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A new Indianapolis immigration court officially opened on Monday, the first of its kind to operate in Indiana.
When Indiana Lawyer visited the new court on Monday, several parties were already waiting in line for assistance. According to employees with the court, staff have been receiving phone inquiries and mailed-in applications since before the court opened.
The court, which is located in the Minton-Capehart Federal Building on North Pennsylvania Street in downtown Indianapolis, is designed to meet the growing needs of residents across the state, according to a Jan. 7 notice posted by the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.
The EOIR announced in June 2022 that an immigration court was planned for the city.
Up until now, all Indiana immigration cases have been handled in Chicago. Now, many of them will be reassigned to Indianapolis.
Staff with the immigration court did not respond to questions about how many cases are being reassigned, and if the court is fully staffed to handle the caseload.
Court officials referred Indiana Lawyer to the Executive Office of Immigration Review.
Attempts to get comments and additional information about the court from the EOIR’s public affairs office were not immediately successful Monday.
The court is expected to have seven immigration judges.
When plans for the court were first announced, the immigration review office said it expected to have 40 employees at the facility, which includes judges and other court staff.
Monday’s opening comes as the United States faces an overall immigration case backlog of more than 3.7 million pending cases.
As of October 2024, there were more than 72,000 pending cases in Indiana.
Project 2025, a controversial document by the Heritage Foundation and more than 100 other conservative groups, offers a look at potential immigration enforcement goals during Trump’s second term. This plan includes adding more immigration courts across the country.
The immigration court, located in room 617 of the federal building, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to signage inside the court.
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