Know Your Rights: Reasonable Accommodations in Immigration Procedures and Proceedings

We provide this information with the understanding that immigrant communities are being targeted by this current administration. A person can assert their rights but still be detained, deported, or treated badly. Please trust your instincts and consider risks when interacting with federal officers.

This factsheet is meant to help you to understand your rights in immigration proceedings as a person with a disability. It can also help you if you are a person who is supporting a disabled person who is involved in the immigration process. You do not need to be a documented immigrant or a U.S. citizen to be protected by disability rights laws. This sheet provides general information and is not a substitute for legal advice about your individual situation. Speak to a lawyer if you need help understanding your rights in your immigration proceedings.

Disabled people have the right to be free from discrimination in immigration proceedings. They have the right to the reasonable accommodations they need to fully participate in immigration procedures. These rights are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the rules that put that law into effect. Section 504 protects everyone in the U.S., including documented and undocumented immigrants.

The U.S. immigration system includes many different steps, like applications, interviews, immigration court hearings, and appeals. Two different federal agencies handle different parts of the system. The Department of Justice (DOJ) handles immigration court, which includes the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) handles immigration enforcement and includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). Section 504 applies to all federal agencies, including DOJ and DHS.

If you have a disability that makes it hard for you to participate in an immigration process, you can request a “reasonable accommodation” under Section 504. A reasonable accommodation is a change in rules, policies, or practices that helps you participate equally. The immigration system is not required to grant a reasonable accommodation if they believe it would “fundamentally alter” the procedure or if providing the accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense.

Asking for an accommodation may help your case if it allows you to participate fully or gives the judge more information to support your story. The law says that agencies cannot treat you badly based on your disability or request for accommodation. But every case is different. Only you can decide whether to ask for an accommodation. You can talk about this with your lawyer or qualified representative.

You can request changes to accommodate your disability. The kind of change depends on your need related to your disability. Here are some changes a disabled person might need to have effective communication during the immigration process:

• Sign language interpreting, including American Sign Language or another sign language such as Mexican Sign Language
• Sign language teams that include a qualified Deaf Interpreter (DI)
• Professional or live captioning; automatic captioning
  • Captioning means showing spoken words in text you can see
• Alternative formats for documents like Braille, enlarged print, and digital screen-reader accessible documents
• Having documents read out loud
• Plain language versions of documents
• Communicating out loud instead of in writing or communicating in writing instead of out loud
• Speaking more slowly; speaking in a louder or softer voice
• Access to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device
  • AAC means an app, tablet, or computer that helps someone communicate
• Interviews that use short words, short sentences, and open-ended questions, and avoids compound or leading questions

A disabled person may need other changes related to their disability such as:

• Regular or unscheduled breaks during interviews, tests, or court hearings
• Participation of trusted family members or other supporters throughout the process
• Extra time to complete a task
• Having an immigration officer visit your home for an appointment rather than going to their office
• Requesting an in-person hearing instead of a remote hearing – right now, it is hard to get this even though it should be available
• Changes to a case management schedule
• Excusing an attendance requirement and allowing someone else to attend
• Closing an immigration hearing to the public
• Appointment of a qualified representative to help you – right now, this is only granted for people who are detained, unrepresented, and not able to represent themselves because of a serious mental health condition

Administrative closure: Sometimes a person with a disability may be acutely ill and need a period of treatment and recovery prior to proceeding. In this situation, the court may grant an administrative closure as a reasonable accommodation. This means that the case is removed from the active docket but may be reopened later.

Evidence about disability as context: Sometimes the person’s disability provides important context for issues like credibility, flight risk, or prior conduct. It may be an accommodation for the court to consider information and testimony about the person’s disability.

Release from detention: Sometimes a disabled person in detention is so ill from the conditions in detention that the only way they can recover enough to participate in their case is to be released. In this situation, release may be a reasonable accommodation. Whether this is granted may depend on other factors.

These are only examples. You can request another change that you need because of your disability. You should explain why you need the change and how the change will help you participate equally as a disabled person. The immigration system might grant the accommodation, refuse the accommodation, or offer another accommodation. If no one gives you an answer after a reasonable period of time, you can assume that the request has been denied.

Mental health disabilities may prevent some people from participating in the immigration process. If an immigration judge decides that a detained, unrepresented person cannot adequately participate in immigration court proceedings because of their mental health disability, the government will provide a qualified legal representative (someone trained in the law who is allowed to help people in this type of situation understand and navigate the legal process) through the National Qualified Representative Program.

Judges and other immigration staff may not recognize that a person has a mental health disability. If you or someone you support is detained, unrepresented, and has a mental health disability, you can provide evidence of the disability. You can ask the immigration judge for an evaluation. You can request the appointment of a qualified representative.

If you cannot attend your hearing because of your disability, you can ask the immigration court to find a new hearing date. You can also ask that your attorney (if you have one), family member, or supporter attend in your place as an accommodation.

You can ask the immigration court to allow your family members or supporters to participate in the hearing if you need help because of your disability.

Here are some ways to request reasonable accommodation:

• Use the following form to request accommodations for appointments: https://egov.uscis.gov/e-request/accom
  • You will need your receipt number. This is a 13-character identifier that USCIS provides for each application or petition it receives.
• Contact the immigration court or immigration judge by phone, mail, or email
• Ask for reasonable accommodation during an appointment or immigration hearing
• File a motion with the immigration court. Your lawyer or qualified representative can help with this.

Try to request accommodations as early as you can. Make requests in writing whenever possible. Your request should describe your disability, identify the accommodation you need, and explain why you need the accommodation to participate. Keep notes about your requests and anyone you interact with. Consult an attorney about the best way to interact with the immigration court.

You do not need to submit proof or medical records when you first make the request, but you will probably need to provide documentation for your request to be granted. You can provide things like an expert evaluation, medical records, a letter from a health care professional, statements from family, friends, teachers or other community members, immigration or detention records, K-12 educational records like IEPs, and Regional Center records.

You can file a complaint about any part of DHS – including ICE, USCIS, or CBP – using the following form: https://www.dhs.gov/file-civil-rights-complaint. You can also call USCIS at 800-375-5283. You can email ICE at ICECivilLiberties@ice.dhs.gov.

If an immigration judge refuses to grant you a reasonable accommodation, you can ask the judge to reconsider. You can provide additional information. If that does not work, and the denial hurt your case in immigration court, you or your attorney can include this information in an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Consult an attorney about the best way to communicate with the immigration court or BIA.

USCIS, Disability Accommodations for the Public, https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/disability-accommodations-for-the-public

DHS, Directive Number: 065-01 (Sept. 2013) and instructions, https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/dhs-management-directive-disability-access_0.pdf; https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/dhs-instruction-nondiscrimination-individuals-disabilities_03-07-15.pdf

Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Representing Noncitizens with Mental Illness (May 2020), https://www.cliniclegal.org/file-download/download/public/3756

NQRP Practice Advisory: Procedural Safeguards and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, https://acaciajustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023-10-30-NQRP-Practice-Advisory-Procedural-Safeguards-and-Section-504-FINAL-updated-10-2023.pdf