Featured Issue: Immigration Courts

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• On January 29, 2020, the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship will hold a hearing on immigration courts, Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts.
  • For more information and resources related to the hearing, see AILA Calls for Independent Immigration Courts.
• AP News: AP Visits Immigration Courts Across US, Finds Nonstop Chaos – January 19, 2020
  
  
• BuzzFeed News: Immigration "Tent Courts" Aren't Allowing Full Access to the Public, Attorneys Say – January 13, 2020
• Government Executive: Trump Administration Makes Its Case to Break Up Immigration Judges' Union – January 9, 2020

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For years, the immigration court system has been plagued by systemic problems that have severely undermined its ability to deliver just and fair decisions in a timely manner. Housed within the DOJ, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is vulnerable to executive branch interference, a structural flaw which the current administration has exploited and which undermines the very integrity of the system. These problems are compounded by a growing case backlog that has surpassed 1 million cases. While oversight would slow the most recent policies, it would not remedy the conflict of interest inherent in an immigration court system that is firmly under the control of the Attorney General. AILA urges Congress to introduce bipartisan legislation that establishes an independent immigration court system, outside the DOJ, under Article I of the Constitution.

AILA's Statements and Resources | Complaints | Speak Out in Support of Due Process | Government Announcements | Congressional Efforts | Immigration Court Bills | Attorney Practice Resources | Reports | AILA Resolutions

AILA's Statements and Resources

• AILA Policy Brief: Restoring Integrity and Independence to America's Immigration Courts – January 24, 2020
• AILA Policy Brief: Public Access to Tent Courts Now Allowed, but Meaningful Access Still Absent – January 10, 2020
• AILA Press Statement: New Policy Memo Appears Designed to Collapse Board of Immigration Appeals – October 3, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: Immigration Law Experts Debriefed Press on “Port Courts” and Due Process Concerns – September 12, 2019

  • Listen to a recording of the September 12, 2019, telephonic press briefing on the new port courts and the due process concerns:

    
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• AILA Policy Brief: AILA Policy Brief: DHS and DOJ Are Opening Secretive Port Courts Along the Southern Border - September 6, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: Fourth Circuit Strikes Down Attorney General Opinion, Restores Fundamental Power to Immigration Judges - August 30, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: DOJ Seeks Termination of Immigration Judges Union, Further Undermining Court Independence - August 15, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: AG’s Decision Ignores Precedent and Is the Latest Attempt to Restrict Asylum – July 29, 2019
• AILA, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Immigration Judges, and the Federal Bar Association Letter: Legal Associations Call for Independent Immigration Court System - July 11, 2019
• Listen to a recording of the July 11, 2019, telephonic press briefing with AILA, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Immigration Judges, and the Federal Bar Association.
  
  
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• AILA Press Statement: AILA: AG Attempts Power Grab over Immigration Appeals - July 2, 2019
• AILA's Quicktake #266: MOCs Call on DOJ to Reverse the Matter of M-S- Decision - May 17, 2019
• Listen to a recording of the May 17, 2019, telephonic press briefing on the current state of our nation's immigration system with Representative Cárdenas (D-CA), Professor Ingrid Eagly, Kate Voigt, and retired Immigration Judges Jeff Chase and Paul Schmidt.
  
  
  
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• AILA Policy Brief: Facts About the State of Our Nation's Immigration Courts - May 14, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: Presidential Memo Seeks to Deny Asylum Seekers Fundamental Human Rights - April 30, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: AG Aims to Detain Asylum Seekers, Intruding Further on Immigration Court Independence – April 17, 2019
• AILA and the American Immigration Council Press Statement: American Immigration Council and AILA File Complaint to Bring Injustice in El Paso Immigration Court to Light – April 3, 2019
• AILA Press Statement: AILA Joins Senators in Call for Immigration Court Reform and Access to Counsel - March 6, 2019
• AILA Policy Brief: FOIA Reveals EOIR's Failed Plan for Fixing the Immigration Court Backlog - February 21, 2019
• Listen to a recording of the February 21, 2019, telephonic press briefing on Executive Office for Immigration Review's Strategic Caseload Reduction Plan. This plan was obtained via FOIA by AILA and the American Immigration Council.
  
