Best Practices for Conducting
Immigration Hearings via Video Teleconferencing
• Background
For over a decade, the Immigration Courts, like many other trial and
some appellate courts in the United States, have conducted hearings
through video teleconferencing (VTC), an electronic form of communication
that permits two or more people at different locations to engage in
audio and visual exchanges. VTC technology allows court proceedings
to be conducted efficiently and effectively, even though participants
are not together at one location. The linchpin for the Immigration
Judge (IJ) is to ensure hearings are conducted fairly and provide
due process for the parties.
Immigration Court proceedings conducted by VTC offer several advantages
and efficiencies. They reduce transportation costs of the IJ, parties,
or both. For detained respondents, VTC avoids the security risks and
transportation costs of transporting respondents from a detained location,
possibly hours away, to the Court. VTC allows the IJ to conduct hearings
at multiple satellite locations, often on the same day, without the
necessity of travel to another site, avoiding the costs and time associated
with travel and increasing the productivity of the Immigration Judge
and the Court. With improved audio and video clarity of state-of-the-art
VTC technology, Immigration Court proceedings conducted by VTC can
be efficient, effective, and fair, without impinging on due process
rights of litigants. Several issues arise in VTC hearings that may
not occur in hearings conducted in person at a court or hearing location.
This document suggests best practices for handling issues that may
arise in hearings conducted via video teleconferencing.
• VTC Authority & Guidelines
The Immigration and Nationality Act § 240(b)(2)(A)(iii) and 8
Code of Federal Regulations § 1003.25(c) specifically authorize
the IJ to conduct hearings by video conference to the same extent
as he or she may conduct hearings in person. Additional guidance can
be found in Operating Policies and Procedures Memorandum (OPPM) No.
04-06, August 18, 2004, Hearings Conducted through Telephone and Video
Conference; and the Immigration Judge Benchbook at Introductory Guides:
Televideo.
• Best Practice Recommendations
Consultation with Counsel: Despite the best efforts of counsel or
a representative, there will be occasions when an attorney or representative
needs to consult with the respondent when that respondent is at a
location (e.g., a detention facility) different than the attorney
or representative. For example, an attorney determines that his or
her client is ineligible for cancellation of removal and wishes to,
instead, advise his or her client to request voluntary departure.
The best practice generally is for the judge to leave the courtroom
and allow the attorney/representative to consult with the respondent
using the VTC outside the presence of the judge or other government
counsel or staff. The judge should determine when it is opportune
to take such a break.
Visitation: When hearings are conducted in person at the Immigration
Court or other hearing location, family members and friends can be
present to provide moral support to the respondent. With a hearing
conducted by VTC, that may not always be so as the respondent may
be, for example, at a detention facility or satellite location where
those others are not present. A best practice is for the IJ, where
administrative considerations permit, to allow the respondent, upon
request, to talk with his or her family members before the hearing,
during a recess, or briefly at the conclusion of the hearing, so that
they can support their loved one or friend.
By-location scheduling: For those Immigration Courts scheduling VTC
hearings at multiple satellite locations from a fixed court location,
a logical tendency is to schedule cases on master calendar hearing
sessions without regard to the specific location of the respondent.
This leads to multiple pictures, akin to a collage, on the screen
before the IJ, which can be distracting visually and sometimes creates
additional noise. A best practice is to schedule master calendar hearing
sessions by hearing location so that all cases from that location
are heard in a session (length determined by the number of cases)
and so that only one respondent appears on the screen. When the respondent
is detained or in state or federal custody (i.e., Institutional Hearing
Program cases), this technique requires coordination with Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) Enforcement and Removal Operations personnel
and facility personnel. To effectively use this approach, hearing
location codes for each satellite location should be used to effectively
schedule and track cases, and the hearing location codes can be requested
through the Office of the Chief Clerk. It also requires that DHS keep
the Court informed of locations of respondents through use of the
I-830 (Notice to EOIR: Alien Address) (see 8 C.F.R. § 1003.19(g)
and OPPM 99-4: Electronic I-830 (Notice to EOIR: Alien Address)).
Documentary, evidentiary, and service issues: During a VTC hearing,
the parties or the IJ may need to provide documents to a participant
not collocated. Facsimile (“fax”) machines provide a useful
tool to transmit documents among participants. These could be, for
example, exhibits which have been filed but are not readily locatable
in the Record of Proceeding (ROP), applications for relief or waiver
applications, criminal conviction records, or documents offered during
the proceedings. When the IJ completes the evidentiary hearing and
has rendered a decision, a best practice is for the IJ to complete
and sign the order and fax it to the parties, usually while still
in court. The DHS counsel present can certify aloud, stating on the
record, that a copy of the order has been served on the respondent
and counsel, if represented. (Where only the unrepresented respondent
is present at the hearing location, a copy of the order may be mailed
to the facility point of contact for service on the respondent.) The
original order signed by the IJ is filed in the ROP. Support staff
will need to assist the IJ with faxing and receipt of documents.
•Technological issues:
Connectivity: Issues
arise during hearings when the connection between the VTC system at
the Court and that in the satellite location is lost. When attempts
to restore a connection with the hearing location have failed, the
Court Administrator or support staff will need to contact either the
EOIR Helpdesk (EOIRHelpdesk@usdoj.gov, 703-305-7347) or the DHS Video
Laboratory (Lab)[(202) 732-7417 or (888) 347-7762], whichever is more
appropriate, for assistance in restoring the connection. Factors to
consider in which to contact are: which agency’s VTC/telecommunications
equipment is involved; the location of the hearing; the number of
connections involved; and whether the transmission is over an IP (internet)
line or ISDN (telephone) line. The Lab can determine if the difficulty
is at the Court or the hearing location; if the latter, the Court
Administrator or support staff can contact the point of contact at
the hearing location to advise the POC to effect coordination with
the Lab to ensure the problem is promptly corrected. EOIR’s
VTC Assistance Team may be contacted via e-mail at VTC Service (EOIR).
Compatibility: Sometimes, VTC systems used by the Immigration
Court and that used at the satellite location differ; that is, the
Immigration Court uses one brand system and the satellite location
uses another. Additionally, the Immigration Court may be using a
telecommunications provider different from that used at the hearing
location. It may be necessary for the two agencies to use a telecommunications
“bridge” to ensure the connection works effectively.
A “bridge call” may be created through either EOIR or
DHS (Video Laboratory) resources. Bridge calls must be scheduled
as far in advance of hearings as practical since it requires the
assistance of technical support at EOIR or the Lab. Optimally, the
Court Administrator or support staff should email bridge connection
requests to the Lab at Vtcteam@dhs.gov a week before the scheduled
calendar and request confirmation from the Lab that the bridge is
in place. The best practice is for the Court Administrator or support
staff to contact the EOIR Helpdesk (EOIRHelpdesk@usdoj.gov, 703-305-7347)
or the Lab, if applicable, to obtain assistance.
Interplay between VTC and Digital Audio Recording (DAR): DAR plays
an important part in VTC hearings. It is important that the DAR
audio be functioning properly to have a clear recording, and proper
DAR audio prevents VTC feedback problems.
Camera direction: It is important to ensure the best quality video
rendering of the respondent. This might require camera adjustment,
or, if the camera is fixed, adjusting the location of the respondent
to ensure he or she appears in the video frame. A useful Intranet
website for use of VTC systems, which includes a directory of available
VTC systems, is:
In conclusion, video conferencing is a useful tool for the Immigration
Courts and IJ’s to use to conduct proceedings fairly and efficiently.
This document provides best practices pointers for using VTC effectively,
while providing fairness and due process to litigants.
