In 2021, immigration attorneys representing immigrants in removal proceedings frequently reported that immigration courts moved up the date of their clients’ individual hearings with limited to no notice about the rescheduling and without any input from immigrants or their lawyers.
This unilateral practice has serious consequences. Individual hearings are the trials where immigrants fighting their removal have an opportunity to present their case before an immigration judge. When clients’ individual hearings are rescheduled with short notice of the new hearing, attorneys have less time to prepare, jeopardizing successful representation. Because the courts advance hearings without any input from immigrants’ lawyers, attorneys have reported being overburdened with trials and scheduling conflicts.
To learn more about how cases are advanced, the American Immigration Council and Amica Center for Immigrant Rights filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) on October 28, 2022.
Key Developments
In response to litigation, the agency produced data for the number of hearings advanced between January 1, 2020, and December 9, 2022. EOIR’s data showed that it used a code labeled “DOCKET MANAGEMENT (ADVANCE HEARING)” more than 70,000 times in approximately two years.
However, the agency could not find any guidance or other requested records for how the immigration courts advance hearings, notifying immigrants and their lawyers, or granting continuances based on attorney workload.
Obtaining the Information
October 28, 2022 – The Council and Amica File FOIA Request Seeking Information on Individuals’ Hearing Advancements
The FOIA request asked for:
- Records about EOIR’s practice to advance individual hearings and the notice immigrants and their lawyers should receive.
- Records about how immigration judges decide whether to grant a continuance when the reason for the extension is attorneys’ work-related conflicts or workload.
- Data about the number of cases EOIR has advanced in the last two years.
July 6, 2023 – The Council and Amica File Lawsuit to Get a Response from EOIR
After EOIR failed to respond to the request, the Council and Amica Center sued the agency in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia.
EOIR took the position that it did not need to search for instructions in the inboxes of Assistant Chief Immigration Judges (ACIJs). The Plaintiffs opposed the agency’s position and the court granted the Council and Amica Center summary judgment on the inadequacy of the agency’s searches in part and ordered EOIR to search ACIJ’s inboxes for responsive records records.
After the agency conducted the search mandated by the court, EOIR claimed that it did not find could not find other responsive records. Rather than continue to dispute the search for three-year old records reflecting policies and practices that likely changed with the new administration taking office in January 2025, the Council and Amica Center voluntarily dismissed litigation on June 30, 2026, after settling attorneys’ fees and other expenses.
