San Francisco immigration court closes early, leaving thousands of cases in limbo

The last hours at 100 Montgomery Street came down to one person in line, a stark sign of how quickly San Francisco’s immigration court was shut down while thousands of cases were still in motion. For families waiting on asylum hearings, removal proceedings and other immigration decisions, the closure has turned a familiar civic institution into a moving target.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review said on May 1 that the San Francisco Immigration Court would permanently close at the close of business on September 4, 2026, and that the Sansome Street location would become a hearing site under the administrative control of the Concord Immigration Court. The agency said the move was more cost effective and said it would issue new hearing notices to parties whose cases are reassigned, with matters to be heard in Concord or remotely.

But the operational shift started even earlier. In an April 10 notice, EOIR said hearings at 100 Montgomery Street would stop at the close of business on May 1, cases would be reassigned to Sansome Street beginning May 4, and the Montgomery Street filing window would remain open until further notice for filings tied to other pending cases. EOIR listed the active locations as 100 Montgomery Street, Suite 800, and 630 Sansome Street, 4th Floor, Room 475. For anyone waiting on a notice, the transition creates a real danger of missed deadlines, missed hearings and confusion over where a case now belongs.

Legal experts and advocates said the upheaval is landing on top of an already strained system. ABC7 reported that at least 20 of the court’s 22 immigration judges had been fired, and that roughly 15,000 cases were now in limbo. The California Courts Newsroom described the San Francisco court as one of the busiest in the nation and said the closure followed a dramatic cutback in judicial staffing, including the dismissal of more than 100 immigration judges nationwide and more than a dozen in San Francisco.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier warned that Concord would become one of only two federal immigration courts in Northern California serving more than 12 million people. He said San Francisco started 2025 with 21 judges but was down to four after 14 were fired and four took early retirement. DeSaulnier also cited a combined San Francisco-Concord backlog of 177,827 cases, with court dates already stretching years into the future.

For Bay Area immigrants, the closure is more than a change of address. It means longer travel, slower dockets, and a system where notices matter more than ever, because one missed letter can now send a case into even deeper delay.