  
  
  
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• AILA Think Immigration Blog: Shining Some FOIA Light on the Immigration Courts - February 21, 2019
• AILA Press Release: AG Sessions’ Remarks Emphasize Need for Independent Immigration Courts – September 10, 2018
• AILA Quicktake Video: NAIJ Files a Formal Grievance Against EOIR and DOJ - August 9, 2018
• AILA Press Release: Immigration Judges Spotlight DOJ Hijacking of Court Independence – August 8, 2018
• AILA and the American Immigration Council Press Release: DOJ Ignores Set of Recommendations to Strengthen Immigration Court System Efficiency and Effectiveness - April 23, 2018
• AILA and the American Immigration Council Policy Brief: Recommendations from Independent Study of Immigration Courts Contradict DOJ Policy Changes - April 23, 2018
• Listen to a recording of the April 23, 2018, telephonic press briefing on the findings contained in the year-long case study on the U.S. immigration court system.
  
  
  

  Can't see the audio player? Download the Audio File (MP3)

• Listen to a recording of the April 4, 2018, telephonic press briefing on EOIR's new performance metrics for immigration judges
  
  
  
  
  

  Can't see the audio player? Download the Audio File (MP3)

• AILA and the American Immigration Council Press Release: DOJ Strips Immigration Courts of Independence - April 3, 2018
• AILA Policy Brief: Imposing Numeric Quotas on Judges Threatens the Independence and Integrity of Courts – October 12, 2017
• AILA Press Release: Trump Administration Erodes Integrity and Fairness in Immigration Courts – October 12, 2017

Complaints

• AILA and the American Immigration Council Filed Administrative Complaint Highlighting Due Process Violations in El Paso SPC Immigration Court - April 3, 2019
• On December 18, 2019, several organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the weaponization of the nation’s immigration court system to serve the Trump administration’s agenda. The lawsuit contests the perpetuation of immigration court jurisdictions where asylum is effectively impossible to win, the creation of a backlog of more than a million immigration cases, the implementation of enforcement-oriented performance metrics for immigration judges, and the implementation of a rapid-removal family docketing directive.
• NAIJ Grievance: Judges' Union Grievance Seeking Redress for the Unwarranted Removal of Cases from IJ - August 8, 2018

Speak Out to #ProtectDueProcess

AILA members and advocates are encouraged to use the following advocacy tools to urge Congress to protect due process:

• Take Action: Tell Congress to Call for Immigration Court Reform - October 8, 2019
• AILA Members’ Letter to the Editor Template on the Need for an Independent Immigration Judiciary – October 2, 2018
• Key Messaging on the Need for an Independent Immigration Court – October 2, 2018
• Over 1,000 AILA Members Sent Letter to AG Sessions, Expressing Concern Over Efforts to Undermine Judicial Independence – October 1, 2018

Government Announcements

AG Decisions | Regulations | Policy Memos | OPPM | BIA Decisions | Other

Attorney General (AG) Decisions

• AG Vacates Decisions and Remands to Assess State-Court Alterations in Light of the Pickering Test (Matter of Thomas and Matter of Thompson) – October 25, 2019
• Attorney General Affirms BIA’s Order in Matter of Castillo-Perez on Multiple DUIs and the Good Moral
• Character Standard (Matter of Castillo-Perez) – October 25, 2019
• Attorney General Overrules Portion of Matter of L-E-A- Relating to Particular Social Group – July 29, 2019
• AG Issues Decision Matter of M-S- 27 I&N Dec. 509 (A.G. 2019) - April 16, 2019
• AG Issues Decisions in Accordance with Matter of Castro Tum (Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-) - September 19, 2018
• Attorney General States IJs May Only Grant Continuances "For Good Cause Shown" (Matter of L-A-B-R, et al.) - August 16, 2018
• Attorney General Narrows Criteria for Asylum Seekers (Matter of A-B-) - June 11, 2018
• Attorney General Holds IJs and the BIA Have No General Authority for Administrative Closure (Matter of Castro-Tum) - May 17, 2018
• Attorney General Refers and Vacates Decision on Entitlement to Full Asylum Hearing (Matter of E-F-H-L) - March 5, 2018

