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.
Fifth Circuit Hears Major Case Over Right to Challenge Immigration Detention
Case will determine whether longtime U.S. residents can be detained without a meaningful opportunity to ask a judge for release NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, Sept. 24 2026 — On Thursday, September 24, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard arguments in a major case… Read More
Defending the Due Process Right of a Previously Paroled Noncitizen to Challenge His Re-Detention
Morozov v. Warden, Lawrence County Jail asks whether a previously released asylum seeker can be detained again without a hearing or individualized review under the Fifth Amendment. Read More
The Trump Administration Makes It Harder for Unaccompanied Children to Navigate the Immigration Courts By Attacking Their Right to Counsel
A large federal contract that had funded the nonprofit legal organizations representing more than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children expired on July 31. The end of the contract impacts a nationwide network of nearly 100 legal service providers that help migrant children navigate one of the… Read More
Defending the Constitutional Right of Longtime Residents to Challenge Their Detention
In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice abandoned three decades of agency practice and judicial understanding by arguing that the mandatory detention provision at 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(2) applies to all noncitizens who entered the United States without inspection. Notably, over 400 federal district… Read More
Council Submits FOIA Request Seeking Information on Immigration Judge Training
In February 2025, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) began firing over 100 immigration judges without reason. These judges had completed EOIR’s training program before investiture, and many of them had years of experience adjudicating complex immigration cases. On August 28, however, EOIR submitted a final rule that… Read More
Federal Court Blocks Significant Pieces of Administration’s Sweeping Immigration Appeals Rule That Eliminates Meaningful Judicial Review
Order Halts Implementation of Dangerous Steps that Would Have Dismantled Safeguards at the Board of Immigration Appeals Washington, D.C. — The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order late last night in Amica Center for Immigrant Rights et al. v. Executive Office for Immigration… Read More
Legal Services Organizations Sue to Block Sweeping Immigration Appeals Rule That Eliminates Meaningful Judicial Review
Emergency Filing Seeks Court Order to Halt Implementation of Interim Final Rule that Dismantles Safeguards at the Board of Immigration Appeals Washington, D.C., Feb. 26, 2026 — Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Brooklyn Defender Services, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, HIAS, the American Immigration Council, and National… Read More
DOJ Moves to End Administrative Immigration Appeals to Speed Up Mass Deportations
The Department of Justice (DOJ), which oversees the immigration court and administrative appeals system, published an interim final rule on February 6 that will effectively end appellate review of many immigration judge decisions. The rule goes into effect March 9, and, while it won’t impact the close to… Read More
Council Seeks Information on How USCIS Is Processing FOIA Requests for Immigration Records
An Alien File (A-File) is a record that holds a noncitizens’ immigration history. It includes copies of forms they may have filed, information about their immigration arrests (if they have had encounters with immigration enforcement), and some immigration court records. This file is crucial to immigrants and their legal… Read More
As ICE Courthouse Arrests Continue, Few Immigration Courts Resist Pushing Cases Into Expedited Removal
Immigration courthouse arrests and dismissals have become a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s mass deportation plan. Since May 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys have been asking immigration judges to dismiss noncitizens’ immigration court cases to funnel them into expedited removal—a faster deportation process with… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
