Judge acquits Democratic congressional candidate arrested at New York immigration court protest | PBS News

Federal prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Lander obstructed an elevator on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza as he sat in front of it for 20 to 25 minutes on Sept. 18, 2025. Ricardo said the government had failed to show that Lander intended to obstruct the elevators or was uncooperative as members of federal law enforcement gave protesters conflicting instructions...

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-acquits-democratic-congressional-candidate-arrested-at-new-york-immigration-court-protest

 

Michigan Supreme Court approves rule banning civil arrests, including by ICE, at legal proceedings

Specifically, the new rule, which will go into effect on May 1, states that “Parties, attorneys, and subpoenaed witnesses are not subject to civil arrest while going to, attending, and returning from the places they are required to attend.”…

 https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2026-04-30/michigan-supreme-court-approves-rule-banning-civil-arrests-including-by-ice-at-legal-proceedings

Retired immigration judge says immigration courts are "beyond saving"

“The adjudication that people receive at the asylum office is actually, in my view, at this point, a higher quality than what you get at many immigration courts,” he said…

 https://www.michiganpublic.org/criminal-justice-legal-system/2026-04-28/retired-immigration-judge-says-immigration-courts-are-beyond-saving

 

A day in immigration court: Confusion, explosive anger, waiting : NPR

…Finally, the judge sets a date for an individual hearing — a chance to pursue asylum, cancellation of removal or other forms of relief. The dates? All in 2029. 

That year has become routine in courts across the country as immigration judges juggle a 3.7 million-case backlog. Remy, the lawyer at NYLAG, said over the past few weeks, fewer people have shown up for their hearings, risking final removal orders. 

"People are being put into an absolutely impossible situation," he said. "They're being forced to gamble their own liberty versus potentially continuing with their case, continuing with their claim."..

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/25/nx-s1-5503595/immigration-court-new-york

 

US immigration courts struggle amid understaffing and backlog of cases

Judges, scholars and attorneys all concerned whether people due in court will receive notice before their hearings…

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/21/us-immigration-courts-cases-backlog-understaffing

Judges blast Trump administration for ordering coronavirus info posters taken down from courts – Raw Story

On Monday, the National Association of Immigration Judges condemned the Trump administration’s Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), following their order to remove CDC posters at immigration courts that displayed, in English and Spanish, warnings about the coronavirus and tips on how to prevent the spread of the disease.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/judges-blast-trump-administration-for-ordering-coronavirus-info-posters-taken-down-from-courts/

"A Fucking Disaster That Is Designed to Fail": How Trump Wrecked America's Immigration Courts - Mother Jones

I spent two days inside one of America's most overburdened courts. It was worse than I could've imagined.....
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/02/trump-immigration-court-backlog-migrant-protection-protocols/

Study: 99% of asylum seekers show up for immigration court hearings - Vox

President Donald Trump has often claimed that the only way to ensure that migrants show up for their court hearings rather than vanish into the US is to keep them in detention or else make sure that they never step foot on American soil in the first place. But the president’s theory doesn’t hold up: About 99 percent of asylum seekers who were not detained or who were previously released from immigration custody showed up for their hearings over the last year, according to new data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, a think tank that tracks data in the immigration courts.....
https://www.vox.com/2020/1/10/21059924/trump-asylum-seekers-show-up-court-hearing

It's taking longer to become a legal immigrant - Axios

The number of immigrants waiting on a judge to decide whether they can stay in the U.S. keeps climbing, according to Justice Department data.
https://www.axios.com/immigration-legal-courts-judges-backlog-border-crisis-92525141-66f5-41c1-a9e1-a60edba4ee74.html

How Trump Broke the Immigration Court - POLITICO

Thanks to White House orders, they're more jammed up than ever.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/16/trump-ice-raids-immigration-courts-arent-ready-227359?cid=apn