The Legal Aid Society, alongside a coalition of nonprofit organizations which advocate for noncitizens detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, submitted this amicus brief to argue that the law of the Second Circuit governs the cases heard at Varick Street Immigration Court unless a change-of-venue motion has been granted. In our brief, we argued that the Board of Immigration Appeals’ position that a case’s venue depends on a noncitizen’s physical location, rather than where the case was initiated contravenes the Immigration and Nationality Act, and would generate enormous confusion and extraneous litigation, potentially leaving detained noncitizens without notice of which Circuit’s law will govern until late in their proceedings.

The Court ultimately agreed that the Second Circuit was the proper venue in Mr. Berhe’s case, upholding our contention that venue ought to remain unchanged from the case’s initiation unless a judge grants a change-of-venue motion. By clarifying the proper venue, this decision benefits our clients, minimizing confusion and ensuring that detained noncitizens understand which Circuit’s law will apply in their case.