Timeline of Case Challenging Immigration Court and Detention Policies in Response to COVID-19
April 28, 2020
The district judge denied the motion for a temporary restraining order. (NIPNLG et al., v. EOIR et al., 4/28/20)
The opinion stated, “Plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims. The Individual Plaintiffs and the Organizational Plaintiffs have failed to establish that the Court has jurisdiction over their claims, both because they are unlikely to suffer imminent injury as a result of the challenged policies and because the jurisdiction-channeling provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) preclude them from pursuing their access-to-counsel and due process claims in this forum. And even if this Court had jurisdiction, Plaintiffs are unlikely to succeed on the merits. Plaintiffs have not pointed to EOIR and ICE actions that are reviewable under the APA, and, perhaps most important, they also have not demonstrated that EOIR’s and ICE’s actions are arbitrary and capricious given the rapidly changing situation relating to the COVID-19 pandemic."
April 24, 2020
Plaintiffs submitted a reply supplemental brief in support of emergency motion for temporary restraining order.
April 23, 2020
DOJ submitted a response to plaintiff's supplemental brief in support of their emergency motion for temporary restraining order.
April 20, 2020
The National Association of Immigration Judges submitted an amicus brief in support of neither party.
- "Given the lack of any clear need for in-person detained hearings to proceed at this dangerous time, NAIJ strongly advocates for a temporary suspension of all in-person hearings for detained persons."
- Plaintiffs’ Supplemental Brief in Support of Emergency Motion for TRO
April 13, 2020
Plantiffs submitted a reply memorandum of law in further support of their emergency motion for temporary restraining order.
April 13, 2020
DOJ submitted a memorandum of law opposing the plaintiffs' motion for temporary restraining order.
April 9, 2020
Former federal immigration judges and members of the Board of Immigration Appeals submitted an amicus brief in support of the motion for an emergency order.
April 8, 2020
AILA, the Immigration Justice Campaign, the NIPNLG, and several detained individuals filed an emergency TRO challenging EOIR’s operation of in-person immigration court hearings and ICE’s conditions of confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. (NIPNLG et al., v. EOIR et al., 4/8/20)
Related Resources
- Press Release: Plaintiffs Will Continue Fight to Halt Dangerous and Unconstitutional Practices by EOIR and ICE - April 28, 2020
- Press Release: Temporary Restraining Order Requested to Stop Dangerous EOIR and ICE Policies During the COVID-19 Pandemic - April 8, 2020
- Resource Center: 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Complaint Filed in District Court Due to EOIR and ICE’s Handling of Immigration Cases During COVID-19 Crisis (NIPNLG et al., v. ICE, 3/30/20)