Immigration Courts

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

Access to Counsel in Immigration Court

Immigrants in immigration court do not have a right to government-appointed counsel. The lack of legal representation has a profound impact on immigrants’ outcomes in removal proceedings.

READ MORE

Empty Benches: Underfunding of Immigration Courts Undermines Justice

Backlogs and delays benefit neither immigrants nor the government—keeping those with valid claims in limbo and often in detention, delaying removal of those without valid claims, and calling into question the integrity of the immigration justice system.

READ MORE

All Immigration Courts Content

  • Blog

The Court Decision on Deferred Action Everyone Should Be Talking About

April 8, 2015

Yesterday, in Crane v. Johnson, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the same court deciding whether or not to keep in place the preliminary injunction blocking the President’s executive actions)...

  • Blog

Leaders From Across U.S. Urge Court to End Injunction in Immigration Action Case

April 6, 2015

Multiple legal briefs are being filed today in support of ending the injunction against the Obama Administration’s expansion of deferred action. On February 16, 2015, a Texas federal judge issued...

  • Blog

Immigration Courts Are Ordering Unrepresented Children Deported

March 10, 2015

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that since 2013, more than 7,000 immigrant children have been ordered deported after missing a hearing in immigration court, according to government data....

  • Blog

Unrepresented Children Still Being Fast-Tracked Through Immigration Hearings

February 6, 2015

Since the government began “prioritizing” the deportation of unaccompanied children and mothers with children last summer, legal service providers and other court observers across the country have...

  • Press Release

Second Circuit Narrowly Interprets Aggravated Felony Bar Under INA § 212(h)

January 22, 2015

Washington, D.C.—Recently, the U.S.

  • Blog

How Can a Three Year Old Represent Himself in Court?

October 22, 2014

Each week, in immigration courts across the United States, hundreds of children, some as young as just a few months old, come before immigration judges and are called upon to defend themselves...

  • Blog

Municipalities Help Advance Access to Counsel for Immigrants

August 13, 2014

Historically, “immigrants facing deportation are not provided an attorney if they cannot afford one.” But across the country, municipalities are taking steps to improve access to counsel for those...

  • Blog

Children in Jail: What It’s Like for Immigrants Held at Artesia Center

August 6, 2014

By Megan Jordi, legal director at the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. The rule of law is only a mirage in the remote, dusty town of Artesia, New Mexico, where the Department of Homeland Security...

  • Press Release

Groups Ask Court to Block Deportation Hearings for Children Without Legal Representation

August 1, 2014

Washington D.C. – The American Immigration Council, American Civil Liberties Union, Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, Public

  • Fact Sheet

Taking Attendance: New Data Finds Majority of Children Appear in Immigration Court

Publication Date: 
July 29, 2014
As the number of unaccompanied children arriving at the United States border has increased, some lawmakers have argued that children frequently fail to appear for proceedings and thus proposed...

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending