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.
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Updates from EOIR
Browse the Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0 collection
The Use of Coercion by U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Officials Against Parents Who Were Forcibly Separated From Their Children
AILA and the Council announced the filing of a complaint with the DHS Office of the Inspector General and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on the pervasive and illegal practice by DHS officials of coercing separated mothers and fathers into signing documents they may not have understood.
Complaint Details Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents
AILA and the Council filed a complaint with the DHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) documenting a pervasive, illegal practice by DHS officials of coercing separated mothers and fathers into signing documents they may not have understood.
AILA and Council File Complaint Regarding Coercive Tactics Used by Immigration Officials on Separated Parents
Resources on the AILA and American Immigration Council complaint, filed with the DHS OIG and CRCL regarding a pervasive and illegal practice by DHS officials of coercing parents into signing documents, ostensibly waiving their legal rights, including their right to be reunified with their children.
BIA Faults IJ for Not Explaining Difference Between Pre- and Post-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
Unpublished BIA decision remands because IJ failed to explain difference between pre- and post-conclusion voluntary departure and granted pre-conclusion voluntary departure without asking whether respondent wished to waive appeal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lozano-Fernandez, 8/23/18)
BIA Holds Arizona Drug Schedule Overbroad and Not Divisible
Unpublished BIA decision holds possession of narcotics for sale under Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-3408(A)(2) not an aggravated felony because the state schedule includes several substances not on federal schedule and the statute is not divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Albano, 8/23/18)
CA9 Remands, Holds Inadmissibility Grounds Inapplicable to LPR Not Seeking Admission
The court held that LPR petitioner’s admitted drug use did not render him inadmissible since, as an LPR, he did not seek admission; thus, it did not trigger the cancellation of removal stop-time rule. (Nguyen v. Sessions, 8/23/18)
HHS Notice of Intent to Fund 850 Additional Beds to Keep Unaccompanied Children in Custody
HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) notice of intent to provide $28,003,926 of funding for 850 beds to keep unaccompanied children in custody. (83 FR 42505, 8/22/18)
CA9 Upholds BIA Removal Findings, Confirming Aggravated Felony, Inapplicability of Expungement, Ineligibility for §212(c) Waiver, and CAT Denial
The court held conviction under CA statute for possession to sell cocaine salt was an aggravated felony under the modified categorical approach, and that the conviction withstood expungement for immigration purposes. (Robles Lopez v. Sessions, 8/22/18)
EOIR Releases Data on Complaints Against Immigration Judges (FY2015)
EOIR released information on complaints against immigration judges, including number/percentage of IJs against whom complaints were received between FY2011 and FY2015, as well as the nature of complaints opened, sources of complaints, and methods of disposition for complaints closed during FY2015.
DOJ Announces Removal to Germany of Former Nazi Labor Camp Guard
DOJ announced that in coordination with DHS and DOS, Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi labor camp guard in German-occupied Poland, was removed to Germany. Palij had become a U.S. citizen in 1957 and resided in Queens, New York. His citizenship was revoked in 2003, and he was ordered removed in 2004.
Bivens Basics: An Introductory Guide for Immigration Attorneys
With constitutional violations by DHS officers on the rise, learn the basics of how to litigate a Bivens claim in federal court in the immigration context in this Practice Advisory from the American Immigration Council.
CA6 Denies Respondent’s Petition for Review and Is Thus Removable
The court held that the BIA properly applied Pennsylvania case law to determine the divisibility of the state statute of conviction, and properly applied the modified categorical approach to conclude it qualified under INA §212(a)(2)(A). (Raja v. Sessions, 8/21/18)
CA7 Remands, Finding BIA Erred in Disagreeing with Expert Opinion in CAT Removal Determination
The court found that the BIA did not offer any reasonable basis for disagreeing with expert opinion corroborating petitioner’s fear of torture from Los Zetas for losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of contraband, if removed to Mexico. (Rivas-Pena v. Sessions, 8/21/18)
CA7 Remands, Cites Multiple IJ/BIA Errors Regarding Particular Social Group Determinations
The court overturned IJ/BIA, finding petitioner’s membership in cognizable social group, “members of his nuclear family”—referring to family of Mara 18 forced recruit who fled—was one central reason for harm; nexus requirement for asylum and withholding was met. (W.G.A v. Sessions, 8/21/18)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order After Hearing Notice Sent to Attorney Who Did Not Enter Appearance
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order because the hearing notice was sent to an attorney who did not submit an entry of appearance with the immigration court. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Phung, 8/21/18)
President Trump Delivers Letter to State and Local Leaders About ICE and CBP
President Trump delivered a letter to state and local leaders in the United States urging them to support and work with ICE and CBP.
DHS Issues Press Release About ICE’s Mission
DHS issued a press release about the mission of ICE and its various components.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Tenth Circuit’s Ruling on Various Forms of Relief from Removal
AILA submitted an amicus brief, filed with the Tenth Circuit, summarizing the implications of the Tenth Circuit’s ruling on removal relief.
AILA Quicktake #249: Attorney General’s Decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-
Greg Chen, AILA's Director of Government Relations, discusses the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-, which limits the discretion of the immigration judges to grant continuances.
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Simple Assault Not a Crime of Violence or CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that simple assault under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §2701(a)(1) is not divisible and thus not a crime of violence or CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Perez-Herrera, 8/20/18)
Trump Administration Further Undermines Judicial Independence
AILA responds to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-, which limits the discretion of immigration judges to grant continuances.
Retired IJs and Former Members of the BIA Issue Statement in Response to Matter of L-A-B-R-
On August 17, 2018, retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the BIA issued a statement in response to the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of L-A-B-R-. The statement characterizes the decision as a “blow to judicial independence.”
BIA Holds Making False Statement to Firearms Dealer Not a Firearms Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that making false statement to firearms dealer under 18 USC §924(a)(1)(A) is a not a firearms offense because it applies to dealers who falsify their own records. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lopez, 8/17/18)
CA9 Denies in Part, Affirming No Equal Protection or Due Process Violations in Rejection of Citizenship Claim; Grants in Part, Remanding for Cancellat
The court held §1433 does not implicate a protected class and disparate treatment of citizen parents of adopted foreign-born children (proactive petition for citizenship) is rationally related to legitimate governmental interest; thus, no EP violation. (Dent v. Sessions, 8/17/18)
Attorney General States IJs May Only Grant Continuances “For Good Cause Shown”
The Attorney General (AG) found that an IJ may only grant a continuance “for good cause shown” and outlined the good-cause standard. Further, the AG vacated the Board’s orders declining to entertain these appeals and remanded. Matter of L-A-B-R-, et al., 27 I&N Dec. 405 (A.G. 2018)