It sounds good, right —
Having a court case dismissed?
In America, courts are supposed to protect due process. But a new directive to immigration judges flips that principle on its head—fast-tracking dismissals not for justice, but for ICE arrests.
Under a new Trump administration policy, many immigrants are walking into court expecting a fair hearing—only to have their case abruptly dismissed so immigration agents can arrest them outside of the courtroom. Although a dismissal sounds like a good thing, in reality it eliminates the forum (court) in which the noncitizen was eligible to apply for relief.
The policy instructs immigration judges that “Oral decisions must be completed within the same hearing slot on the day testimony and arguments are concluded.” What this essentially means in practice is that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) lawyers are making oral motions to dismiss a case during immigration hearings—and judges are instructed to grant those dismissals immediately, rather than letting immigrants use their typical 10-day period to respond. Normally, allowing a response period ensures people can prepare, present evidence, or request legal help. Fast-track dismissals cut off these critical rights—raising alarms about fairness and immigrants’ legal protections.
Something really worrying to legal experts is that the directive lacks a requirement that dismissals be based on changes in the specifics of an individual’s case—as the law requires. The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA, a group that Abogado Valverde is a member of) pointed out that excluding the phrase “of the case” seems deliberate and illegal, because it avoids requiring case-by-case reasoning.
The memo states that judges may grant motions to dismiss a migrant’s case when “circumstances have changed to such an extent that continuation is no longer in the best interest of the government.” But the law requires that DHS lawyers provide particular reasons for their motions to dismiss — reasoning and evidence that circumstances of a particular case have changed such that it makes sense to dismiss the case — and that is not happening right now.
There is an unfortunate, and inaccurate belief spreading among the American public that immigrants in court do not have rights. While their rights are different in immigration court, the right to request relief, be heard, and present evidence to their case is an incredibly important part of due process rights – rights that are supposed to be present in immigration court. If judges are directed to act on vague or omitted grounds, the integrity of the entire immigration-court system is at stake.
This isn’t just about immigration—it’s about whether our courts remain places of justice, or become tools of enforcement. And the outcome affects us all.
If you need assistance for an immigration court hearing, or filing for an immigration petition, you can reach us at (757) 422-8472, or send us a message on our website. You can also schedule an appointment with one of our attorneys by clicking on this link.
