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.
A Guide to Obtaining Detention Records
Our comprehensive guide on obtaining detention records provides a brief overview of FOIA requirements, information about the types of records government agencies possess, tips about how to request those records, and an overview of what to expect after submitting the request. Read More
Delay Actions In The Asylum Context: Avoiding Dismissal And Proving The Case
This Practice Advisory provides information for filing a delay action in federal district court under the Mandamus Act and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for an asylum applicant who is awaiting an interview or a final decision on their affirmative asylum claim. It discusses the required elements of a successful APA and mandamus actions and jurisdictional hurdles. The advisory also addresses asylum-specific case law and arguments, including USCIS’s use of the “Last-In, First-Out” processing and statistics showing the growing asylum backlog. Read More
Seeking Records on Why Immigrants’ Hearings Are Being Moved Up Without Much Notice to Them or Their Lawyers
This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeks records from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) about its practice of moving up the date of immigrants’ individual hearings with little to no notice to their lawyers. Read More
71% of Immigrants Win Their Cases Thanks to Pro Bono Volunteers with the Immigration Justice Campaign
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 is the foundation of the American Immigration Council’s Immigration Justice Campaign. In an immigration system that is… Read More
Legal Organizations Sue ICE for Illegally Preventing Attorneys from Communicating with Detained Immigrants in Four States
Several legal services organizations filed a lawsuit today against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for unlawfully preventing attorneys from communicating with immigrants detained in four detention facilities in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona. Read More
What Does Legal Representation Look Like in Immigration Courts Across the Country?
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 individuals who appear in deportation proceedings have an immigration attorney. But it’s not so simple. Instead, it is a number that must factor… Read More
New Report Reveals Widespread Failures by DHS To Prosecute Immigration Court Cases
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. According to a report released last week by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University, tens… Read More
Comment on Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum
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. Read More
Comments Recommend USCIS Clarify FOIA Request Process
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. Read More
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. Read More
