DOJ Shuts San Francisco Immigration Court, Threatening to Deepen Case Backlog and Harm Asylum Seekers

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) quietly shuttered the immigration court located at 100 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, a decision that experts say will only worsen the already massive backlog of immigration cases in the Bay Area. The closure comes after a steady purge of immigration judges at the court, where 20 of 22 judges were fired over the past year—a move critics link to the Trump administration’s strategy of stacking courts with judges aligned to its harsh deportation agenda.

The DOJ’s executive office for immigration review (EOIR) defended the closure as a “cost effective” measure. However, the majority of the court’s caseload is being relocated to a smaller immigration court in Concord, 35 miles away, which opened in 2024 amid the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce immigration case backlogs. The problem? The Concord court recently lost six judges, raising serious doubts about its capacity to handle the influx.

According to EOIR data, there are currently 3.75 million pending immigration cases nationwide. In San Francisco alone, the backlog stands at a staggering 120,000 cases, per the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (Trac) at Syracuse University. Legal advocates warn that the consolidation will only deepen delays, forcing immigrants to wait years for their cases to be heard.

“With so few judges at the Concord court, we’re going to see a lot of people waiting years and years and years to have their cases heard,” said Milli Atkinson, director of the San Francisco Bar Association’s immigrant legal defense program.

These delays have real consequences. Shira Levine, a former San Francisco immigration judge now with the Immigrant Institute of the Bay Area, explained how drawn-out case timelines undermine asylum seekers’ ability to present their cases effectively. “Over years, testimonial memories can fade,” Levine said. “Even if you submit the written evidence, years later, someone may not be available to testify in support of that evidence.”

The closure and judge purges have created “a lot of chaos,” Atkinson added, with court dates being rescheduled unpredictably. This confusion disproportionately affects migrants who often have unstable housing or limited English skills, increasing the risk they will miss hearings. Missed hearings can result in people being flagged by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), potentially leading to deportation—even for those with legitimate fears of persecution.

“A lot of migrants have unstable addresses or don’t receive their mail,” Atkinson said. “Notices in English may not be understood by those who don’t speak or read it.” She warned that administrative errors like wrong dates or places for hearings could have “life-threatening” consequences for asylum seekers.

This court closure is not just a bureaucratic shuffle. It fits into a broader pattern of the Trump-era DOJ weaponizing the immigration court system to accelerate removals and limit access to justice. By firing judges and shuttering courts, the administration has systematically undermined due process for immigrants, leaving thousands trapped in limbo or vulnerable to wrongful deportation.

The DOJ has yet to respond to requests for comment on how it plans to address the growing backlog and the impact on immigrant communities. Meanwhile, the closure of the San Francisco court stands as a stark reminder: under this administration, accountability and fairness in immigration enforcement remain elusive.