EOIR (Executive Office for Immigration Review)

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) responsible for adjudicating immigration cases. EOIR oversees the nation's immigration court system, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO).

EOIR operates approximately 70 immigration courts across the United States, staffed by over 600 immigration judges. These courts handle removal proceedings — the formal process to determine whether a noncitizen should be deported or allowed to remain. The immigration courts are not part of the independent federal judiciary (Article III courts); they are administrative courts within the executive branch, meaning immigration judges serve at the direction of the Attorney General.

This structural arrangement has been a longstanding source of controversy. Because immigration judges are DOJ employees, they are subject to performance metrics, policy directives, and hiring decisions made by politically appointed officials. Critics argue this compromises judicial independence — for example, past administrations have implemented case completion quotas that pressure judges to decide cases quickly rather than thoroughly.

EOIR's caseload has grown dramatically, from roughly 250,000 pending cases a decade ago to over 3 million in 2025. This massive backlog means that many respondents wait years for their hearings, creating uncertainty and hardship. The backlog has prompted calls for structural reform, including proposals to convert immigration courts into an independent court system outside the DOJ.

EOIR also maintains the Legal Orientation Program (LOP), which provides basic legal information to detained individuals, and publishes data on court operations, case outcomes, and judge-level statistics that form the foundation of OpenImmigration's analysis.