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
TRAC Reports That ICE Sent Detainers to 3,671 Law Enforcement Agencies in FY2019
TRAC reports that 3,671 law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were sent detainers by ICE during FY2019, a decline of 6 percent compared to FY2018. A third of these LEAs received no more than three such requests during all of FY2019. Fifteen percent received an average of one or more detainers a week.
BIA Solicits Amicus Briefs on Notices to Appear, Due March 25
The BIA solicits amicus briefs, due 3/25, on whether an NTA lacking certain information is sufficient notice of the type of proceedings being initiated, sufficient for the purpose of establishing removability, and for DHS to remove an individual to a contiguous territory pending removal proceedings.
CA4 Holds IJ in Baltimore Failed to Give Asylum Seeker an Opportunity to Testify
The court vacated the BIA’s summary affirmance of the Baltimore IJ’s rulings and remanded for reconsideration of the petitioner’s asylum claim, finding that her due process rights were violated when an IJ in Baltimore deprived her of an opportunity to testify. (Atemnkeng v. Barr, 1/24/20)
BIA Solicits Amicus Briefs on the Sufficiency of Notices to Appear
The BIA solicits amicus briefs on whether an NTA that lacks certain information is sufficient notice of the type of proceedings being initiated, sufficient for purpose of establishing removability, and sufficient for DHS to remove an individual to a contiguous territory pending removal proceedings.
EOIR Director Solicits Amicus Briefs on Requests for Reconsideration and Administrative Review, Due March 13
EOIR director solicits amicus briefs, due 3/13, on appropriate legal standard for evaluating requests for reconsideration and of review for an administrative review, and whether prior BIA precedent decisions are binding on consideration of requests for reconsideration and on administrative reviews.
Three Mothers File Class Action Lawsuit Seeking Medical and Mental Health Services After Family Separation
The government agreed to dropped its appeal of an order that required the government to provide mental health treatment for migrant parents whose children were separated from them at the border. (Ms. J.P., et al., v. Barr, 2/21/20)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Chinese Petitioner Who Was Detained and Beaten by Police for Reading a Bible at Work
The court affirmed the BIA’s decision upholding the IJ’s denial of asylum, concluding that petitioner—a citizen of China who was detained for 23 hours, interrogated, and beaten by the police after being caught reading a Bible at work—did not suffer past persecution. (Gao v. Barr, 2/20/20)
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.
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.
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)
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 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)
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.
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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.