Boston’s top federal prosecutor says her office is facing an immigration court crunch that nobody saw coming. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley reports that since January 2025, roughly 850 immigration-related habeas corpus petitions have landed in her office, compared with just seven in all of 2024, a spike she framed as a 12,000% jump. The crush of cases follows a series of immigration enforcement operations across New England that have funneled hundreds of civil suits into Boston’s federal court and raised fresh worries about capacity and basic due process.
Foley walked through the numbers at a roundtable with reporters and argued that her team is trying to stay selective, saying it is concentrating on “cases that make a difference,” according to WBZ‑TV/CBS Boston. Even while drowning in habeas filings and dealing with lower staffing levels, she said, the office has still charged about 140 criminal immigration cases, the outlet reported.
Federal Filings and the 12,000% Claim
A separate look at federal court records by The Boston Globe found about 208 habeas petitions filed in just one recent month, with more than 100 tied to an immigration enforcement sweep in Maine. The tally shows how quickly civil detention challenges have flooded the District of Massachusetts, as lawyers scramble to get filings in for detained clients before they are moved or deported.
Prosecutions, Staffing and Capacity
The civil surge is only part of the picture. Criminal immigration prosecutions have spiked as well, according to WBUR. Federal prosecutors brought about 139 immigration matters in 2025, up from just 22 the year before. Two major enforcement pushes in Massachusetts alone led to roughly 1,500 arrests in May and another 1,400 in September, federal officials say, and Foley noted that many of those cases involve people accused of reentering the country after prior deportations.
Federal Response and Local Pushback
As the filings stack up, so do political tensions. Foley has criticized state and local efforts designed to hem in immigration enforcement, insisting that “federal officers follow federal law” and are not constrained by state executive orders, according to WBZ‑TV/CBS Boston. Her office has also warned that it will investigate, and when it deems appropriate, bring charges against people who obstruct ICE operations, a position laid out in a May 14, 2025 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to the Justice Department.
Why This Matters in Court
Immigration lawyers say the on-the-ground reality is not just about big arrest numbers. According to The Boston Globe, attorneys report that ICE has transferred detainees across state lines in ways that can complicate or blunt habeas challenges and steer cases toward courts seen as more favorable to the government. In response, federal judges in Boston have repeatedly issued orders limiting detainee transfers while petitions are pending. The result is an ongoing tug-of-war over detention, jurisdiction and access to lawyers that has turned the District of Massachusetts into a particularly active front line in the immigration legal fight.
What to Watch
None of this seems likely to quiet down soon. Expect more filings and more courtroom tussles as attorneys race to protect clients and prosecutors decide which cases to push. Foley says her office will keep prioritizing criminal immigration prosecutions even as it defends ICE detention practices in the civil suits, a dual track that all but guarantees immigration will stay lodged in Boston’s court calendars and political debates for the foreseeable future.
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