SAN FRANCISCO — The main immigration courthouse in San Francisco is closing ahead of schedule, with the Department of Justice announcing it would not renew the lease for the building at 100 Montgomery Street. The closure affects over 100,000 pending immigration cases.
Approximately 100,000 immigration cases will be transferred to the Concord Immigration Court, located about an hour away. The San Francisco immigration court reduced its local judicial staff from 21 judges to two at a secondary city location. The lease non-renewal followed the termination and resignation of nearly all judges who operated at the 100 Montgomery Street location. About 17,000 immigration cases will remain at a secondary San Francisco location at 630 Sansome Street, which operates two courtrooms.
The Department of Justice cited cost savings as the reason for closing the San Francisco courthouse. Kathryn Mattingly, a spokesperson for the Executive Office for Immigration Review, said, "The closure was due to the expiration of the lease of the building and that relocating the court's work would be more cost effective." She said, "Reducing the immigration court backlog remains a priority for the agency. Any immigration judge can hear any case at any time throughout the country to assist with caseloads." Mattingly also stated, "As EOIR continues to add new immigration judges, EOIR will continue to make scheduling adjustments to ensure all cases are handled in a timely and lawful manner."
The Concord Immigration Court currently staffs four judges, excluding a supervisor, despite plans to staff 21 judges. Bill Hing, a law and migration studies professor, said, "It's part of the message that the Trump administration is sending, that they're not open to asylum seekers. And one way of doing that is closing the court that has been very generous to asylum seekers." Hing said, "It's sending a message that the progressive cases that have come out of San Francisco are going to end." He also said, "Chinese exclusion set the groundwork for much of the litigation in San Francisco when it came to challenging deportation."
Ghassan Shamieh, an immigration attorney, said, "It's to make the barriers to having your case heard so high that it becomes almost virtually impossible." Shamieh also said, "Changing locations of the physical court is a step to further that agenda." The San Francisco immigration court denied asylum requests in approximately 30 percent of cases during fiscal year 2025, which is half the national average. Since 2004, more than half of respondents who received a decision from the court were approved for asylum. Approximately 69 percent of immigrants with cases in the San Francisco immigration court have legal representation, making it the second-highest representation rate nationally.