The American Immigration Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. 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 ICE arresting noncitizens at immigration courts, this tactic attempts to funnel noncitizens into expedited removal, a process with fewer due process protections, to achieve fast-track deportations.
Data obtained by the American Immigration Council and LatinoJustice PRLDF through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that dismissals have increased significantly since ICE directed its attorneys to identify noncitizens in removal proceedings who could instead be subjected to expedited removal, seek the dismissal of these proceedings, and coordinate their arrests in immigration court with ICE detention officers and court staff. The data—covering all ICE motions filed between May 1, 2025, and July 28, 2025—also reveals immigration judges’ acquiescence to this new deportation tactic, despite it violating several immigration court procedures.
Background on motions to dismiss
Motions to dismiss are not uncommon in immigration court proceedings. Either party may use them to ask an immigration judge to end removal proceedings against a noncitizen. Noncitizens make this ask when they are eligible for immigration relief outside of these proceedings. In the past, ICE also requested dismissal in cases determined to not be priorities for removal to conserve prosecutorial resources. If the immigration judge dismisses the case, removal proceedings end.
These motions must follow certain procedural requirements to ensure that the other party has adequate notice of the justification for dismissal and sufficient time to respond. For instance, motions to dismiss must be “in writing” and “state, with particularity,” the dismissal ground(s) unless an immigration judge permits otherwise. When a noncitizen isn’t detained, a motion to dismiss their case must also be made at least 15 days before their first hearing and 30 days before any subsequent hearing to obtain a ruling at that hearing.
Dramatic increase in ICE’s oral motions to dismiss on May 20, 2025
Oral motions to dismiss increased by 633% between May 19 and 20. During the previous 12 business days, oral and written motions occurred at similar frequencies and ranged between zero and 32 motions a day. But starting May 20, oral motions spiked to over 100 per day, while the rate of written motions did not change.
Immigration judges’ acceptance of oral motions in violation of immigration court procedures
Almost 81% of the 6,210 motions to dismiss ICE made in immigration courts between May 20 and July 28 were oral, even though immigration court procedures require such motions to be “in writing.”
Between May 20 to July 28, immigration judges decided 86% of oral motions to dismiss the same day ICE filed them, despite immigration court procedures granting noncitizens 10 days to respond.
Finally, immigration judges granted 80% of the 4,336 oral motions to dismiss that they decided on the spot, allowing ICE agents to immediately pursue expedited removal for many noncitizens.
Public outcry against immigration court arrests
Public pushback against ICE’s new tactic has grown as immigration court dismissals and arrests have increased. Since May, hundreds of people have protested outside ICE immigration courthouses. Clergy, military veterans, political leaders, and other members of the public are also accompanying noncitizens to their hearings to try to prevent arrest or at least bear witness to this new tactic.
Multiple members of Congress have written to ICE to express concern over the “disturbing pattern” of courthouse arrests and the targeting of “those who are following the rules, voluntarily appearing in court, and doing it the right way.” Advocacy groups have also filed lawsuits against ICE to stop these dismissals arrests.
Courts, the new cog in the deportation machine
This analysis shows ICE shifting thousands of noncitizens from immigration court proceedings to expedited removal and immigration judges’ complicity with this tactic. This shift is particularly harmful for noncitizens who lack legal representation and knowledge of the intricacies of immigration law and procedure. It also raises concern that immigration courts and judges are becoming cogs in a deportation machine, rather than anything resembling neutral arbitrators of immigration law.
Comment on data analysis
The data the Council received includes the motion received date, motion completion date, filing method, and decision for each motion to dismiss ICE filed in immigration court between May 1, 2025, and July 28, 2025.
- Adjudication Time: Calculated by subtracting the motion received date from motion completed date for each motion. The times were then grouped into four categories: Same Day (0 days), 1-10 days, 10+ days, and in instances where completion date was blank, “Not Yet Adjudicated.”
- Decisions: Four decisions – G (Grant), D (Deny), W (Withdraw), and M (An Unknown Decision, which the Council Designated as “Other”).
- Filing Type: Two filing types – O (Oral) or W (Written).
