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
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief Urging the Sixth Circuit to Reverse the BIA’s Decision to Remove Victim of Violent Crime
AILA and partners submitted a redacted amicus brief to the Sixth Circuit requesting reversal of the BIA’s decision to deny petitioner’s motion to remand her removal proceedings so she could pursue her U visa petition.
An Inside Look – Tips from a Clinical Social Worker Helping Asylum Seekers
Psychological evaluations can be hugely important for vulnerable clients' cases, but attorneys may have some questions about how best to approach having one done. In this blog post, Jocelyn Dyer shares helpful tips from Aimee Miller, a clinical social worker.
IJ Finds First-Degree Felony Murder in Florida in 1995 Is Not a CIMT or Crime of Violence
Conducting a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) and aggravated felony analysis under the 1995 Florida statutes, the Immigration Judge found, among other things, that first-degree felony murder is not a CIMT or a crime of violence. Courtesy of Patricia Cooper. (Matter of –, 2/10/20)
DOJ Sues King County, Washington, and King County Executive for Prohibiting ICE Contractors From Using King County International Airport
DOJ filed a lawsuit challenging King County Executive Order PFC-7-1-EO, which has the purpose and intended effect of prohibiting ICE contractors from using King County International Airport for flights to transport immigration detainees. (U.S.A. v. King County, et al., 2/10/20)
BIA Holds Misuse of a Social Security Number Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that misuse of a social security number under 42 U.S.C. 408(a)(7)(8) is not a CIMT because seeking to obtain a job and support one’s family is not reprehensible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-E-A-, 2/10/20)
District Court Grants Class-Wide Preliminary Injunction in Case Challenging ICE Arrests at I-130 Interviews
The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued a class-wide preliminary injunction prohibiting federal immigration officials from arresting, detaining, or removing noncitizens with final removal orders at I-130 marriage interviews. (Sanchez, et al. v. McAleenan, et al., 2/7/20)
District Court Permanently Enjoins ICE from Relying on Inaccurate Federal Databases to Issue Detainers
A California federal court permanently enjoined ICE from issuing detainers based solely on database searches relying on information from sources lacking sufficient indicia of reliability for a probable cause determination for removal. (Roy, et al. v. County of Los Angeles, et al., 2/5/20)
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Possession with Intent to Deliver Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance under 35 Pa. Cons. Stat. 780-113(a)(30) is not categorically an aggravated felony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of G-L-C-, 2/5/20)
ICE Provides Guidance after District Court Judgment in Gonzalez v. ICE
ICE provided guidance on Gonzalez v. ICE, which declared any detainer issued by a ICE officer or agent in the Central District of California to a law enforcement agency for a member of the Probable Cause Subclass to be null and void and ordered ICE to immediately rescind all such detainers.
BIA Equitably Tolls MTR Deadline Due to Ineffective Assistance
Unpublished BIA decision equitably tolls deadline to file motion to reopen where respondent learned of prior attorney’s ineffectiveness in March 2014 and filed motion in July 2014. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ramirez-Perez, 2/4/20)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief Urging the Supreme Court to Adhere to the Categorical Approach for Convictions Relating to Eligibility for Relie
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief in Pereida v. Barr urging the Supreme Court to adhere to the categorical approach when the record of conviction is ambiguous and cannot demonstrate that the noncitizen was necessarily convicted of a disqualifying offense.
CA9 Declines to Rehear Prado v. Barr En Banc
The court issued an order amending its prior opinion and denying the rehearing en banc of Prado v. Barr, in which the court found that the petitioner’s felony conviction for possession of marijuana for sale in California rendered him removable. (Prado v. Barr, 5/10/19, amended 2/3/20)
GAO Finds That DHS’s Process of Information Collection and Sharing Puts Individuals Who May Be Eligible for Relief at Risk of Removal
GAO found that DHS’s fragmented process of identifying, collecting, and sharing information about certain apprehended family members across its components (CBP, USCIS, ICE) puts individuals at risk of removal who may be eligible for relief or protection based on their family relationship.
BIA Holds Louisiana Statutory Rape Statute Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that carnal knowledge of a juvenile under La. Rev. Stat. Ann. 14:80(A)(2) is not a CIMT because it does not require a sufficiently significant age difference between the victim and perpetrator. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rosas-Garcia, 1/31/20)
EOIR Releases Policy Memo on Case Management and Docketing Practices
EOIR issued a policy memo reiterating and clarifying EOIR policy regarding certain case management and docketing practices including for detained cases, removal cases, custody redetermination hearings, credible fear/reasonable fear reviews, unscheduled IJ absences, rescheduled cases, and more.
BIA Rules IJ Should Enter In Absentia Order of Removal if Individual Returned to Mexico Under MPP Fails to Appear for Hearing
BIA ruled that if DHS returns an individual to Mexico to await an immigration hearing under MPP and provides sufficient notice of that hearing, an IJ should enter an in absentia order of removal if individual fails to appear for hearing. Matter of J.J. Rodriguez, 27 I&N Dec. 762 (BIA 2020).
It’s Time for Immigration Court Reform
Join AILA to call for an independent immigration court system, outside the Department of Justice, under Article I of the Constitution.
The Truth About our Immigration Court System
AILA Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney describes why an independent immigration court is so desperately needed and shares resources related to his recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Immigration Subcommittee about this issue.
AILA Statement from House Hearing on Immigration Courts
AILA’s Jeremy McKinney’s statement before the House Judiciary Committee for the January 29, 2020, hearing on "Courts in Crisis: The State of Judicial Independence and Due Process in U.S. Immigration Courts.”
Practice Alert: EOIR Revised Form E-33, Attorneys Should Utilize New Form
In December 2019, EOIR revised Form E-33/IC and E-33/BIA for changing a respondent’s address before the immigration court and BIA. AILA recommends that attorney utilize the new form and have respondents sign the form themselves whenever possible.
CA3 Says Categorical Approach Limits Comparison of Prior State Conviction to “Most Similar” Federal Analog
The court granted the petition for review, holding that the categorical approach is limited to the most similar federal analog, and thus that the BIA erred in permitting the petitioner’s prior New Jersey convictions to be compared to multiple federal analogs. (Rosa v. Att’y Gen., 1/29/20)
CA9 Says Oregon Robbery Statute Is Not a Categorical Theft Offense or an Aggravated Felony
Granting the petition for review, the court concluded that the Oregon robbery statute was facially overbroad and indivisible, and thus that the statute did not qualify as a categorical theft offense nor as an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(G). (Lopez-Aguilar v. Barr, 1/28/20)
CA1 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Denial on Discretionary, Alternate Ground of Untimely Motion to Reopen
The court held that the jurisdictional bar in INA §242(a)(2)(C)-(D) divested it of jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s challenge to the BIA’s alternative, discretionary holding, because the petitioner had presented no questions of law or constitutional claims. (Daoud v. Barr, 1/28/20)
TRAC Issues Report on Use of Video in Immigration Court Hearings
During the first quarter of FY2020, TRAC reports, one out of six final immigration court hearings that concluded a case was held by video. Video hearings were more likely if the immigrant was detained. Video hearings in MPP tent courts appear not to be identified as video hearings in court records.
CA4 Upholds Denial of Asylum Based on BIA’s Determination That “Merchants in the Formal Honduran Economy” Is Not a Particular Social Group
The court held that the BIA’s ruling, which found that the petitioner’s proposed social group—merchants in the formal Honduran economy—did not constitute a particular social group, was not manifestly contrary to the law nor an abuse of discretion. (Canales-Rivera v. Barr, 1/27/20)