WASHINGTON, DC, October 15 — LatinoJustice PRLDEF, the American Immigration Council, and Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York demanding the release of critical records that the government has illegally suppressed regarding immigration court arrests and immigration case dismissals.
Read the contents of the lawsuit here.
Since May 20, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) have participated in a coordinated effort to detain noncitizens appearing for hearings in immigration courts across the country.
Arresting people who voluntarily appear in immigration court seeking protection is highly problematic. Immigration courts are not criminal courts and should be places that ensure fair hearings, not serve as conduits to detention. When people who go to court seeking a fair court are instead arrested, the core tenets of our democracy are undermined, people are discouraged from pursuing their legal rights, and serious human harm occurs.
In addition, ICE lawyers are asking immigration judges to dismiss the cases and move people into expedited deportation, with fewer due process protections and no path to permanent residency. EOIR, the agency that runs immigration courts, instructed immigration judges to grant these dismissals on the spot, even if they violate agency policy or long-standing practice.
To better understand how and why immigration court arrests occur, LatinoJustice and the American Immigration Council filed 11 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests on July 28 and 29, 2025, six with EOIR and five with ICE. The request seeks basic information about arrests and dismissals around immigration courts and communications between and within the agencies that coordinate these activities. LatinoJustice and the Council also called for these requests to be addressed quickly through expedited processing.
However, to date, the government has failed to provide timely and appropriate responses to 10 of these FOIA requests, in violation of the law. EOIR declared that no guidance issued to immigration judges regarding case dismissals or court arrests could be found, even though copies of the applicable guidance were leaked to the public. EOIR also refuses to even search records regarding the extent of its coordination with ICE, and ICE ignores or delays processing all requests to EOIR.
“Our FOIA request aims to shine a light on how ICE operates in immigration court, where families are fighting to keep their families together and fight for their futures,” said Rex Chen, lead attorney for immigrant rights at LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “Instead of transparency, they chose secrecy, obstruction, or inadequate responses to our requests. Prolonging this urgent matter is unacceptable.”
“Families’ futures are at stake. That’s why we need a better understanding of how immigration court arrests work and how independent and neutral agencies like EOIR are pushing mass deportation programs. The public has a right to know what EOIR and ICE are doing behind closed doors,” said Chris Opira, staff attorney for transparency at the American Immigration Council.
Read the contents of the lawsuit here.
“The public has a right to know when our government is rewriting the rules to make mass arrests and deny due process, especially in courts meant to deliver justice,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is filing a separate lawsuit against these arrests. “The administration cannot hide its guidance that turns immigration courts into traps and accelerates deportations without fair hearings. We will not allow these agencies to operate in the shadows. Transparency is the first line of defense against abuse of power, and we are going to court to demand accountability.”
The lawsuit seeks to compel the four government agencies to fully comply with FOIA and produce all documents in response to the seven requests. It also calls for prompt disclosure of guidance directives and communications between ICE and EOIR.
About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF is committed to building a more just society by harnessing and challenging the rule of law to ensure transformative, fair, and accessible justice, empowering communities, and developing leadership through advocacy and education. For more than 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has served as an advocate against injustice across the country. For more information about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org.
About Democracy Forward Foundation
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
About the American Immigration Council
The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks and acts about immigrants and immigrants, working toward a fairer and more just immigration system that opens doors to people in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers to drive change through four coordinated approaches: litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a wide range of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure their ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities in which they settle more welcoming. Follow us on BlueSky @immcouncil.org and on Instagram @immcouncil for the latest council news and information.
