On September 24, 2026, the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced the swearing-in of 47 immigration judges and six temporary immigration judges. EOIR also released the new judges’ biographical summaries, which include their...
Topic: Immigration Judges
DHS Announces Rule Change, Effective Immediately, to Allow USCIS to Refer Asylum Applications to Immigration Judges Without Interviewing the Applicant
On July 27, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an interim final rule, effective July 28, that allows U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer asylum applications to Immigration Judges (IJs) without first interviewing the...
EOIR Announces Nineteen New Immigration Judges
The Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) appointed 19 new immigration judges (IJs) to courts in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. EOIR said it continues to work to expand its...
Government Reopens, but Canceled Hearings Add Years to Backlog
More than 80,000 immigration court hearings were canceled during the partial government shutdown from December 22, 2018 to January 25. While the government is now reopened until February 15, a report by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse...
44 New Immigration Judges Comprise Largest Class in History
Attorney General Jeff Sessions highlighted the need for more immigration judges and increased backlog efficiency in his September 10, 2018 remarks to welcome the largest new class of Immigration Judges (IJs) in history. Among other things, Mr. Sessions said more IJs...
