Immigration Courts

Recent Features

Immigrants in immigration court do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. The lack of legal representation has a profound impact on immigrants’ outcomes in removal proceedings.

READ MORE

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.

READ MORE

All Immigration Courts Content

  • Fact Sheet

Children in Immigration Court: Over 95 Percent Represented by an Attorney Appear in Court

Publication Date: 
May 16, 2016

Over the past few years, thousands of children—many fleeing horrific levels of violence in Central America—have arrived at the U.S. border in need of protection. Most children are placed in...

  • Fact Sheet

Taking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court

Publication Date: 
July 29, 2014
As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently fail to appear for proceedings and thus proposed...
  • Fact Sheet

Providing Noncitizens With Their Day in Court

Publication Date: 
May 15, 2013
Our legal system rests upon the principle that everyone is entitled to due process of law and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. But for far too long, immigration courts have failed to provide...
  • Fact Sheet

Prosecutorial Discretion: A Statistical Analysis

Publication Date: 
June 11, 2012
In August 2011, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would review more than 300,000 pending removal proceedings to identify low-priority cases meriting favorable exercises of...
  • Special Report

The Rush to Limit Judicial Review

Publication Date: 
September 1, 2006
Access to an independent judiciary with the power to hold the government accountable in its dealings with individuals is a founding principle of the United States. In contrast, imagine a system...
  • Fact Sheet

Crossing Borders Alone: The Treatment of Unaccompanied Children in the United States

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2003
Children who travel unaccompanied to the United States experience not only the trauma of family separation and the frequently predatory behavior of the traffickers who bring them, but also harsh...
  • Litigation

Stopping Government Interference to Attorney Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers

This lawsuit was filed to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement from denying detainees the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone.
  • Amicus Briefs

Council Submits Amicus Brief on Two-Step Notice Practice to Supreme Court in Niz-Chavez v. Barr

Publication Date: 
August 13, 2020
This amicus brief in Niz-Chavez v. Barr urges the Supreme Court to reject the government’s practice of issuing notice of the time and place of a noncitizen’s removal proceedings in multiple documents over time, instead of in the initial Notice to Appear (NTA), as mandated by Congress.
  • FOIA

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.
  • Litigation

Stopping Policies Endangering Immigration Attorneys, Clients, and the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The Council filed a lawsuit to close the immigration courts and ensure due process.
  • FOIA

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...

  • Advocacy

Statement for the House Judiciary Committee on "Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts"

January 29, 2020

The American Immigration Council submitted a written statement to the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship for a January 29, 2020, hearing on "Courts in Crisis:...

  • FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit Demands Release of Information on the Institutional Hearing Program

This FOIA lawsuit sought information from the EOIR on the Institutional Hearing Program (IHP), which it runs jointly with ICE and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
  • Advocacy

How the El Paso Immigration Court Fails to Uphold Due Process

April 3, 2019

This complaint highlights systemic due process violations that are undermining justice for detained immigrants called before judges at the El Paso Service Processing Center (SPC) Immigration Court...

  • Litigation

Standards for Avoiding Deportation Cannot Be Shrouded in Secrecy

We filed a FOIA request seeking statistical information, as well as policies and guidance, regarding Board of Immigration Appeals standards for issuing stays of removal. Because the government failed to respond, we're filing a lawsuit.
  • Amicus Briefs

Matter of Negusie

Publication Date: 
December 3, 2018
In Matter of Negusie, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself the question of whether coercion and duress are relevant to the application of the immigration statute’s persecutor bar for individuals seeking asylum or withholding of removal
  • Practice Advisories

Voluntary Departure

Publication Date: 
December 20, 2017
This Practice Advisory addresses when the voluntary departure period runs and the events that cause automatic termination of a voluntary departure order; the serious consequences that result from failing to depart; and when these consequences do not apply.
  • Practice Advisories

Motions to Suppress in Removal Proceedings: A General Overview

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2017
This Practice Advisory provides a general overview of motions to suppress, a tool used to prevent the introduction of evidence obtained by federal immigration officers in violation of the Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and related provisions of federal law.
  • Practice Advisories

Motions to Suppress in Removal Proceedings: Cracking Down on Fourth Amendment Violations

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2017
This Practice Advisory discusses some of the legal issues that may arise when noncitizens in removal proceedings move to suppress evidence obtained through constitutional violations by state and local officers seeking to enforce immigration law.
  • Practice Advisories

Motions to Suppress in Removal Proceedings: Fighting Back Against Unlawful Conduct by U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2017
This Practice Advisory addresses some of the legal issues that may arise when noncitizens in removal proceedings seek to suppress evidence unlawfully obtained by Customs and Border Protection officers.
  • Practice Advisories

Preserving the One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Cases Stuck in the Immigration Court Backlog

Publication Date: 
December 1, 2015
The immigration courts’ unprecedented backlogs are creating procedural and substantive challenges for attorneys trying to comply with the One-Year Filing Deadline (OYFD) in asylum cases. This Practice Advisory discusses strategies and procedures for complying with the OYFD.
  • Practice Advisories

Inspection and Entry at a Port of Entry: When is there an Admission?

