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.
National Immigrant Rights Organizations Sue the Federal Government Over Withheld Records on ICE Arrests in Immigration Courts
Washington, D.C, October 15 — Today, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the American Immigration Council, and Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, demanding the release of critical records the government has unlawfully withheld about arrests at immigration courts and the dismissal… Read More
ICE Attorneys Increasingly Request Case Dismissals at Immigration Court Hearings—and Immigration Judges Grant Them on the Spot
As part of the Trump administration’s larger efforts to carry out its mass deportation agenda, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys—who represent the government in removal proceedings—are increasingly asking immigration judges to dismiss noncitizens’ immigration court cases. Rolled out nationwide around May 20 in conjunction with… Read More
BIA Decision Strips Immigration Judges of Bond Authority, All but Guaranteeing Mandatory Detention for Undocumented Immigrants
On September 5, the Trump administration took yet another step to punish undocumented people in the United States. In Matter of Yajure Hurtado, the Board of Immigration Appeals proclaimed that any person who crossed the border unlawfully and is later taken into immigration detention is no longer eligible… Read More
Trump Administration Appoints Hundreds of Unqualified Military Lawyers to Serve as Immigration Judges
This week, the Department of Defense (DOD) approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges—which would double the total number of immigration judges at the Department of Justice. This is yet another example of the Trump administration diverting military resources away from national… Read More
Seeking Records about Immigration Court Arrests and Dismissals
In the middle of May 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) began to arrest noncitizens at immigration courts throughout the country at their court hearings. Initially, the agency targeted only those whose immigration cases an immigration judge had just dismissed… Read More
Senate Approves Unprecedented Spending for Mass Deportation, Ignoring What’s Broken in our Immigration System
Washington DC, July 1, 2025 — On July 1, the U.S. Senate passed a budget reconciliation bill that includes an unprecedented allocation of funds for immigration detention and enforcement while simultaneously stripping healthcare from millions of Americans. The bill, passed today with Vice President JD Vance contributing the… Read More
What’s in the 2025 Reconciliation Bill So Far?
Analysis of the immigration and border-related spending recommendations for reconciliation measures approved in the House Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Armed Services Committees in FY 2025. Read More
U.S. Government Illegally Detains Father of Two in Notorious Salvadoran Prison
The American Immigration Council, National Immigration Project, and the Center for Constitutional Rights today filed an amended habeas corpus petition on behalf of Mr. Edicson David Quintero Chacón. Read More
Trump Is Trying to Deter Us From Representing Immigrants in Court. It Won’t Work.
On March 22, the Trump administration issued a memo, directing the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to take disciplinary and punitive action against attorneys practicing in our national courts. While the memo is broad, it takes particular aim at immigration lawyers, pro bono… Read More
Amicus Brief to the Second Circuit Arguing for Individualized Custody Determination After Prolonged Mandatory Detention
The brief argues that an individualized custody determination is necessary when detention becomes prolonged under the mandatory detention provision at 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c). It explains that Section 1226(c) is a broad statute that sweeps in minor criminal offenses and dispositions that do not amount to convictions under state… Read More
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