San Francisco immigration court closes, shifting 100,000 cases to Concord

The main immigration courthouse in San Francisco closed ahead of its planned year-end date, transferring roughly 100,000 pending cases to the Concord Immigration Court about an hour away. The Justice Department, which oversees immigration courts through the Executive Office for Immigration Review, said the move followed the expiration of the lease at 100 Montgomery St.

and was intended to reduce costs. A smaller San Francisco location at 630 Sansome St. will continue to handle about 17,000 cases with two operating courtrooms.

Court history and caseload The San Francisco court had been one of the busiest immigration courts in the country, with jurisdiction covering immigrants living between California's Central Valley and central Oregon. In fiscal year 2025 it denied asylum in about 30 percent of cases, half the national average, and since 2004 more than half of decided cases resulted in asylum grants.

The court also had one of the highest representation rates in the country, with about 69 percent of respondents having legal counsel.

Judge reductions and relocation effects The closure follows the termination or resignation of nearly all judges assigned to the main San Francisco location. Concord, which was intended to have 21 judges, currently has four, not counting a supervisor.

Nationally, the immigration court system had about one-quarter fewer judges at the start of 2026 than at the start of 2025. EOIR spokesperson Kathryn Mattingly said the agency continues to add judges and will adjust scheduling to handle cases in a timely manner.

She stated that any immigration judge can hear cases anywhere in the country to manage caseloads. Immigration attorney Ghassan Shamieh said relocating the court increases barriers for people with pending cases. Law professor Bill Hing said the San Francisco court had handled precedent-setting immigration litigation for decades.