Regulations

• USCIS and EOIR Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Bars to Asylum Eligibility (84 FR 69640, 12/19/2019)
• DOJ Interim Final Rule Making Changes to EOIR, Including Delegating New Authority to EOIR Director (84 FR 44537, 8/26/19)
• DOJ/DHS Interim Final Rule Barring from Asylum Eligibility Individuals Who Transit Through a Third Country Without Seeking Protection – July 16, 2019
• DOJ Final Rule, Board of Immigration Appeals: Affirmance Without Opinion, Referral for Panel Review, and Publication of Decisions as Precedents - July 2, 2019
• DHS and DOJ Joint Interim Final Rule on Asylum Claims Along the Southern Border - November 9, 2018

EOIR Policy Memos

• PM 20-6: Section 7611 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, Public Law 116-92 - January 13, 2020
• PM 20-5: Legal Advocacy by Non-Representatives in Immigration Court – November 21, 2019
• PM 20-4: Guidelines Regarding New Regulations Providing For the Implementation of Asylum Cooperative Agreements – November 19, 2019
• PM 20-3: Child Advocates in Immigration Proceedings – November 15, 2019
• PM 20-02: Administrative Review of Recognition and Accreditation Determinations – October 2, 2019
• PM 20-01: Case Processing at the Board of Immigration Appeals – October 1, 2019
• PM 19-14: EOIR Releases Policy Memo on Allegations of Misconduct by EOIR Adjudicators and Ex Parte Communications - August 16, 2019
• PM 19-13: EOIR Releases Policy Memo on Use of Status Dockets in Immigration Court Proceedings - August 16, 2019
• PM 19-12: Guidelines Regarding New Regulations Governing Asylum and Protection Claims - July 15, 2019
• PM 19-11: No Dark Courtrooms - March 29, 2019, effective May 1, 2019
• PM 19-10: Public Use of Electronic Devices in EOIR Space - March 20, 2019
• PM 19-09: OCAHO Case Completion Goals - December 21, 2018
• PM 19-08: Acceptance of Notices to Appear and Use of the Interactive Scheduling System - December 21, 2018
• PM 19-07: Identifying and Reporting Fraud and Abuse - December 19, 2018
• PM 19-06: Internal Reporting of Suspected Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Professional Misconduct - December 18, 2018, effective January 1, 2019
• PM 19-05: Guidance Regarding the Adjudication of Asylum Applications Consistent with INA §208(d)(5)(A)(iii) - November 19, 2018
• PM 19-04: Tracking and Expedition of "Family Unit" Cases - November 16, 2018
• PM 19-03: Guidance Regarding the Presidential Proclamation Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States - November 13, 2018
• PM 19-02: Guidelines Regarding New Regulations Governing Asylum and Protection Claims - November 9, 2018
• PM 19-01: New Format for Memoranda and Cancellation of OPPMS - November 7, 2018

OPPM

• Chief Immigration Judge, Mary Beth Keller, issued OPPM 18-02: Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-up, and Case Identification Codes - June 8, 2018
• Chief Immigration Judge, Mary Beth Keller, issued OPPM 18-01 Change of Venue - January 17, 2018
• Chief Immigration Judge, Mary Beth Keller, issued OPPM 17-01: Continuances - July 31, 2017

BIA Decisions

Recent BIA Decisions available here

Other

• Pro Publica: The Trump Administration Was Ordered to Let These Migrants Seek Asylum. It Didn’t Tell the Judges Hearing Their Cases. – 11/22/2019
  
  • Dara Lind Releases IJ Guidance Following the Federal Court Order in Al Otro Lado v. Wolf – 11/22/2019
• Email from NAIJ President about IJ Performance Evaluations and Quotas – November 2019
  

  “Many IJs have inquired about ways that they may register their protest against the imposition of the quotas and deadlines. If you are inclined, you may use the proposed language below in your cover email returning the electronically signed PWP to your ACIJ. Protest Language – “I do not agree that the numerical metrics/quotas constitute an accurate measure of my performance. Nor do I agree that the numbers produced by EOIR are accurate within the designated metric categories.””

