Trump-Era Ending of Immigration Administrative Closures Rebuked

Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision that immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals don’t have authority to administratively close immigration cases was rebuked by the Third Circuit Wednesday.

An administrative closure is a docketing tool under which an IJ or the board takes an immigration case off their active dockets and places it on hold while an alternate resolution is developed or because events outside the control of the parties may affect the case.

The process isn’t specifically mentioned in the Immigration and Naturalization Act or in applicable regulations. But it had long been deemed valid under ...