H.R. 7836: Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2026

H.R. 7836 would move immigration judges out of the Justice Department and into a new Article I court, so the attorney general would no longer control the court system hearing deportation and asylum cases.

The bill starts with an appellate division of 21 immigration appeals judges, with staggered opening terms of 5, 10, and 15 years. The new courts would set their own budget without executive-branch revision, and that budget would still have to be included in the president's budget submission.

It also forces more public accounting. Each year, the chief judge would have to report to Congress on pending caseloads, average wait times, lawyer representation rates, bond outcomes, and relief grant rates, broken down by geography and in some cases by judge.

If the bill becomes law, your pending immigration case would transfer into the new court system without losing your existing rights or starting over. Existing precedents from the Board of Immigration Appeals and attorney general decisions would stay in place at first unless the new courts change them.

The switchover would not happen overnight. The new courts could start on the first eligible fiscal-year date after enactment only once at least 3 appeals judges are appointed, and current immigration judges would keep serving as interim judges during a 4-year transition.