Federal Courts/Jurisdiction

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

  • Practice Advisories

Litigation for Business Immigration Practitioners

This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.

All Federal Courts/Jurisdiction Content

  • Blog

Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally

March 3, 2020

The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S....

  • Blog

Supreme Court Rules Parents of Slain Teenager Can’t Sue Border Patrol Agent Responsible for His Death

March 2, 2020

The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit seeking damages from a U.S. Border Patrol agent who shot and killed a teenager across the U.S.-Mexico border. With this latest decision in the...

  • Blog

Judge Stops DHS From Arresting US Citizens’ Foreign Spouses During Marriage Interviews in Maryland

February 21, 2020

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been targeting U.S. citizens’ foreign spouses when they apply for legal immigration status. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland put a...

  • Blog

How Will Conditions in Border Patrol Facilities Change Now That a Judge Has Ruled Them Unconstitutional?

February 20, 2020

A federal court found on Wednesday that U.S. Border Patrol may not detain migrants held in its facilities in Arizona’s Tucson Sector longer than 48 hours without providing for their “basic human...

  • Blog

These Humanitarian Aid Workers’ Convictions Were Overturned. Here’s How It Sets Precedent for Future Protection.

February 13, 2020

A federal judge in Arizona reversed convictions of four volunteers of the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths last week. No More Deaths is an Arizona-based group that works to end death and...

  • Blog

USCIS’ Change to How ‘Unlawful Presence’ Is Calculated Is Defeated in Court

February 12, 2020

A federal district court stopped U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from drastically changing how the agency determines when a foreign student or exchange visitor is “unlawfully...

  • Blog

Judge Allows Certain Family Separations at the Border to Continue

January 21, 2020

The Trump administration received an unfortunate victory in the case against their family separation policy. On January 13, 2020, Federal Judge Dana Sabraw sided with the government in a lawsuit...

  • Blog

Immigration Agencies’ Intrusive Searches of Cell Phones, Laptops Are Ruled Unconstitutional

November 15, 2019

A federal court ruled this week that sweeping policies permitting U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to search personal cell phones,...

  • Blog

In Historic Ruling, Thousands of Immigrants Waiting for Their Immigration Records Can Now Challenge Agency Delay

October 17, 2019

A federal court in San Francisco certified two nationwide classes of immigrants and attorneys challenging extreme agency delays in producing immigration case files. Plaintiffs allege that U.S....

  • Blog

Which Immigration Cases Will the Supreme Court Rule on This Session?

October 15, 2019

The Supreme Court began a new session this October, and in the coming months, the justices will hear several high-profile immigration cases. These cases involve the attempted termination of the...

  • Press Release

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

January 27, 2015

Washington, D.C.—Recently, the U.S.

  • Press Release

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

January 22, 2015

Washington, D.C.—Recently, the U.S.

  • Press Release

Immigration, Civil Rights and Labor Groups Join Legal Effort to Defend Immigration Action

December 29, 2014

Washington D.C. - Today, immigration, civil rights and labor groups joined the legal effort to defend President Obama’s recent executive action on immigration by filing an

  • Press Release

U.S. District Court in D.C. Hears First Arguments Against Executive Action on Immigration

December 22, 2014

Washington D.C. - Today, the U.S.

  • Press Release

The Sixth Circuit Joins Growing Majority, Rejects BIA’s Narrow Interpretation of Section 212(h)

September 25, 2014

Washington, D.C.—Wednesday, the U.S.

  • Press Release

Immigration Council Urges U.S. Department of Labor to Ensure Fairness

September 17, 2014

Washington, D.C.

  • Press Release

District Court Rules Grant of TPS Is an Admission for Adjustment of Status Purposes

June 5, 2014

Washington, D.C.–The American Immigration Council welcomes last week’s ruling by the United States District Court for the

  • Press Release

Immigration Council Urges Broad Interpretation of § 212(h) Hardship Waiver

May 22, 2014

On May 19, 2014, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to

  • Press Release

Federal Judge Enjoins Key Provisions of South Carolina’s Immigration Law

December 22, 2013

Washington, D.C.—The American Immigration Council welcomes today’s ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard M.

  • Press Release

Immigration Advocacy Groups Urge Supreme Court to Interpret Child Status Protection Act Broadly

November 6, 2013

Washington, D.C.—This week, the American Immigration Council filed an amicus curiae

  • FOIA

Seeking Information About Board of Immigration Appeals' Treatment of Motions to Reconsider

This Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed to learn more about trends in the Board of Immigration Appeal’s treatment of motions to reconsider orders of removal.
  • Blog

Court Allows ICE to Use Enforcement Priorities Set by the Biden Administration

September 16, 2021

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday stayed a significant part of an earlier decision by the Northern District of Texas that would have blocked the implementation of the Biden...

  • Blog

Felony Reentry Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional Due to Racist Origins, Judge Rules

August 27, 2021

The post Felony Reentry Immigration Law Is Unconstitutional Due to Racist Origins, Judge Rules...

  • Press Release

Federal Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement Guidelines and Attempts to Upend Prosecutorial Discretion

August 19, 2021
A Texas judge blocked the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities. The decision was issued in a case challenging ICE’s enforcement activities outside the scope laid out in the Feb. 18 enforcement memo.
  • Amicus Briefs

Council and Partners Submit Amicus Brief to Stop the Reinstatement of the Migrant Protection Protocols

Publication Date: 
August 18, 2021
This brief highlights the court's many factual errors about MPP in its decision to reinstate the program.
  • Letters

Council Calls on Biden Administration to Block the Return of MPP

Publication Date: 
August 16, 2021
The Council led more than 100 other organizations in a letter urging the Biden administration to do everything in its power to prevent the return of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which was...
  • Press Release

Congress Must Ensure a Permanent Solution for Dreamers

July 16, 2021
U.S. Judge Andrew Hanen of the Southern District of Texas ordered the Biden administration to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
  • Blog

Supreme Court Rejects Two Ninth Circuit Decisions That Protected Immigrants

June 2, 2021

In two unanimous decisions, the Supreme Court has rejected rules that provided protections for immigrants. The rejected rules came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a court...

  • Amicus Briefs

Council Files Amicus Brief on the Legality of Prolonged Mandatory Detention

Publication Date: 
May 27, 2021
The amicus brief in Ayom v. Garland urges the eighth circuit to affirm that mandatory detention has constitutional limits, and reject the endorsement of prolonged mandatory detention for people in removal proceedings.
  • Blog

The Supreme Court Makes It Harder for Immigrants to Fight Deportation

March 5, 2021

The U.S. Supreme Court published a new decision on March 4 that will make it harder—if not impossible—for many longtime immigrants to fight deportation. The case, Pereida v. Wilkson, abandons...

Most Read

  • Publications
  • Blog Posts
  • Past:
  • Trending