• CQ Roll Call: DOJ changed hiring to promote restrictive immigration judges – October 29, 2019
• San Francisco Chronicle: Watch the videos introducing immigrants to U.S. courts – September 17, 2019
• Buzzfeed’s Hamed Aleaziz Twitter: Immigration Judges received guidance on the SCOTUS ruling allowing the Trump administration’s asylum ban to be enforced across the southern border - September 12, 2019
  • Reuters Releases EOIR Guidance on Asylum Ban 2.0 Implementation
• San Francisco Chronicle: Confusion, delays as videos replace interpreters at immigrants’ hearings – September 5, 2019
  • EOIR video transcript for detained respondents;
  • EOIR video transcript for nondetained respondents; and
  • FAQ for pro se respondents.
• Reveal: Leaked immigration court official's directive could violate rules that protect families from deportation - August 19, 2019
  • Reveal shares additional guidance on EOIR's family unit docket.
• Reuters: No ‘day in court’: U.S. deportation orders blindside some families - July 26, 2019
  
  • Reuters shares additional guidance on Immigration Judge quotas and EOIR’s Family Unit docket.
• San Francisco Chronicle: Videos start replacing interpreters at immigration court hearings – July 17, 2019
• The Intercept: The Trump Administration is Planning Mass Video Proceedings For Immigrants in Tents on the Border - June 28, 2019
• Email from Mary Beth Keller, Chief Immigration Judge, to all Immigration Judges on "New Performance Measures" - October 1, 2018
  
  • Attached to this email were the following items: (1) Updated Performance Workplan Element 3 containing new case completion goals and benchmarks for IJs, (2) a definitions document, and (3) Frequently Asked Questions.
• EOIR Released Memo on Staff Availability for Detail Travel - May 30, 2018
• EOIR Issues Guidance Implementing Immigration Judge Performance Metrics - March 30, 2018
• Director McHenry issued memorandum, Case Priorities and Immigration Court Performance Measures - January 17, 2018
• AG Sessions Issues Memo Outlining Principles to Ensure that the Adjudication of Immigration Cases Services the National Interest - December 6, 2017
  
  • Backgrounder on EOIR Strategic Caseload Reduction Plan
  • EOIR Press Release: AG Sessions Issues Memo Outlining Principles to Ensure That the Adjudication of Immigration Cases Serves the National Interest
• EOIR Strategic Caseload Reduction Plan - October 23, 2017

Congressional Efforts

• On January 29, 2020, the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship will hold a hearing on immigration courts, Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts.
• H.R. 1158, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, Division B – 12/20/2019
  
  • Joint Explanatory Report – 12/20/2019
• House Democrats Demand Information from DOJ and DHS on its Use of Tent Courts - November 25, 2019
• Members of Congress Call for Investigation of Tent Courts - October 17, 2019
• Eighty House Democrats Call on DOJ to Withdraw Petition to Decertify NAIJ - October 16, 2019
• U.S. Senators Urge Attorney General to Rescind Decision on Matter of L-E-A- - August 21, 2019
• Nadler and Lofgren Issue Statement on DOJ Petition to Decertify the National Association of Immigration Judges - August 13, 2019
• Forty-Two House Democrats Demand that DOJ Rescind New Plan to Eliminate In-Court Interpreters - July 26, 2019
• Fifty-Five Members of Congress Call on DOJ to Reverse the Matter of M-S- Decision – May 15, 2019
• EOIR FY2020 Budget Request At A Glance - March 14, 2019
• NAIJ Letter to House Appropriations CJS Subcommittee Chairman and Ranking Member - March 12, 2019
• House Appropriations Subcommittee on CJS Hearing with EOIR Director McHenry - March 7, 2019
  
