At What Rate Do Noncitizens Appear for Their Removal Hearings?

The argument that noncitizens will fail to appear for immigration court hearings has been used to support mandatory detention and border security enhancements. Yet there are multiple methods for measuring the in absentia rate that show wide variation in these rates. The Congressional Research Service has a brief report titled “At What Rate Do Noncitizens Appear for Their Removal Hearings? Measuring In Absentia Removal Order Rates” that shines light on the debate. The abstract says:

The CRS brief explains the legal requirements for in absentia removal orders, how EOIR calculates in absentia rates, and how to interpret those rates based on initial case completion. It notes that this rate does not account for noncitizens who have appeared for hearings but whose cases are still pending in the backlog of immigration cases; those whose cases have been administratively closed or moved to an inactive pending docket while the respondent pursues an application with another agency; and outcomes from subsequent case completions once a noncitizen is granted a motion to reopen. This can distort the true in absentia rate by failing to account for good faith court appearances in cases that are not completed in one hearing.

The brief closes with an alternative method for calculating in absentia rates that accounts for pending cases that provides a more comprehensive account of court appearances.

MHC