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
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 2/20/20)
The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before immigration courts.
Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual (2/20/20)
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) provided an updated Practice Manual (last revised on February 20, 2020). This manual describes procedures, requirements, and recommendations for practice before the BIA.
Resources on Lawsuit Challenging Conditions in CBP Holding Cells
A U.S. district judge ordered CBP to overhaul the way it detains people in custody in the Tucson Sector, finding that conditions in CBP holding cells, especially those that preclude sleep over several nights, are presumptively punitive and violate the Constitution. (Doe v. Wolf, 2/19/20)
BIA Holds Florida Aggravated Battery Does Not Require Use of Force
Unpublished BIA decision holds that aggravated battery under Fla. Stat. 784.045(b) does not require the use of force because it encompasses simple battery against a pregnant victim. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Campbell, 2/19/20)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Whether Detention Becomes Unreasonable After One Year
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Reid v. Donelan urging the First Circuit to find that detention without an individualized reasonableness hearing pursuant to Section 1226(c) that lasts any more than six months is presumptively unconstitutional.
Motel 6 Agrees to Pay $10 Million in Revised Settlement for Sharing Guest Data with ICE
A federal judge granted a joint motion for final approval of a $10 million settlement in national class-action litigation on behalf of guests who stayed at a Motel 6 and whose personal information was provided by employees to ICE agents. (Jane V. et al. v. Motel 6 Operating L.P., 2/18/20)
AILA Urges the Ninth Circuit to Affirm the Panel Decision and Reject Matter of Mendoza-Hernandez
AILA submitted an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit in Lopez v. Barr, arguing that the court should reject the BIA’s decision in Matter of Mendoza-Hernandez affirming that the two-step process triggers the stop-time rule conflicts.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Where Paralegal Miscalendared Hearing Date
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order due to exceptional circumstances because the attorney’s paralegal miscalendared the scheduled hearing date. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Guillen Rosa, 2/18/20)
DHS OIG Finds ICE’s Criminal Alien Program Faces Challenges
DHS OIG released a report noting challenges faced by ICE’s Criminal Alien Program (CAP) due to uncooperative jurisdictions. The report identifies opportunities to streamline CAP processes and notes that ICE inconsistently tracked cases of LPRs charged with crimes or documented CAP-related actions.
Advocates Call on Congress to Establish an Independent Immigration Court
On 2/18/20, 54 immigration, civil rights, faith-based, government accountability, and labor organizations, including AILA, call on Congress to establish an immigration court system that is independent of DOJ so that it can guarantee due process and a fair hearing for immigrants.
CA1 Concludes “Recalendar” Means to Reinstate Case to Active Docket in Same Posture It Occupied Before Administrative Closure
Interpreting the word “recalendar” according to its plain meaning, the court held that the BIA acted appropriately in placing the petitioner’s case back on its docket and in proceeding from where it left off before the case was administratively closed. (Arevalo v. Barr, 2/14/20)
CA11 Remands Asylum Claim of Homosexual Muslim from Guinea Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Granting the petition for review and remanding, the court concluded that the petitioner, a homosexual Muslim from Guinea, had established deficient performance by his counsel and had shown that his counsel’s deficiencies had prejudiced his case. (Sow v. Att’y Gen., 2/14/20)
The U.S. Resumes Returning Mexican Nationals to the Interior of Mexico
CBP reported that the number of individuals returned deep into the interior of Mexico under the Interior Repatriation Initiative (IRI) has surpassed 1,000 Mexicans.
BIA Holds Texas Weapon Statute Not a Firearms Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that carrying a weapon under Tex. Penal Code 46.02(a) is not a firearms offense. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gomez, 2/14/20)
BIA Holds New York Weapon Statute Not a Firearms Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree under N.Y.P.L. 265.03(3) is not a firearms offense because it could apply to loaded antique firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of A-L-O-, 2/13/20)
Motion for Extension to File Opening Brief – Sixth Circuit
Sample motion to for a 45-day extension to file opening brief for the sixth circuit court of appeals. (Miscellaneous Motion)
CA4 Finds Petitioner’s Virginia Conviction for Possession of Ethylone Rendered Him Removable Under INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i)
The court held that because ethylone is a controlled substance under both Virginia and federal law, there was a categorical match between the comparable elements, and thus found that the petitioner was removable pursuant to INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i). (Bah v. Barr, 2/13/20)
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Immigration Court Practice Manual and Orders
EOIR issued a policy memo clarifying the relationship between the Immigration Court Practice Manual (ICPM) and certain classes of orders that contradict the ICPM or applicable law, as well as rescinding several outdated Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda.
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes
EOIR issued a policy memo rescinding OPPM 18-02, Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes, dated June 8, 2018, and setting forth updated codes to track the case hearing process.
Senators Press Attorney General for Information on the Politicization and Mismanagement of U.S. Immigration Courts
On February 13, 2020, several U.S. senators sent a letter to Attorney General Barr requesting information about the training and hiring of immigration judges and the mismanagement of immigration courts in order to ensure that immigration laws are being interpreted and applied fairly and impartially.
CA3 Holds District Court Can Review Certain “Now-or-Never” Claims Brought by Detained Noncitizens
The court held that when a detained noncitizen seeks relief that a court of appeals cannot meaningfully provide on a petition for review of a final order of removal, INA §§242(a)(4) and (b)(9) do not bar consideration of those claims by a district court. (E.O.H.C. v. DHS, et al., 2/13/20)
AILA Urges House Judiciary Committee to Pass the NO BAN Act and the Access to Counsel Act of 2020
AILA submitted a statement urging the House Judiciary Committee to pass H.R. 2214, NO BAN Act, and H.R. 5581, Access to Counsel Act of 2020. These bills will limit executive authority to restrict the entry of persons into the U.S. and grant access to counsel if a person is detained an hour or more.
CA8 Finds Family Membership Was Not a Central Reason for Persecution Feared by Guatemalan Petitioner
Upholding the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal, the court concluded that there was substantial evidence to support the BIA’s finding that the petitioner’s family membership was not a central reason for the persecution she feared in Guatemala. (Silvestre-Giron v. Barr, 2/12/20)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Sua Sponte Following Vacatur of Criminal Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte after the respondent’s criminal conviction was vacated because he had not been advised of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Deltoro-Aguilar, 2/12/20)
CA6 Finds BIA Reasonably Upheld Adverse Credibility Determination as to Argentinian Asylum Seeker
The court concluded that there were at least three valid evidentiary grounds for the BIA’s decision to uphold the IJ’s adverse credibility finding as to the petitioner, a citizen of Argentina who was seeking asylum, and thus denied the petition for review. (Luna-Romero v. Barr, 2/11/20)