Kansas, District 1
Seeking Records from Immigration Courts about Processing FOIA and Records of Proceedings Requests
The Council seeks records from immigration courts about how they process record requests and comply with proactive disclosure requirements. This information will help advocates ensure that noncitizens in removal proceedings have access to their records and that the courts are complying with record disclosure requirements. Read More
Seeking Records on Why Immigrants’ Hearings Are Being Moved Up Without Much Notice to Them or Their Lawyers
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeks records from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) about its practice of moving up the date of immigrants’ individual hearings with little to no notice to their lawyers. Read More
Council Seeks Information About Access to Immigration Records in Removal Proceedings
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeks information about the immigration courts' implementation of the Dent v. Holder decision and how ICE is complying. Read More
Investigating the Immigration Court System
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeks to uncover information about the hiring process for the position of Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) and the influence of these judges over the immigration courts. Read More
Seeking Information About Board of Immigration Appeals’ Treatment of Motions to Reconsider
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed to learn more about trends in the Board of Immigration Appeal’s treatment of motions to reconsider orders of removal. Read More
Uncovering Policies on Immigration Court Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration courts have frequently closed without explanation or notice to the public. This Freedom of Information Act request seeks records on the government's response. Read More
FOIA Request Seeks Information About the Secretive Expansion of Immigration Courts
The American Immigration Council filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) seeking information relating to the expansion and creation of new immigration courts. The FOIA request was filed along with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC)… Read More
Board of Immigration Appeals Interpretation of Stay of Removal FOIA Request
With the end of prosecutorial discretion under the Trump administration, noncitizens living in the United States with a removal order face quick, and almost certain deportation unless they have access to legal safeguards that could prevent their deportation. Because transparency and due process are the cornerstones of a… Read More
Immigration Judge Performance Quotas FOIA Request
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)—the Department of Justice agency that houses the immigration courts—on December 13, 2017. The FOIA requests seek information about performance measures imposed on immigration judges,… Read More
Video Hearings in Immigration Court FOIA
Beginning in the mid-1990s, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) began using video hearing equipment in immigration courts across the country. As a result, frequently a noncitizen facing removal is deprived of the opportunity to appear in person before an immigration judge. Video hearings are more common where a noncitizen is detained, though many non-detained individuals are subjected to video hearings as well. EOIR uses video hearings for both preliminary hearings (“master calendar hearings”) and merits hearings (“individual hearings”). In February 2012, the American Immigration Council submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to EOIR asking for records related to video teleconferencing (VTC). EOIR produced two sets of records. Read More
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