Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0
The U.S. immigration court system plays a critical role in upholding due process and ensuring fair hearings for individuals facing deportation. However, since January 20, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has implemented significant changes that challenge the structural integrity of these courts. This page aims to provide up-to-date information on the policy and legal shifts affecting the U.S. immigration court system.
Latest Updates
Updates from EOIR
Browse the Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0 collection
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Honduran Petitioner Threatened by Former Leader of Land Cooperative
The court upheld the agency’s denial of asylum and withholding of removal, finding that the petitioner, who was threatened by a former leader of a Honduran land cooperative, failed to show that Honduran authorities were unable or unwilling to protect her. (Martinez-Martinez v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
EOIR Policy Memo (PM) 25-41 Establishing Updated Guidance for the Dedicated Docket
EOIR Acting Director Sirce E. Owen issued policy memo (PM) 25-41 establishing updated guidance for the Dedicated Docket. Moving forward, DHS may schedule any cases placed on its Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program onto the Dedicated Docket. This PM supersedes and replaces EOIR PM 21-23.
BIA Holds That Lack of Corroboration May Be Independent Basis to Deny Asylum or Withholding
The BIA held that a respondent’s nonresponsive and evasive testimony supports an adverse credibility determination, and that lack of corroboration may be an independent basis to find respondent has not shown eligibility for asylum or withholding. Matter of G–C–I–, 29 I&N Dec. 176 (BIA 2025)
CA2 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Continuance Where Petitioner Failed to Demonstrate Good Cause
The court held that the agency did not abuse its discretion in denying a continuance, finding that the petitioner failed to establish that his U.S.-citizen newborn child would suffer “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” under INA §240A(b)(1)(D). (Hernandez Flores v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Venezuelan Opposition Member Shot and Threatened by Paramilitary Group
The court found that the petitioner, who feared persecution by a paramilitary group in Venezuela, failed to establish past persecution from death threats and a gunshot wound or demonstrate a well-founded, objectively reasonable fear of future persecution. (Montiel Rubio v. Bondi, 8/13/25)
CA3 Finds Mexican Petitioner’s Asylum Claim Was Unexhausted and Upholds BIA’s Denial of Cancellation
The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding petitioner waived his challenges to the denial of asylum and related relief, upheld the BIA’s denial of cancellation of removal, and held that the BIA properly rejected his due process claim. (Sanchez v. Att’y Gen., 8/15/25)
CA3 Finds BIA’s Incorrect Ruling on New Evidence Relevant to Reopening Was Harmless Error
The court held that although the BIA legally erred in concluding that the birth of the petitioner’s daughter was not new evidence that could justify reopening because it occurred a few weeks before the BIA issued its decision, its error was harmless. (Suchite-Salguero v. Att’y Gen., 8/14/25)
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Salvadoran Petitioner Based on Lack of Nexus
The court upheld the agency’s conclusion that petitioner had not been persecuted on the basis of membership in her immediate family, and found there was a lack of nexus between the home invasion she experienced and her status as a single Salvadoran woman. (Rivas de Nolasco v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
CA4 Holds Federal Conviction under 18 USC §922(a)(1)(A) Qualifies as Aggravated Felony of Illicit Trafficking in Firearms
The court held that the petitioner’s federal conviction under 18 USC §922(a)(1)(A) for engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license qualified as the generic aggravated felony of illicit trafficking in firearms under INA §101(a)(43)(C). (Alvarez Ronquillo v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
CA7 Upholds Cancellation Denial as to Mexican Father of U.S.-Citizen Children with Anxiety Disorders
The court upheld the denial of cancellation of removal based on no exceptional and extremely unusual hardship, finding that the petitioner’s children’s anxiety reflected stress commonly seen in removal proceedings and that financial harm could be mitigated. (Santos Mendoza v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
Featured Issue: Immigration Enforcement Under Trump 2.0
The Administration has ramped up immigration enforcement efforts, including arresting people attending hearings at immigration courts and appointments at USCIS and ICE field offices. Far from keeping us safe, indiscriminate enforcement harms our families, communities, and our nation as a whole.
