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
CA5 Holds That BIA Deprived Petitioner of Due Process by Violating Its Own Regulations
The court held that the BIA violated 8 CFR §1003.1(d)(3)(i) and (iv) by remanding the petitioner’s case sua sponte to the IJ for factual findings that the IJ had already made, rather than reviewing the IJ’s findings for clear error as required. (Francois v. Garland, 10/24/24)
CA6 Concludes That BIA Engaged in Reasoned Decision-Making in Denying Petitioner’s Motion to Reopen
The court held that the BIA did not err in finding that the petitioner had failed to show that his removal to Mexico would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to one of his two U.S. citizen children, as required under INA §240A(b)(1)(D). (Galvez-Bravo v. Garland, 10/23/24)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim Where M-18 Gang Made Specific and Menacing Death Threat Against 14-Year-Old Petitioner
The court held that the petitioners, a mother and her son, established that they suffered harm rising to the level of persecution, finding that members of the M-18 gang who murdered the son’s father were willing and capable of murdering the petitioners. (Corpeno-Romero v. Garland, 10/22/24)
AILA Amicus Brief Addresses Board's Definition of the "Child abuse, Child Neglect, and Child Abandonment" Ground for Removability
AILA's brief argued that the Board's definition of the "child abuse, child neglect, and child abandonment" ground for removability leads to unpredictable classifications of state offenses and harms families by separating generally caring and responsible parents from their children.
CA1 Finds IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination as to Former Bodyguard in Guatemala Was Supported by Substantial Evidence
The court upheld the denial of asylum as to the Guatemalan petitioner, who formerly worked as a bodyguard for a congressman and feared returning to Guatemala because he believed that he would be the target of extortions and threats by gang members. (Garcia Oliva v. Garland, 10/21/24)
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial to Ecuadorian Business Owner Subjected to Extortion Attempts and Death Threats
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s finding that petitioner, the owner of a taxi company in Ecuador who had been targeted in extortion attempts by gang members and received death threats, failed to show past or future persecution. (Vargas-Salazar v. Garland, 10/17/24)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Special Rule Cancellation under NACARA to Salvadoran Petitioner
The court upheld the denial of petitioner’s special rule cancellation of removal application under the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA), finding he had not shown exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to himself or his spouse. (Figueroa v. Garland, 10/17/24)
CA9 Rescinds In Absentia Removal Order Where Petitioner Was Late for Hearing Due to Encountering Two Major Car Accidents
Granting the petition for review and remanding, the court held that the facts of the case amounted to exceptional circumstances warranting reopening of petitioner’s in absentia removal order and those of her minor children under INA §240(b)(5)(C)(i). (Montejo-Gonzalez v. Garland, 10/17/24)
DHS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Form 405
DHS 60-day notice and request for comments on Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) Intake Form, DHS Form 405. Revisions are based on usability testing recommendations. Comments are due by 12/16/24. (89 FR 83509, 10/16/24)
Immigration-Related Agency Updates Related to Hurricane Milton
We know that Hurricane Milton is on many of your minds. Here is a round-up of current agency information related to how they might handle the aftermath.
Practice Pointer: BIA Holds IJs Can Amend Noncompliant NTAs in Matter of R-T-P-
AILA provides a practice alert on the implications of Matter of R–T–P–, the latest decision dealing with the impacts of DHS’s issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) that do not contain statutorily required information.
Brennan Center: The Alien Enemies Act, Explained
The Brennan Center for Justice provides an explainer on the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798, noting, "This detention and deportation power poses an alarming risk of abuse and rights violations in both wartime and peacetime."
CA9 Finds Mexican Petitioner Attacked in Home Invasion by Cartel Members Suffered Past Persecution
The court held that the harms the petitioner and her family had suffered in Mexico, including murder, physical assault, kidnapping, and a home invasion during which petitioner was beaten unconscious, clearly rose to the level of past persecution. (Meza Diaz v. Bondi, 10/8/24, amended 2/25/25)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum as to Salvadoran Petitioner Threatened by MS-13 Gang
The court held that petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG) of “Salvadoran men who resist gang recruitment” was not valid, and found that the IJ did not err in concluding that he had not made a sufficient nexus showing as to his other two PSGs. (Alvarado-Reyes v. Garland, 10/7/24)
Policy Brief: Analysis of Proclamation and Interim Final Rule on “Securing the Border”
President Biden signed a proclamation, and the Administration issued an Interim Final Rule as well as a Final Rule, “Securing the Border,” relying in part on the authority in INA 212(f) that will effectively bar access to asylum for most people arriving between ports of entry when in effect.
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim Where BIA Misapplied Matter of R–K–K– and Erred in Internal Relocation Analysis
Granting the petition for review of the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s denial of asylum, the court held that the BIA erred by misapplying Matter of R–K–K– in making its adverse credibility determination, and also erred in its internal relocation analysis. (Singh v. Garland, 10/4/24)
American Immigration Council Special Report: Mass Deportation
The American Immigration Council provides an estimate of the fiscal and economic cost should the government deport the roughly 11 million people who, as of 2022, lacked permanent legal status and faced the possibility of removal.
Practice Alert: EOIR Issues Memo on NTAs Filed by DHS
AILA provided a practice alert after EOIR issued a memorandum with updated guidance on NTAs filed by DHS. This memo cancels a 2018 memo issued by former EOIR Director James R. McHenry, III. The 2024 memo is currently in effect.
Biden Administration Cements Harmful Asylum Restrictions
AILA President Kelli Stump and Executive Director Ben Johnson respond to the Biden Administration’s codification of harmful policies that are already undermining U.S. asylum law and denying fair access to humanitarian protection for vulnerable individuals and families.
Points of Contact for Credible Fear Interviews in CBP Custody
DHS provided a “Points of Contact for Credible Fear Interviews in CBP Custody” spreadsheet. This includes contacts for Border Patrol, USCIS Asylum, and EOIR.
Venue Challenges in APA Immigration Cases
NILA created a practice alert discussing the venue choices a plaintiff has under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(e) when challenging a decision or delay in decision-making by USCIS under the Administrative Procedure Act, as well as considerations that inform venue selections.
CRS Provides FAQs on Credible Fear and Defensive Asylum Processes
The CRS report addresses FAQs about credible fear and asylum, including those related to expedited and formal removal processes; credible fear screening processes, criteria, and legislative history; procedural protections; and data regarding credible fear and asylum outcomes.
BIA Holds That Respondent’s Convictions for Retail Theft in Pennsylvania Were Not Categorically CIMTs
The BIA held that the respondent’s convictions for retail theft in Pennsylvania were categorically not for crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) because the statute does not require an intent to permanently deprive the victim of property. Matter of Thakker, 28 I&N Dec. 843 (BIA 2024)
CA6 Finds BIA Erred in Making No-Nexus Determination with Regard to Guatemalan Petitioners’ Family Membership PSG
The court held that the BIA erred in concluding that the petitioners had failed to establish a sufficient nexus between their persecution and their family membership, and thus vacated the denial of their asylum and withholding of removal claims. (Mazariegos-Rodas, et al. v. Garland, 9/20/24)
CA5 Holds That Petitioner’s Louisiana Conviction for Accessory After the Fact to Armed Robbery with a Firearm Was Not an Aggravated Felony
The court held that Louisiana’s accessory-after-the-fact statute was not a categorical match for the generic federal offense of obstruction of justice, and was thus not an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(S) that would permit expedited removal. (Lopez Orellana v. Garland, 9/18/24)