  • Testimony of EOIR Director, James McHenry
• AILA Sends Oversight Letter to House Judiciary Committee - January 24, 2019
• NAIJ Letter to Senate on the Impact of the Government Shutdown – January 9, 2019
• CHC Questions DOJ's Review of Legal Orientation Program - October 5, 2018
• Acting Deputy Assistant AG Office of Legal Policy testimony for HSGAC Hearing – September 18, 2018
• 18 Senate Democrats Request Information on DOJ's Initiative to Recalendar Administratively Closed Cases- September 13, 2018
• Harris, Feinstein, Colleagues Call on Sessions to Uphold Protections for LGBTQ Asylum Seekers Fleeing Persecution - May 23, 2018
• Senate and House Democrats Request IG Investigation of Illegal Hiring Allegations at DOJ – May 9, 2018
• CHC Urges DOJ to Reverse Decision to Impose Case Completion Quotas on IJs - April 26, 2018
• AG Sessions Testifies Before House Appropriations Committee - FY2019 Budget Hearing - Department of Justice - April 26, 2018
• AG Sessions Opening Statement Before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on CJS - April 25, 2018
  
  • AG Sessions orders that there be no pause to the Legal Orientation Program (LOP).
• House Democrats Demand that the DOJ Reinstate the LOP and ICH Programs – April 19, 2018
• Senate Democrats Demand that the DOJ Reinstate the LOP and ICH Programs – April 18, 2018
• On April 18, 2018, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration held a hearing on Strengthening and Reforming America's Immigration Court System. Read AILA’s Statement on Strengthening and Reforming America's Immigration Court System Hearing, as well as the prepared statements of Hilarie Bass, President of the American Bar Association; Ashley Tabaddor, NAIJ President; James McHenry, EOIR Director; and GAO Testimony for the Subcommittee on Border and Immigration.
• Senate and House Judiciary Democrats Condemn DOJ for Undermining Due Process – April 17, 2018
• House Democrats Demand DOJ Respond to Allegations of Politicization in the EOIR Hiring Process – April 17, 2018

Immigration Court Bills

• S.663: Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2019 - March 6, 2019
• S. 2693: Immigration Court Improvement Act of 2018 - April 18, 2018

Attorney Practice Resources

• AILA Practice Pointer: Recent BIA Changes Likely to Alter Both Operations and Substance of Decisions – December 23, 2019
• Class Counsel Practice Advisory: Federal Court’s Preliminary Injunction Restores Asylum Eligibility for Asylum Seekers Turned Back at Ports of Entry Before July 16, 2019 – December 5, 2019
• AILA Practice Alert: Updates to the BIA Practice Manual – December 3, 2019
• Practice Advisory: Pereira v. Sessions – Updated Strategies and Considerations – December 3, 2019
• AILA Submits Comments on DOJ Interim Final Rule Making Organizational Changes to EOIR – October 25, 2019
• AILA Practice Pointer: EOIR Policy Memo, Use of Status Dockets – 10/14/2019
• Jeffrey S. Chase Blog: L-E-A-: How Much Did the AG Change? - August 11, 2019
• American Immigration Council, ACLU, NWIRP: FAQs After Federal Court Requires Immigration Courts to Continue to Provide Bond Hearings, Despite Matter of M-S- - August 9, 2019
• CLINIC Practice Pointer on Matter of L-E-A- – August 2, 2019
• Resources Relating to the Padilla Bond Hearing Class Members Case – Updated July 23, 2019
• AILA Practice Alert: Videos Replace Interpreters at Hearings – July 18, 2019
• FAQs After Federal Court Requires Immigration Courts to Continue to Provide Bond Hearings, Despite Matter of M-S- - July 3, 2019
• Practice Alert: EOIR Policy Memo, No Dark Courtrooms - May 29, 2019
• Council and NIPNLG Practice Advisory: Reinstatement of Removal - May 23, 2019
• American Immigration Council FOIA Litigation Results in Helpful Guidance on Motions Practice Before the BIA - May 22, 2019
• Is Your IJ Applying Matter of M-S- Now? – April 25, 2019
• Matter of M-S- Analysis and Q&A – April 17, 2019
• American Immigration Council: Practice Advisory on Notices to Appear - February 27, 2019
• Practice Alert: DHS Issuing NTAs with Fake Times and Dates - January 31, 2019
• Practice Alert: EOIR Policy Memos Impact Docketing of Family Unit and Asylum Cases - December 18, 2018
• Practice Pointer: Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B- - November 13, 2018
• Chasing Down the Rumors: Immigration Adjudication Centers - October 19, 2018
• Practice Alert: Pereira v. Sessions and Matter of Bermudez-Cota - October 10, 2018
• The American Immigration Council: Motions for a Continuance - September 10, 2018
• AILA Practice Pointer: Matter of L-A-B-R- – August 28, 2018
• AILA Practice Pointer: Matter of Castro-Tum – August 28, 2018
• AILA Practice Pointer: After Matter of A-B- and USCIS Guidance, Don’t Forget to Argue for CAT Protection - July 26, 2018
  