CA4 Remands for New Removal Hearing Where BIA Erroneously Rejected Petitioner’s Ineffective Assistance Claim
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that petitioner failed to show counsel was ineffective, where counsel proposed a legal theory foreclosed by controlling precedent and omitted arguments with a strong chance of success, resulting in prejudice. (Guandique-de Romero v. Bondi, 8/13/25)
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Nicaraguan Petitioner Who Supported Anti-Government Protests
The court held that substantial evidence supported BIA’s finding that petitioner, who feared state-sponsored retribution in Nicaragua for supporting anti-Sandinista protesters, failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution or likelihood of torture. (Rivas-Jarquin v. Bondi, 8/11/25)
BIA Holds That Respondent with Private Counsel Failed to Show He Was Unable to Pay Requisite Filing Fee
The BIA held that a nondetained noncitizen represented by counsel is presumed able to pay IJ and BIA filing fees, and that a fee waiver request from a nondetained adult noncitizen with zeros in all income blocks is presumptively invalid. Matter of Garcia Martinez, 29 I&N Dec. 169 (BIA 2025)
EOIR Policy Memorandum (PM 25-40) on Use of Generative AI in EOIR Proceedings
EOIR Acting Director released Policy Memorandum (PM) 25-40 on use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in EOIR proceedings. EOIR neither prohibits generative AI use in its proceedings nor requires disclosure of its use. Individual adjudicators or courts may adopt standing orders regarding AI.
Practice Alert: ICE Updates Legal Position in Bond Proceedings
AILA members report a change in OPLA's legal position to designate people who entered without inspection ineligible for bond.
CA2 Holds That INA §209(b) Allows Only Noncitizens with Current Asylum Status to Adjust to LPR status
The court held that the plain text of INA §209(b) allows only noncitizens with current asylum status to adjust to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, and concluded that petitioners could not adjust to LPR status because their asylum status had been terminated. (Wassily v. Bondi, 8/7/25)
CA7 Affirms CAT Denial as to Jamaican Petitioner Who Suffered from Severe Mental Illness
The court concluded that the BIA correctly held that the Jamaican petitioner, who suffered from severe mental illness, failed to establish specific intent to torture, and thus upheld the BIA’s denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Fiddler v. Bondi, 8/7/25)
CA11 Holds BIA’s INA §240A(b)(1)(D) Hardship Determination Is Subject to Substantial Evidence Review
The court held that a court should review the BIA’s INA §240A(b)(1)(D) hardship determination for substantial evidence, and concluded that the BIA’s denial of cancellation of removal as to the Mexican petitioners was supported by substantial evidence. (Lopez-Martinez v. Att’y Gen., 8/6/25)
Practice Alert: AILA and National Immigration Project Issue Guidance on CHIRLA v. Noem Order
Federal court stays DHS policies targeting previously paroled individuals for expedited removal. AILA and the National Immigration Project issue guidance for attorneys on raising the CHIRLA v. Noem order in expedited removal cases.
DOJ Notice of Extension and Revision of Forms EOIR-42A and EOIR-42B
DOJ notice of extension and revision of Application for Cancellation of Removal for Certain Permanent Residents (Form EOIR-42A) and Application for Cancellation of Removal and Adjustment of Status for Certain Nonpermanent Residents (Form EOIR–42B). Comments are due 10/6/25. (90 FR 37564, 8/5/25)
CA4 Vacates BIA’s Conclusory Judgment That Salvadoran Petitioner’s PSG Was Circular
The court held that the BIA erred in rejecting the petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG)—“El Salvadoran women who are continually sexually abused and tortured by gang members…”—without conducting a fact-based, case-specific analysis. (Hernandez Guardado v. Bondi, 8/5/25)
CA10 Finds BIA Erred in Holding Signature Was Required in Proof-of-Service Section of Notice-of-Appeal Form
The court found that the BIA erred in holding that the petitioners’ attorney was required to sign their notice-of-appeal form’s proof-of-service section, even though he filed electronically and checked a box confirming that no separate service was needed. (Cortez, et al. v. Bondi, 8/5/25)
CA10 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Upholding IJ’s 15-Day Asylum Filing Deadline and Denial of Continuance
The court held that the BIA properly upheld the IJ’s imposition of a 15-day asylum filing deadline and denial of a continuance, found that the BIA did not deprive the petitioner of his right to counsel, and concluded that petitioner’s motion to reopen was moot. (Chavez-Govea v. Bondi, 8/5/25)
CA2 Reaffirms That Conviction in New York for Second-Degree Sexual Abuse Constitutes “Sexual Abuse of a Minor” under the INA
The court reaffirmed its holding in Debique v. Garland that a conviction for second-degree sexual abuse in New York under NYPL §130.60(2) constitutes “sexual abuse of a minor” under INA §101(a)(43)(A) and is thus categorically an aggravated felony. (Garcia Pinach v. Bondi, 8/4/25)