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
CA DOJ Releases Report on Immigration Detention Facilities
California’s DOJ issued a report on the immigration detention facilities in California, stating “The report is an important step forward in understanding the conditions under which civil immigration detainees are living, including their access to critical health and legal resources.”
ICE Releases Written Statement for House Judiciary Hearing on Family Separation
ICE released the written statement of ICE Acting Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal Operations Nathalie Asher for the hearing on oversight of the Trump administration’s family separation policy before the House Judiciary Committee.
Black Immigrant History is Part of Black History Month
In this blog post, part of the AILA Diversity & Inclusion series, AILA Second Vice President Allen Orr recognizes Black History Month, shares important research and analysis, and writes, “In the drive for immigration reform, black immigrants must not be forgotten or left out of the equation.“
ICE/CBP Issues Joint Statement After Mother Delivers Stillborn Baby in Custody
ICE and CBP issued a joint statement after a 24-year old Honduran woman went into premature labor and delivered a stillborn baby at the Port Isabel Detention Center.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Good Moral Character and Multiple DUIs
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Matter of Castillo-Perez, urging the attorney general to reject a call for a per se good moral character bar or a heightened discretionary standard for cancellation of removal applicants with DUI offenses.
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte For Adjustment Application Under INA 245(i)
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte for INA 245(i) adjustment in light of respondent’s long-term residence, flight from Guatemala during the civil war, and hardship to her LPR husband and U.S. citizen children. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gamboa Gomez, 2/25/19)
CA7 Denies CAT Relief to Bisexual Petitioner Whose Father Was a Member of an Opposition Political Party in Guinea
The court found that petitioner had failed to establish that he more likely than not would be tortured if removed to Guinea due to his sexual orientation and father’s past political affiliation, and thus upheld the denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. (Barry v. Barr, 2/22/19)
CA8 Finds Conviction Vacated for Rehabilitative Reasons Was Still a Conviction for Immigration Purposes
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the subsequent vacatur for rehabilitative reasons of the petitioner's Iowa criminal conviction did not change the fact that the petitioner had a conviction for immigration purposes under INA §101(a)(48)(A). (Zazueta v. Barr, 2/22/19)
EOIR Issues Memo on Its Strategic Caseload Reduction Plan
EOIR issued a redacted version of its strategic caseload reduction plan pursuant to an AILA FOIA request.
Notice of Final Settlement Regarding Telephone Access in Immigration Detention
Settlement agreement and notice in the class action lawsuit, Lyon, et. al. v. ICE, involving current and future adult immigration detainees held by ICE in Contra Costa County, Kern County, Sacramento County, or Yuba County, and telephone access.
AILA’s Policy Brief: FOIA Reveals EOIR’s Failed Plan for Fixing the Immigration Court Backlog
AILA issued a policy brief analyzing EOIR’s failed plan for reducing the immigration court case backlog. Contrary to EOIR’s stated goals, the agency’s “Strategic Caseload Reduction Plan” exacerbated the due process crisis in the immigration courts and in some instances, contributed to the backlog.
Department of the Treasury Notice on Immigration Bond Interest Rates
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 1/1/19 and ending 3/31/19, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 2.38 per centum per annum. (84 FR 5560, 2/21/19)
AILA Press Call on EOIR Memo Obtained via FOIA About Reducing the Immigration Court Backlog
AILA Senior Policy Counsel Laura Lynch and the American Immigration Council’s Deputy Legal Director Emily Creighton joined retired Immigration Judge Paul Schmidt and AILA Treasurer Jeremy McKinney to discuss an EOIR memo on the immigration court backlog that was obtained through FOIA.
Shining Some FOIA Light on the Immigration Courts
AILA Senior Policy Counsel Laura Lynch describes an EOIR memo, obtained via FOIA by AILA and the American Immigration Council, which lays out a plan, purportedly to lessen the immigration court backlog but which has done the opposite, bloating the backlog and undermining due process.
Language Access Has Life-or-Death Consequences for Migrants
The Center for American Progress issued a report on the responsibility of the Border Patrol to provide meaningful interpretation and translation services to migrants who speak indigenous languages as well as resources available for the Border Patrol to promote language access.
CA8 Says Petitioner's Convictions in Missouri for Passing a Bad Check Are CIMTs
Applying the modified categorical approach, the court denied the petition for review, concluding that the petitioner's four Missouri convictions for passing a bad check qualified as crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Dolic v. Barr, 2/20/19)
CLINIC Submits Brief Regarding “Particular Social Group” Membership
CLINIC submitted a brief in Matter of L-E-A-, and argued that the Attorney General should reaffirm that immediate family units qualify as particular social groups and that the statutory one central reason test applies to such claims.
BIA Reopens and Terminates Proceedings Sua Sponte Following Withdrawal of Guilty Plea
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte following withdrawal of guilty plea to the controlled substance-related offense pursuant to Cal. Penal Code 1203.43. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Uribe, 2/19/19)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Against Respondent in Dimaya
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings against respondent from Sessions v. Dimaya upon finding burglary under Cal. Penal Code 459 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Dimaya, 2/19/19)
AILA Sends Response Letter to EOIR on Discipline Policy Memo
On 2/15/19, AILA sent a letter to EOIR Director McHenry to express concern with the continued imbalance in the treatment of counsel appearing before EOIR components perpetuated by the 12/18/18 memo, “Internal Reporting of Suspected Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Professional Misconduct.”
CA8 Denies Petition for Review for Gay Man from Bangladesh
The court found IJ/BIA correctly determined that asylum application filed more than six months after termination of student status was untimely; it also affirmed harm suffered did not rise to level of persecution for withholding or torture for CAT relief. (Lesum v. Barr, 2/15/19)
CA3 Holds Petitioner Not a Citizen, Mooting Citizenship Claims for Underlying District Court Appeal and Agency Review Petitions
The court found that, based on the law at the time of petitioner’s father’s naturalization, petitioner was not entitled to derivative citizenship because his never-married parents could not have “legally separated” for purposes of 8 USC §1432(a)(3). (Dessouki v. Att’y Gen., 2/14/19)
CA2 Remanded Due to Ineffective Assistance and Vacated Both Plea and Conviction that Mandated Removal
The court held district court failed to consider corum nobis legal standards and improperly denied writ; CA2 found petitioner met standards/entitled to relief (in particular, ineffective assistance was prejudicial and, thus, compelling circumstance for writ). (Doe v. United States, 2/14/19)
EOIR Announces Plans to Relocate the Buffalo Immigration Court
EOIR announced it will temporarily close its Buffalo, NY, immigration court at 12:00 noon (ET) on February 20, 2019, to prepare for relocation to another floor within the building. Hearings will recommence on the third floor of the building on February 26, 2019.
Bite-Sized Ethics: Asylum and Adult Mental Impairment
When representing a mentally impaired client in removal proceedings, a lawyer must pay special attention to the ethics rule on clients with diminished capacity. In this bite-sized article, learn about whose support the attorney should enlist and the attorney’s ethical obligations to their client.