On May 17, 2018, the U.S. Attorney General ordered that immigration judges must make decisions on cases in front of the court, barring them from using “administrative closures.”

In barring Immigration Judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals from using “administrative closures,” the Attorney General has eliminated a discretionary docket management tool, which allowed some individuals suspected of being in the U.S. without authorization to remain in the country in a quasi-legal limbo as their petitions are reviewed and/or other options pursued.