Decimated San Francisco immigration court to close at end of year
San Francisco immigration court building to close
The San Francisco immigration court building on Montgomery Street is set to close in January 2027.
SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco immigration court building — where nearly two dozen judges have since been fired or retired – is set to close in January 2027, according to a memo obtained by KTVU.
SF immigration court closing
FILE ART - San Francisco immigration court on Montgomery Street.
What we know:
Jeremiah Johnson, who was fired as an immigration judge in November and who is vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, confirmed on Wednesday what was first reported by Mission Local and the Chronicle.
He said he spoke to those with knowledge of a virtual Microsoft Teams Meeting on Tuesday, where they heard the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Julie Nelson tell them the news.
In addition, KTVU also later obtained a memo signed by Chief Immigration Judge Teresa Riley stating that the court at 100 Montgomery Street will not be renewing its lease agreement and officially shutting its doors in January 2027.
"San Francisco is a very important city," Johnson said. "We have historical ties to immigration. It would make sense to have an immigration court here in Northern California in San Francisco. It was a very special court. And so it is going to be a disappointment not to have that here in the city."
What we don't know:
No reason for the closure was given.
"As far as I understand, there was no engagement with the stakeholders, no engagement with the other lawyers, with the Department of Homeland Security," he said.
Other federal building remains intact
What does the closure of San Francisco's immigration court mean?
Jeremiah Johnson explains what the closure of San Francisco's immigration court means. Johnson was fired by the Trump administration as an immigration judge.
Johnson did say that at least for now, the 630 Sansome Street building, which holds the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, such as naturalization and Green Card programs, isn't moving. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices are also housed on Sansome Street.
Affirmative asylum cases will be heard at the building on Hawthorne Street.
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Shifting to Concord
FILE ART - Concord immigration court.
What they're saying:
Cases are expected to shift to Concord – the Bay Area's only other immigration court.
On the one hand, Johnson said shifting cases to Concord isn't necessarily an all-bad thing. For one, the Concord immigration court has a free parking lot and is easy to access from the freeway.
On the other hand, Johnson said he laments the loss of San Francisco courtroom access to those who live closer to The City, and he worries that the current administration is trying to get rid of the "progressive, left wing" institution.
"There's reasons not to have it here for sure," Johnson said, "like expensive rent, parking, all these other issues. But San Francisco is a major city. That's where you have courtrooms, and that's why you have attorney's offices, that's when you have legal service providers."
No comment from EOIR
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees the country’s immigration courts, did not respond to a request for comment.
Decimated SF court
San Francisco immigration court decimated
San Francisco's immigration court is now decimated, down to just four judges left to decide asylum cases starting Jan. 1, from a high of 21 at the start of the year.
By the numbers:
There were 21 judges at San Francisco’s two immigration court locations — with the vast majority at Montgomery Street — in early spring 2025.
The Trump administration fired 12 of those judges, and another four announced their end-of-year 2025 retirements.
The Concord immigration system now has seven judges.
Three had been fired last year.
Delays likely
People wait in line outside San Francisco's immigration court on Montgomery Street.
There are over 120,000 pending cases in San Francisco’s immigration court backlog, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
Abby Sullivan Engen, an immigrant rights attorney at Centro Legal de La Raza, said that the closure of the San Francisco courthouse will likely mean more delays for those awaiting their day in court.
To her, it also appears to be part of the Trump administration's broader strategy to make it more challenging for immigrants to process through the legal system.
"People are left with no choice but to be removed to their countries of origin, even if in fact, they are terrified of whatever harm it was that forced them to flee that country for safety in the United States."