US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Attempt to Fast-Track Immigration Appeals

A federal judge has prevented US President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a fast-track system intended to resolve the majority of appeals by individuals contesting adverse decisions from immigration judges.

US District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., struck down the core element of a rule scheduled to take effect on Monday, issued by the US Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to reform the appellate review process before the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

Moss, appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, said the office implemented the rule without allowing for notice and public comment, in breach of the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Issues so fundamental to the rights of tens of thousands of individuals — and that guide how organisations and lawyers present claims to the BIA — ought to be considered and addressed before, rather than after, a rule takes effect,” Moss wrote.

He invalidated provisions that would have cut the window to file a notice of appeal from 30 days to 10 and treated any unraised issues as waived. Under the rule, appeals would be summarily dismissed unless referred to the full BIA within 10 days, and accepted by a board vote. Moss noted that most appellants “would almost certainly lose their case before the BIA before it even begins; in the vast majority of cases, the matter would be disposed of by summary dismissal.”

Five non-profit legal and social service organisations representing immigrants hailed the decision, arguing the rule would have undermined due process.

“Amid ongoing attacks on immigrants’ due process rights, this ruling prevents the BIA from reaching near self-destruction,” said Emilie Raber of the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.

EOIR declined to comment. When announcing the rule last month, the agency said it was needed to address a growing backlog at the BIA, which, like the lower immigration courts, is part of the executive branch, not the federal judiciary.

At the end of the 2025 fiscal year, 202,946 appeals were pending at the BIA, up from 37,285 a decade earlier. EOIR said the rule would streamline appellate procedures and reduce delays — a step the Trump administration argued demonstrated its commitment to deporting immigrants without lawful status.

While Moss struck the “central features” of the rule, he did not block other provisions, including the requirement for simultaneous briefing by parties in appeals.

Case: Amica Center for Immigrant Rights v. Executive Office for Immigration Review, US District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:26-cv-00696.

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