Publication Date: 
October 22, 2015
This Practice Advisory focuses on the meaning of “admission” in four very specific, but frequently encountered situations: a “wave-through” at a port of entry; and entry based on misrepresentation; an entry based on a false claim to U.S. citizenship; and the grant of TPS as an admission for purposes of adjustment of status.
  • Practice Advisories

Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock

Publication Date: 
February 5, 2014
The American Immigration Council’s Practice Advisory, Employment Authorization and Asylum: Strategies to Avoid Stopping the Asylum Clock, has been updated to reflect extensive changes to the manner in which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) determine an asylum applicant’s eligibility for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
  • Practice Advisories

Departure Bar to Motions to Reopen and Reconsider: Legal Overview and Related Issues

Publication Date: 
November 20, 2013

This Practice Advisory discusses the "departure bar" to motions to reopen and arguments adopted by circuit courts that have rejected or upheld the bar.

  • Practice Advisories

The Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine: FOIA and Petitions for Review

Publication Date: 
April 29, 2013
This Practice Advisory examines how the courts and the agencies apply the fugitive disentitlement doctrine which arises in the immigration context when courts of appeals use the doctrine to dismiss petitions for review and when government agencies invoke the doctrine to deny FOIA requests. This Practice Advisory examines how the courts and the agencies apply the doctrine in these contexts.
  • Practice Advisories

Return to the United States After Prevailing on a Petition for Review or Motion to Reopen

Publication Date: 
December 21, 2012
This Practice Advisory contains practical and legal suggestions for individuals seeking to return to the United States after they have prevailed on a petition for review or an administrative motion to reopen or reconsider to the immigration court or Board of Immigration Appeals.
  • Blog

New Memo to Immigration Judges Reaffirms Availability of Administrative Closure

December 17, 2021

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...

  • Blog

Department Of Justice Urges Immigration Courts to Help Make Pro Bono Representation Easier

November 11, 2021

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...

  • Blog

New Illinois Law Allows Public Defenders to Represent Immigrants Facing Deportation

September 2, 2021

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...

  • Blog

Attorney General Garland Brings Back Administrative Closure for Immigration Judges

July 16, 2021

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...

  • Blog

DHS Issues New Guidance for Government Attorneys in Immigration Court Proceedings

June 9, 2021

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) issued a new memorandum on May 27 that provides guidance on how its attorneys can and should exercise...

  • Blog

New ‘Dedicated Docket’ Could Rush Asylum-Seeking Families Through Court

June 3, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 28 the creation of a new “Dedicated Docket” in immigration court for the claims of asylum-seeking...

  • Blog

First Round of Biden Immigration Judges Fails to Increase Diversity

May 13, 2021

The Biden administration announced its first round of immigration judge appointments on May 6. Unfortunately, the immigration court appointments do not show the commitment to diversity that ...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Rejects Government Practice of ‘Notice-by-Installment’ in Niz-Chavez v. Garland

April 30, 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week in Niz-Chavez v. Garland that immigration law requires the government to give noncitizens complete notice about the initiation of their immigration court...

  • Blog

A Federal Defender System for Immigrants Is Long Overdue

February 26, 2021

The stakes in immigration court could not be higher—many people face the possibility of being permanently torn away from their families and communities in the United States. Others seeking...

  • Blog

In a Win for Transparency, Court Orders Board of Immigration Appeals to Make Immigration Court Decisions Public

February 18, 2021

The Second Circuit has found that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) must publish immigration decisions, reversing an earlier federal district court decision. The case challenged the...

  • Press Release

New Report Reveals the Impact of COVID-19 Across the US Immigration System

May 27, 2020
The American Immigration Council's latest report examines major changes to the U.S. immigration system in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unique challenges the pandemic has created for noncitizens and government agencies.
  • Press Release

New Documents Reveal Immigration Judge Hiring Plan Designed to Stack the Courts, Prioritize Politics Over Justice

May 4, 2020
The American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Council released documents obtained via Freedom of Information Act litigation revealing the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review’s updated hiring plan for immigration judges and appellate immigration judges.
  • Press Release

Plaintiffs Will Continue Fight to Halt Dangerous and Unconstitutional Practices by EOIR and ICE

