Investigating EOIR’s Practice of Advancing Hearings with Limited Notice to Immigrants and Their Lawyers
Over the past two years, immigration attorneys have reported that the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is moving up the date of individual hearings originally scheduled for years down the line to within just a couple of weeks with either little notice or often no notice at all to them or their clients. An individual hearing is the most important event for immigrants in removal proceedings, and attorney preparation with their client is crucial to success. This practice has led to two issues: 1) attorneys often do not receive sufficient notice of the rescheduled hearing to prepare with their clients; and 2) attorneys have been scheduled for several hearings in a week and even two hearings at the same time.
On October 28, the Council along with the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out more about this practice. The FOIA request also seeks information about the number of cases that have been advanced in the past two years and how immigration judges decide whether to grant a request to delay hearings based on attorneys’ scheduling conflicts or workload.
Read more: Request Seeks Records on EOIR’s Practice of Moving Up Individual Hearing Dates with Little to No Notice
Uncovering Records Regarding Parole Guidance and Incorrect Addresses on CBP Documents After Migrants Flown to Martha's Vineyard
Though much of the media coverage of busing migrants to Democratic-led cities and most recently, flights to Martha's Vineyard, has highlighted the role of state officials in providing misleading information to migrants and orchestrating their relocation, federal immigration officials also have played a role.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other federal immigration agencies have a role in deciding whether to grant and extend parole applications, such as the humanitarian parole applications provided to migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard.
In addition, CBP determines the mailing addresses to include in CBP-issued documents, including addresses for migrants who have no contacts in the United States and therefore lack a readily available address. The addresses listed by CBP for migrants flown from Martha’s Vineyard—including reporting, parole, and release documents—were incorrect or nonexistent.
On October 26, the Council filed a FOIA request to learn more about these issues. The request seeks 1) records related to CBP parole guidance and how the agency determines the mailing address to include in CBP-issued documents; 2) communication among CBP officers and Texas, Arizona, and Florida state and local officials related to buses and flights chartered to transport migrants; and 3) interagency communication between CBP and ICE related to parole guidance and mailing addresses.
Read more: Request Seeks Information about CBP’s Parole and Address Guidance
