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.
Diverse Coalitions Urge Supreme Court to Hear Case on Executive Action
Seven groups have filed amicus briefs in support of a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court in United States v. Texas, requesting that the Court overturn the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to enjoin, or halt, the President’s 2014 deferred action initiatives. The briefs were… Read More
Texas Sues Federal Government Again, This Time Over Refugees
This week, Texas filed a lawsuit against the federal government and International Rescue Committee (IRC) to prevent the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family in the state. The family was originally scheduled to arrive in Texas today. The state is the first to take legal action to block refugees… Read More
Will the Immigration Court Backlog Finally Go Down?
Although our nation’s immigration courts currently have record backlogs, there may be some help on the way. That was the message from Juan Osuna, Director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)—a division within the Department of Justice (DOJ) department which houses the immigration courts—at an oversight hearing… Read More
The Battle Over Birth Certificates in Texas
In May, a group of undocumented parents, represented by South Texas Civil Rights Project and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas for denying their children, born in the state, birth certificates. The legal team also asked the judge to issue a preliminary injunction—a… Read More
Immigration Courts Have New Rules Governing Legal Representation Processes
Last week, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced changes to the regulations governing legal representation in immigration court and at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Every year, thousands of immigrants are forced to represent themselves in immigration court. The changes are intended to increase representation of… Read More
Restrictionists Continue to Attack H-4 Work Authorization
Save Jobs USA—an organization comprised of IT workers who claim they lost their jobs to H-1B workers—still wants to overturn the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that allows certain H-4 spouses (i.e., spouses of H-1B workers) to apply for work authorization. Although Save Jobs was unsuccessful in stopping… Read More
Immigration Courts Desperately Need More Judges
Although this year’s presidential primary contests are dominated by the topic of immigration, the focus is on politically charged, hot-button issues like border walls and birthright citizenship. And while the media remains transfixed by the inflammatory rhetoric of some candidates, more mundane yet equally important problems go unaddressed. Case in… Read More
Government Ordered to Promptly Release Children From Family Detention
In a decision issued Friday, a district court in California ruled yet again that the government is violating a long-standing settlement agreement protecting the rights of children in immigration detention. Advocates for immigrant children went to court in February to argue that the government’s family detention centers violate the… Read More
Court Issues Decision in Washtech, Case Challenging Training for U.S.-Educated Noncitizens
This week, a federal district court issued a decision in Washtech (Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. DHS), a lawsuit brought, in part, by the Immigration Reform Law Institute, to prevent foreign students from having an opportunity to gain meaningful practical experience in the United States. The court… Read More
Immigrant Children Without Attorneys are Still Being Ordered Deported
It would seem to be a simple matter of conscience that no child should ever stand before a judge without having an attorney as an advocate. Younger children in particular may not even understand the significance of their day in court or how a judge’s ruling can profoundly impact the… Read More
