The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These administrative proceedings determine the removability and

admissibility Admissibility may refer to: Law * Admissible evidence, evidence which may be introduced in a court of law *Admissibility (ECHR), whether a case will be considered in the European Convention on Human Rights system Mathematics and logic * Admissible ...

of individuals in the United States. , there were sixty-nine immigration courts throughout the United States.

History and jurisdiction

EOIR was created in 1983 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of an internal reorganization. Prior to 1983, the functions performed by EOIR were divided among different agencies. The earliest version of a specialized immigration service was the

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...

(INS), created in 1933, in the Department of Labor. Seven years later, in 1940, the INS moved from Labor to its present location in the Department of Justice. Twelve years after moving to DOJ, in 1952, the

Immigration and Nationality Act The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act may refer to one of several acts including: * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 * Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 * Immigration Act of 1990 See also * List of United States immigration legisla ...

organized all U.S. immigration laws into one statute, and designated "special inquiry officers," the predecessors of immigration judges, to decide questions of deportation. EOIR adjudicates cases under a patchwork of immigration laws and regulations, including: *

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (), also known as the McCarran–Walter Act, codified under Title 8 of the United States Code (), governs immigration to and citizenship in the United States. It came into effect on June 27, 1952. Before ...

Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, also known as the Hart–Celler Act and more recently as the 1965 Immigration Act, is a federal law passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The l ...

* Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 * United States Refugee Act of 1980 *

Immigration Act of 1990 The Immigration Act of 1990 () was signed into law by George H. W. Bush on November 29, 1990. It was first introduced by Ted Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy in 1989. It was a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It increase ...

* Illegal Immigration Reform and Responsibility Act of 1996 * Real ID Act of 2005 In addition to these statutes, other federal statutes, agency regulations, and executive orders, federal courts also play an important role immigration law. Because litigants have the right to appeal a decision to federal courts of appeal, different areas of the United States effectively have different immigration laws, notwithstanding

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

review. In addition, federal statutes not facially related to immigration also may play a role in admissibility, including those related to public benefits.

Structure

Within the Department of Justice, EOIR is one of a number of offices that answers directly to the Deputy Attorney General. EOIR itself has two members of its leadership team: a director, who is appointed by the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, and a deputy director who may exercise the full authority of the director. The current director is David L. Neal, and the current deputy director is Charles Adkins-Blanch.

Adjudicative components

Office of the Chief Immigration Judge

The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) is the authority under which trial-level immigration judges are situated. Like the EOIR director and deputy director, the Chief Immigration Judge is appointed by the attorney general, though he or she is supervised directly by the director of EOIR. The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge oversees nearly 500 immigration judges, 60 immigration courts, and 30 assistant chief immigration judges (ACIJ) based in the various cities where U.S. immigration courts are located. Immigration judges adjudicate hearings under Section 240 of the INA. Immigration judges, unlike Article III judges, do not have life tenure, and are not appointed by the President nor confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

as required by the Appointments Clause in Article II. Instead, they are civil servants appointed by the attorney general. The director of EOIR may also designate temporary immigration judges, who may serve for a period not longer than six months. Immigration adjudication does not conform to the separation of functions as prescribed by the

Administrative Procedure Act The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), , is the United States federal statute that governs the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United States may propose and establish regulations, and it grants U.S. federa ...

. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security initiates removal proceeding against a litigant; the immigration judge is employed by EOIR. In the removal proceeding, the U.S. Government is represented by an Assistant Chief Counsel, often referred to as a "DHS attorney" or "trial attorney." Unlike criminal adjudications in Article III courts, litigants in removal proceedings do not have a constitutional right to counsel, except in narrow circumstances.

Board of Immigration Appeals

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) is the body to whom litigants may appeal their decisions from immigration judges. Composed of 21 members appointed by the attorney general, BIA decisions are generally decided by panels of three of its members. Unlike courts of appeals in the state and federal systems, the BIA rarely holds oral arguments on appeals. Instead, the BIA conducts a "paper review" of the materials, before issuing a written decision. Though the BIA issues hundreds of decisions each year, it chooses a small number as "precedent decisions," which seek to provide guidance to immigration judges across the countries on the state of immigration law. After the BIA has decided a matter, it may choose to issue a final decision, remand to the immigration judge for further consideration, or refer the matter to the attorney general. The attorney general also may refer the case to him or herself and decide the case regardless of the decision of the BIA.

Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer

The Office for the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) oversees specialized immigration

administrative law judges An administrative law judge (ALJ) in the United States is a judge and trier of fact who both presides over trials and adjudicates claims or disputes involving administrative law. ALJs can administer oaths, take testimony, rule on questions o ...

as provided for in the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the

. Unlike the immigration judges in the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, who hear the merits of the immigration claims of litigants, the administrative law judges of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer handle matters related to the employment of non-citizens unlawfully residing in the United States; other unfair employment practices; and documentation

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

seeking immigration relief.

Non-adjudicative components

General Counsel

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) is the chief legal counsel of EOIR. The general counsel primarily provides legal guidance regarding precedential Board of Immigration Appeals and federal courts decisions and disseminates that information across EOIR. The Office of General Counsel also represents EOIR in federal court and responds to Freedom of Information Act requests directed at EOIR. The Office of General Counsel is also responsible for maintaining the standard for immigration attorneys nation-wide through its Attorney Discipline Program.

Office of Policy

EOIR's Office of Policy (OP), created in 2017, is responsible for communications, data collection, and regulatory review. Unlike the Office of general counsel, the Office of Policy does not represent EOIR in legal proceedings; it provides training and instructions to effectuate the policy of the director.

Criticism and controversies

The

's use of precedent decisions has been subject to criticism. Some commentators have argued that the use of the power, instead of settling doctrine, has departed from agency procedures and practices, adjudicated issues not relevant to a particular case, and disrupted the development of circuit law by adopting the minority view. EOIR has also been criticized for the significant backlog of immigration cases; as of December 2020, there are more than 1.2 million pending cases across the immigration courts. In 2018, the Department of Justice instituted case quotas for immigration judges, requiring each to complete 700 cases per year, a rate requiring each IJ to close more than two cases per day. The president of th
National Association of Immigration Judges
stated that the policy was an "unprecedented act which compromises the integrity of the court." In January 2021, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Executive Office for Immigration Review had failed to prevent or appropriately respond to multiple instances of sexual harassment by judges and supervisors.

Tal Kopan Tal Kopan (born December 19, 1986) is the Washington correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle and previously was an American political reporter for CNN, where she focused on immigration and cybersecurity. Biography Kal Teva Kopan was born in ...

, the reporter who broke the story, added later in an interview that more allegations not included in the story indicated that the problem was widespread and not an isolated occurrence. A November 2019 report by the United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General found that "senior managers" involved in the hiring of Immigration Judges had used a system of "code words" to rate "the attractiveness" of female candidates. The report also found that this conduct "could give rise to claims of sexual harassment or claims of prohibited personnel practices."

References

External links

*
Executive Office for Immigration Review
in the

Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on feder ...

List of Immigration Courts

Center for Immigration Studies Immigration Newsmaker: A Conversation with EOIR Director James McHenry
May 3, 2018
Twitter Feed
{{authority control United States Department of Justice agencies Administrative courts United States tribunals Immigration to the United States