  • ICE Guidance on Litigating Domestic Violence-Based Persecution Claims Following Matter of A-B- - July 11, 2018
• NIPNLG and IDP Practice Advisory on Pereira v. Sessions – July 16, 2018
  
• ICE Provides Guidance to OPLA Attorneys on Administrative Closure Following Matter of Castro-Tum – June 15, 2018
  • Guidance shared on Immigration Courtside on June 18, 2018
• American Immigration Council and ACLU: Practice Advisory on Administrative Closure Post-Castro-Tum - June 14, 2018
• CLINIC: Practice Pointer, Matter of Castro-Tum, 27 I&N Dec. 271 (A.G. 2018) - June 5, 2018
• AILA Call for Examples: Continuances and Administrative Closure Following EOIR Policy Changes - May 25, 2018
• The American Immigration Council: The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders - February 7, 2018
• Immigration Justice Campaign: Three-Part Video Series on Fearless Lawyering with Retired Immigration Judges - November 7, 2017

Reports

• TRAC Report: Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans Increase in Immigration Court Backlog – January 21, 2020
• TRAC Report: Asylum Decisions Vary Widely Across Judges and Courts – Latest Results – January 13, 2020
• Senator Merkley: Shattered Refuge, A U.S. Senate Investigation into the Trump Administration’s Gutting of Asylum – November 14, 2019
• TRAC Report – Incomplete and Garbled Immigration Court Data Suggest Lack of Commitment to Accuracy – October 31, 2019
• TRAC Report: Most Released Families Attend Immigration Court Hearings - June 18, 2019
• Innovation Law Lab and SPLC: The Attorney General's Judges: How the U.S. Immigration Courts Became a Deportation Tool - June 12, 2019
• ABA Report: 2019 Update Report Reforming the Immigration System - March 20, 2019
• AILA Report: Cogs in the Deportation Machine - March 14, 2018 See Section E, page 13.
• ACUS Draft Report: Non-ALJ Adjudicators in Federal Agencies: Status, Selection, Oversight, and Removal – February 14, 2018
• GAO Report: Actions Needed to Reduce Case Backlog and Address Long-Standing Management and Operational Challenges – June 2017
• Booz Allen Hamilton Immigration Court Report: Legal Case Study - April 6, 2017
• American Immigration Council Report: Access to Counsel in Immigration Court - September 28, 2016
• DOJ OIG - An Investigation of Allegations of Politized Hiring by Monica Goodling and Other Staff in the Office of the AG - July 28, 2008

AILA Resolutions

• AILA National’s Resolution on Immigration Court Reform and Funding – February 3, 2018
• AILA Resolution on Hiring Immigration Judges – September 16, 2017

Cite as AILA Doc. No. 13040204.