efficiency’s sake. This was the case for the “rocket dockets” that existed under President Obama, which suffered from… Read More
New Memo to Immigration Judges Reaffirms Availability of Administrative Closure
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) issued a memorandum last month providing guidance to immigration judges about administrative closure—a critical tool for docket management and addressing an ever-growing immigration court backlog. EOIR Director David Neal issued the memo in response to the recent Attorney General decision in Matter… Read More
Department Of Justice Urges Immigration Courts to Help Make Pro Bono Representation Easier
Research has long shown that access to a lawyer is one of the most important factors that determines whether an immigrant in removal proceedings will be able to remain in the United States. A new policy from the Biden administration is aimed to increase access to counsel by making… Read More
New Illinois Law Allows Public Defenders to Represent Immigrants Facing Deportation
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a law in August that would allow the Cook County Public Defender to represent immigrants in the Chicago immigration court. The law is part of a movement to expand access to legal representation for people facing deportation. It comes on the heels of… Read More
Attorney General Garland Brings Back Administrative Closure for Immigration Judges
Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated Matter of Castro-Tum on July 15, reviving a key tool to help judges prioritize cases in the overburdened immigration court system and allow people facing deportation to pursue all available paths to legal status. In Matter of Cruz-Valdez, the attorney general reversed a decision… Read More
AG Garland Restores Judges’ Discretion to Manage an Overburdened Docket
Attorney General Merrick Garland today restored immigration judges’ ability to administratively close deportation cases. Read More
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