Immigration Courts- Elementary School

When things go wrong or rules are broken, people have to go to a special court system.

• Deportation (removal) / Removal proceedings: Deportation (also called removal) is when the government officially forces a non-citizen to leave the country. "Removal proceedings" is the name of the court trial where a judge decides if the person must leave or can stay.

• Currently in Removal Proceedings: This means a person is currently in the middle of their court trial, and the judge hasn't decided yet if they can stay or must leave.

• Notice to Appear (NTA): A formal piece of paper that acts like an invitation to immigration court. It tells you exactly what rule the government thinks you broke and when your trial starts.

• Immigration Court / EOIR: The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is the official name for the network of Immigration Courts where these trials happen.

• Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA): If an immigrant or the government loses a case in immigration court, they can ask this group of higher judges to look at the case and see if the first judge made a mistake.

• Cancellation of Removal for non-lawful permanent resident: A special rescue rule where an immigration judge can cancel a deportation and give a person a Green Card instead, usually because they have been here a long time, are very good people, and their U.S. citizen kids need them.

• Administrative closure of removal proceedings: Putting a court case on "pause." The judge stops the trial and puts the file away, usually because the immigrant is waiting on a different application to be approved.

• Termination of removal proceedings: Completely ending and closing a court case. It means the trial is over, and the immigrant is no longer in danger of being deported.

• Final order of removal: The judge's final decision saying, "The trial is over, you must leave the United States now."

• Motion to Reopen (MTR): A "Motion" is a formal request to a judge. An MTR asks the judge to open a closed case again because there is brand-new information.

• Motion to suppress: A "motion to suppress" asks the judge to throw away evidence because the police or officers broke the rules to find it.

• Prosecutorial discretion: When the government lawyers decide to be nice and drop a case or pause a deportation because they want to focus on catching bad criminals instead of regular, hardworking people.

• Voluntary Departure / Voluntary Return: Instead of being forcefully deported (which ruins your record), the government lets you agree to pack your bags and leave the country on your own terms.