The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is a sub-agency of the United States Department of Justice whose chief function is to conduct removal proceedings in immigration courts and adjudicate appeals arising from the proceedings. These administrative proceedings determine the removability and admissibility of individuals in the United States. As of January 19, 2023^[update], there were sixty-eight immigration courts and three adjudication centers throughout the United States.

EOIR was created in 1983 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) as part of an internal reorganization. Prior to 1983, the functions performed by EOIR were divided among different agencies. The earliest version of a specialized immigration service was the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), created in 1933, in the Department of Labor. Seven years later, in 1940, the INS moved from Labor to its present location in the Department of Justice. Twelve years after moving to DOJ, in 1952, the Immigration and Nationality Act organized all U.S. immigration laws into one statute, and designated "special inquiry officers," the predecessors of immigration judges, to decide questions of deportation.

EOIR adjudicates cases under a patchwork of immigration laws and regulations, including:

In addition to these statutes, other federal statutes, agency regulations, and executive orders, federal courts also play an important role in immigration law. Because litigants have the right to appeal a decision to federal courts of appeal, different areas of the United States effectively have different immigration laws, notwithstanding Supreme Court review. In addition, federal statutes not facially related to immigration also may play a role in admissibility, including those related to public benefits.

Within the Department of Justice, EOIR is one of a number of offices that answers directly to the Deputy Attorney General. EOIR itself has two members of its leadership team: a director, who is appointed by the Attorney General, and a deputy director who may exercise the full authority of the director. The current director is Sirce E. Owen, and the current deputy director is Roman Chaban.

The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge (OCIJ) is the authority under which trial-level immigration judges are situated. Like the EOIR director and deputy director, the Chief Immigration Judge is appointed by the attorney general, though he or she is supervised directly by the director of EOIR. The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge oversees nearly 500 immigration judges, 60 immigration courts, and 30 assistant chief immigration judges (ACIJ) based in the various cities where U.S. immigration courts are located. Immigration judges adjudicate hearings under Section 240 of the INA.

Immigration judges, unlike Article III judges, do not have life tenure, and are not appointed by the President nor confirmed by the Senate as required by the Appointments Clause in Article II. Instead, they are civil servants appointed by the attorney general. The director of EOIR may also designate temporary immigration judges, who may serve for a period not longer than six months.

Immigration adjudication does not conform to the separation of functions as prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act. Instead, the Department of Homeland Security initiates removal proceeding against a litigant; the immigration judge is employed by EOIR. In the removal proceeding, the U.S. Government is represented by an Assistant Chief Counsel, often referred to as a "DHS attorney" or "trial attorney." Unlike criminal adjudications in Article III courts, litigants in removal proceedings do not have a constitutional right to counsel, except in narrow circumstances.