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.
Supreme Court Finds No Right to a Bond Hearing Under Immigration Law
Indefinitely detained immigrants facing possible deportation lost ground in their fight for the right to a bond hearing following a Supreme Court decision on Tuesday. Their sole remaining weapon is the U.S. Constitution. The ruling by Justice Samuel Alito in Jennings v. Rodriguez reverses a decision that had required… Read More
AG Jeff Sessions is unfit to decide immigration case, say immigration groups
The American Immigration Council, joined by several other immigration groups, submitted an amicus brief that argues that due process requires an impartial adjudicator and that Sessions’ anti-immigrant statements and actions prevent him from acting as one. The brief lays out Sessions’ decades-long public record of anti-immigrant statements, including specific statements evidencing prejudgment of issues in the case, and urges Sessions to either vacate the referral order or recuse himself from the case. Read More
Matter of Castro-Tum
In the case, Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself questions related to administrative closure. This move by Sessions could signal an attempt to end administrative closure altogether—which could force over 350,000 immigrants back into immigration court, exacerbating the challenges of an already overburdened immigration court system. Read More
Trump’s Budget Proposal Would Increase Harsh Immigration Enforcement
President Trump released his formal budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which doubles down on his aggressive immigration enforcement agenda. The proposed budget seeks to fund the border wall, as well as increase funding for immigration enforcement, detention, and deportations. Much of it mirrors the yet-to-be-passed… Read More
The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders
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 throughout the country and the Board of Immigration Appeals, located in Falls, Church Virginia. The advisory also provides basic information about… Read More
Government Shuts Down While Negotiations Continue on Dream Act, but Most Immigration Functions Continue
With the national conversation focused squarely on Dreamers, Congress was unable to find common ground on a budget deal and has shut down the U.S. Government. Congressional leadership decided not to bring a vote on bipartisan Dream Act legislation. Instead, this was the fourth time in as many months that… Read More
Lawsuit Challenges Illegal Bond Hearing Practices in Charlotte Immigration Court
The lawsuit challenges the practice of three of the four sitting immigration judges in the Charlotte Immigration Court who refuse to conduct bond hearings—even though they are required to do so—and are consequently prolonging the detention of bond-eligible individuals for several weeks. Read More
Lawsuit Filed Against DOJ and Judges in North Carolina Who Refuse to Hold Bond Hearings
In a sharp departure from the practice of immigration courts around the country, immigration judges in North Carolina are refusing to conduct bond hearings for detained immigrants who come before the Charlotte Immigration Court. This unlawful, alarming, and unconscionable practice deprives noncitizens of their basic due process rights. Read More
Challenging Immigration Judges’ Refusal to Conduct Bond Hearings
This lawsuit challenges the actions of immigration judges in Charlotte, North Carolina who have refused to conduct bond hearings for people who properly file bond motions with the Charlotte Immigration Court. Read More
Already Facing a Backlog, Sessions Aims to Add 350,000 Cases to Immigration Courts
In a rare move, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently referred an immigration case to himself, invoking a federal statute that allows attorneys general to reconsider cases decided by the Board of Immigration Appeals, which hears appeals from immigration courts nationwide. Sessions referred the case to himself after an immigration… Read More
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