April 28, 2020
Today’s Court decision denying the emergency temporary restraining order in NIPNLG, et al., v. EOIR, et al., is deeply disappointing. This lawsuit was brought against the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Temporary Restraining Order Requested to Stop Dangerous EOIR and ICE Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 8, 2020
Immigration groups moved for an emergency temporary restraining order against the Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in order to protect the health of immigration attorneys, immigrants, and the public from the impact of dangerous and unconstitutional policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks Halt to Dangerous and Unconstitutional Policies Endangering Immigration Attorneys, Clients, and the Public During the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 30, 2020
This lawsuit demands the government take immediate actions to prioritize the health and safety of attorneys and clients at risk in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Press Release

Citing Coronavirus Risks and a New Irresponsible Policy for the Immigration Courts, Groups Urge Protecting the Health and Safety of Government Employees, Lawyers, and Immigrants

March 23, 2020
In a letter calling for prioritizing the health and safety of government employees, detained individuals, and their legal representatives amid the COVID-19 outbreak, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, together with the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and more than 100 other organizations, urged the U.S. Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to immediately authorize the robust and automatic use of remote options for immigration court appearances and attorney-client meetings.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks to Uncover Problematic Board of Immigration Appeals’ Hiring Procedures

March 19, 2020
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court to compel the Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy to release records about the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s hiring procedures for appellate immigration judges and Board of Immigration Appeals Members. The lawsuit seeks to understand current hiring procedures for the BIA—the highest administrative body for interpreting and applying immigration laws—after reports came to light of anti-immigrant bias in the hiring process.
  • Press Release

Federal Appeals Court Rejects Trump Administration’s Efforts to Deny Bond Hearings to Asylum Seekers

July 22, 2019
A federal appeals court ruled that asylum seekers must continue to receive bond hearings while the court considers the Trump administration’s appeal to deny bond hearings with procedural protections to asylum seekers.
  • Press Release

Expansion of Fast-Track Deportations Jeopardizes Countless Vulnerable Individuals and Fair Day in Court

July 22, 2019
Expanding expedited removal in this manner will create a 'show me your papers' regime of immigration enforcement where individuals—including any U.S. citizens they encounter—will be forced to prove they should not be deported. The American Immigration Council will not stand by idly as the Trump administration continues its unlawful attacks on our communities. We will see the Trump administration in court
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks Clarity on How Immigrants Serving Time Are Deported From The United States

July 19, 2019
The American Immigration Council, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Immigrant Defense Project filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court to compel the government to release records and data about the Department of Justice’s Institutional Hearing Program, an obscure program that expedites the deportation of immigrants who are serving time for criminal offenses. The lawsuit seeks to understand how the IHP operates, where it operates, and who it targets.
  • Blog

Immigration Agencies Violate FOIA, Harming Immigrants and Government Transparency Alike

March 17, 2023

Immigration agencies have a problem with transparency. With an immigration system as complex as ours and Freedom of Information Act offices that are chronically underfunded, it’s no surprise that...

  • Blog

71% of Immigrants Win Their Cases Thanks to Pro Bono Volunteers with the Immigration Justice Campaign

October 27, 2022

Every year at the end of October, legal service providers come together to celebrate Pro Bono Week. It is a dedicated opportunity to acknowledge the amazing work that our volunteers do—work that...

  • Blog

What Does Legal Representation Look Like in Immigration Courts Across the Country?

August 23, 2022

Written by Emily Creighton of the American Immigration Council and Jennifer Whitlock of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.  It might seem like a straightforward statistic: 44% of...

  • Blog

New Report Reveals Widespread Failures by DHS To Prosecute Immigration Court Cases

August 3, 2022

Thousands of immigration court cases have been dismissed this year for an astonishing reason: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has failed to file the most basic paperwork with the courts....

  • Comments

Comment on Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum

Publication Date: 
May 26, 2022
The Council submitted a comment urging the Biden administration to reconsider the expedited timeframe in the interim final rule that will significantly hinder asylum seeker access to due process.
  • Comments

Comments Recommend USCIS Clarify FOIA Request Process

Publication Date: 
May 5, 2022
The Council submitted comments on USCIS suggested changes to Form G-639 and Instructions. The G-639 Form and Instructions are used to submit FOIA requests to USCIS by mail.
  • Practice Advisories

The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders

Publication Date: 
April 25, 2022

This practice advisory provides a basic overview of motions to reopen removal orders that are filed with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which consists of immigration courts...

  • Blog

I Visited Biden’s MPP Tent Courts. The Changes Since Trump Don’t Fix the Program’s Flaws.

April 21, 2022

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...

  • FOIA

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.
  • Blog

ICE’s New Guidance to Government Attorneys Aims to Reduce Immigration Court Backlog

April 7, 2022

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...

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending