§1535 Appeals

Summary

People can appeal many immigration judge decisions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The Attorney General may appeal if an application for removal proceedings is denied, and either the immigrant or the Attorney General may appeal a judge’s removal order. Appeals must start by filing a notice within 20 days. The full case record is sent to the court, some parts kept secret, and the court may hear secret material without the other side present. The court reviews legal questions from scratch and will only overturn factual findings if they are clearly wrong, except in certain permanent resident cases (see next paragraph). If a judge makes or refuses findings about classified evidence, the United States can take an early appeal and must send the sealed classified material and any summary to the court. If a lawful permanent resident was denied a written summary of classified information, the Court of Appeals will review the judge’s order automatically unless the resident gives up that right. A special attorney will handle classified-information issues for the resident. The appeals are sped up when possible, and the Court of Appeals must issue an opinion within 60 days after the lower court’s final order. Parties can ask the Supreme Court to review the appellate decision, but removal is not paused while that request is considered unless a court or Justice orders it. For certain detention orders, rules in 18 U.S.C. §§ 3145–3148 apply and challenges to continued detention on non-constitutional grounds are not allowed; constitutional claims go only to the D.C. Circuit.