EOIR, Dilley Hearing Cases, Texas, 2024

FALLS CHURCH, Va. – In a shocking move, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) has announced that it will reassign immigration cases originating at the Dilley, Texas, residential detention facility from the Denver Immigration Court to the Miami Immigration Court.

The decision comes after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the expansion of the Dilley facility to 2,400 beds, leading to a surge in immigration cases. EOIR Director Juan P. Osuna said that the agency determined that the increase in cases would be most efficiently handled from the Miami Immigration Court.

According to EOIR, Miami immigration judges will hear all Dilley removal cases via video-teleconference (VTC), except for those in which a Denver immigration judge has already begun to hear evidence on contested issues. Miami immigration judges will also conduct credible fear reviews in cases that DHS refers to EOIR on or after May 1, 2015. Credible fear reviews that DHS refers before May 1, 2015, and all cases in which a Denver immigration judge has begun to hear evidence on contested issues will remain before the Denver immigration judge.

All parties will receive appropriate notice prior to their hearings. Filings for Dilley cases should be submitted to the Miami Immigration Court location unless the Denver immigration judge retains the case. The rescheduling of non-detained, non-priority cases in Miami will allow for priority cases to be heard.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice. Under delegated authority from the Attorney General, immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals interpret and adjudicate immigration cases according to United States immigration laws. EOIR’s immigration judges conduct administrative court proceedings in immigration courts located throughout the nation.

They determine whether foreign-born individuals—whom the Department of Homeland Security charges with violating immigration law—should be ordered removed from the United States or should be granted relief from removal and be permitted to remain in this country. The Board of Immigration Appeals primarily reviews appeals of decisions by immigration judges. EOIR’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer adjudicates immigration-related employment cases. EOIR is committed to ensuring fairness in all of the cases it adjudicates.