The American Immigration Council, with other immigrant rights organizations, filed an amicus brief in Matter of Castro-Tum. In the case, Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself questions related to administrative closure. This move by Sessions could signal an attempt to end administrative closure altogether—which could force over 350,000 immigrants back into immigration court, exacerbating the challenges of an already overburdened immigration court system.

The brief outlines Sessions’ troubling statements that display an intense hostility toward noncitizens who do not meet his standards for income, education, professional skills, and language ability, or whose family ties might provide a basis for immigration status.  Because Sessions’ statements render him unfit to fairly decide Castro-Tum’s case, our brief asks Sessions either to vacate the referral order or to recuse himself from the case.