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.

Federal Court Blocks Dramatic Immigration Courts Fee Increases

Federal Court Blocks Dramatic Immigration Courts Fee Increases

A federal court blocked nearly all of a Trump administration rule that would have drastically increased fees in immigration proceedings in which the government seeks to deport immigrants, many of whom are long-term residents of this country. Read More

It’s Time to Fix the Immigration Court System

It’s Time to Fix the Immigration Court System

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The backbone of a functioning justice system is due process. Yet over 1.25 million immigrants are fighting for their right to survive in an immigration… Read More

Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Immigration Courts Fee Increases and Access to Justice

Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Immigration Courts Fee Increases and Access to Justice

The American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Law Center and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new rule that drastically increases fees across-the-board in immigration proceedings. Read More

District Court Orders Immigration Agencies to Produce Immigration Case Files in First of Its Kind Class Action

District Court Orders Immigration Agencies to Produce Immigration Case Files in First of Its Kind Class Action

Judge William H. Orrick granted summary judgment in favor of two nationwide classes suing DHS, USCIS, and ICE for failing to timely produce the class members’ immigration files (A-Files). The court ordered the agencies to clear their backlogs by responding to the more than 40,000 thousand cases outstanding within 60 days. Read More

How Two Proposed Rules Make It Harder for Immigration Judges to Manage Their Docket

How Two Proposed Rules Make It Harder for Immigration Judges to Manage Their Docket

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has proposed two rules that would significantly decrease the due process rights of people in immigration court. Both rules would restrict judges’ abilities to manage their dockets and require them to push through cases at breakneck speeds, further transforming the immigration court system… Read More

Lawsuit Seeks to Uncover Secretive Expansion of Judicial Black Sites for Immigration Cases

Lawsuit Seeks to Uncover Secretive Expansion of Judicial Black Sites for Immigration Cases

A lawsuit filed against the EOIR—which oversees immigration courts—and the GSA seeks information on the expansion and creation of immigration adjudication centers, which were established as part of EOIR’s Strategic Caseload Reduction plan designed to accelerate removal proceedings at the expense of due process. Read More

The Government Wants Immigrants to Show Up for Court—But Neglects to Tell Them How to Attend Their Hearings

The Government Wants Immigrants to Show Up for Court—But Neglects to Tell Them How to Attend Their Hearings

Over 60,000 people at the southern border have been forced to return to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. As they get sent back, U.S. government officials give them insufficient information about how to attend their immigration court… Read More

The Value of Pro Bono Legal Services in Immigration Detention

The Value of Pro Bono Legal Services in Immigration Detention

Once a year, National Pro Bono Week celebrates the pro bono work of lawyers, paralegals, and law students. Pro bono legal services—which come at no cost—are integral for many people otherwise left with little to no resources in immigration detention. Access to counsel in immigration detention is paramount to… Read More

Department of Justice Eliminates Diversity and Inclusion Training for All Immigration Judges

Department of Justice Eliminates Diversity and Inclusion Training for All Immigration Judges

At a time when tensions over race in the United States are high, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in an October 8 memo that it will cancel all diversity and inclusion trainings for its staff of over 115,000 people. The decision could have a… Read More

New Data Disproves Trump Administration’s Push to End Administrative Closure

New Data Disproves Trump Administration’s Push to End Administrative Closure

The Trump administration’s justification for ending administrative closure is on thin ice. A new report casts doubt on key arguments presented in a proposed regulation that would end the practice of administrative closure. This tool allows immigration judges to temporarily suspend a hearing by taking it off of… Read More

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