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
EOIR Announces Reduction of Hiring Times By More Than 50 Percent
EOIR announced the investiture of 23 new immigration judges, which increased the total number of immigration judges to 351. Some of the immigration judges sworn-in were hired in approximately 266 days, down from an average of 742 days just one year ago.
Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Parents Who Waived Right of Their Children to Pursue Asylum Claims
The court held plaintiffs likely to succeed on mandamus claim for independent right to seek asylum; that parents did not knowingly waive minor’s asylum rights; and plaintiffs met irreparable injury, balance of equities, and public interest requirements for TRO. (M.M.M. v. Sessions, 8/16/18)
EOIR Swears in 23 Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 23 immigration judges and provided biographies of these new immigration judges.
Bipartisan Senate Report on UACs Finds Agencies Haven’t Taken Sufficient Responsibility
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations issued a report, finding that HHS and DHS have taken steps towards improving the care of UACs, but that they “still do not take sufficient responsibility for guarding their safety and ensuring they appear at their immigration court proceedings.”
CA1 Vacates BIA Denial of MTR for Failure to Consider Changed Country Conditions
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion by failing to consider petitioner’s new material evidence regarding treatment of evangelical Christians in Indonesia since 2008; it vacated the denial and remanded the case. (Sihotang v. Sessions, 8/15/18)
HHS Notice of Intent to Fund 700 Additional Beds to Keep Unaccompanied Children in Custody
HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) notice of intent to provide up to $19,011,218 of funding for 700 beds to keep unaccompanied children in custody. (83 FR 40519, 8/15/18)
CA1 Affirms BIA Denial of MTR, Dismisses Challenge to BIA’s Sua Sponte Denial
The court affirmed that potential LPR eligibility is not an exceptional circumstance that can overcome time/number bars on MTRs, and it denied jurisdiction to review the BIA’s sua sponte denial to reopen. (Lemus v. Sessions, 8/14/18)
CA8 Denies Jurisdiction to Review Changed Circumstances Based Claim for Late Asylum Filing
The court held that the IJ/BIA determination of lack of changed circumstances was a finding of fact, not a statutory interpretation; thus, there was no question of law to trigger its jurisdiction to review untimely asylum application. (Burka v. Sessions, 8/14/18)
U.S. Senators Demand DHS Reunify All Separated Families
On 8/14/18, seventeen democratic U.S. senators led by Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) signed a letter to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen demanding the reunification of all families separated at the southern border because of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.
Law Scholars Issue Letter Denouncing Quotas for Immigration Judges
On 8/14/18, over 120 immigration and administrative law scholars penned a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions denouncing DOJ’s plan to impose case completion quotas to measure immigration judges’ performance, as it would undermine the independence of the immigration courts.
CA9 Holds Bivens Damages Can Apply for Fifth Amendment Procedural Due Process Violation Arising in Immigration Context
The court held a Bivens remedy applies when ICE prosecutor forged an I-826 voluntary departure document that broke continuous presence, which precluded petitioner from receiving cancellation for which he otherwise qualified, violating his due process rights. (Lanuza v. Love, 8/14/18)
BIA Holds Texas Online Solicitation of a Minor Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that online solicitation of a minor under Tex. Penal Code 33.021 is not aggravated felony sexual abuse of a minor or attempted sexual abuse of a minor because it does not require a victim under 16 years of age. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Adeeko, 8/14/18)
CA8 Affirms Denial, Agrees No Changed Country Conditions Exist that Would Remedy Untimely Filing
The court denied jurisdiction to review asylum denial for untimeliness, agreeing that IJ did not err in determining no exceptional circumstance was met; it also held evidence of political violence submitted to BIA was properly deemed immaterial. (Degbe v. Sessions, 8/13/18)
CA2 Settles Question of First Impression, Holding that Petitioner Acquired Citizenship at Birth from USC Parent Despite Lack of Blood Relationship
The court terminated proceedings, holding that non-biologically–related USC father was petitioner’s “parent” for purposes of acquired citizenship under former INA §301(a)(7), because child was born into a lawful marriage as understood by common law. (Jaen v. Sessions, 8/13/18)
CA9 Holds BIA Erred in Denying Cancellation Based on Incorrect Application of Categorical and Modified Categorical Approaches for CIMT
The court held BIA erred in concluding OR witness tampering statute was categorically CIMT and that statute was not divisible; under modified categorical approach, court found statute was divisible and applicable subsection also not categorically CIMT. (Vasquez-Valle v. Sessions, 8/10/18)
CLINIC Fact Sheet: Family Separation for Asylum Seekers
In April 2018, the Trump administration began a “Zero Tolerance” policy that led to DHS separating asylum-seeking parents from their children. This fact sheet explains how the Trump administration carried out family separation and the federal court ruling in Ms. L v. ICE.
AILA Quicktake #248: NAIJ Files a Formal Grievance Against EOIR and DOJ
Jeremy McKinney, AILA Treasurer, discusses Matter of Castro-Tum and how it has led to a formal grievance filed by the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) against EOIR and DOJ.
CA8 Holds BIA Failed to Address Merits of MTR for Asylum, Remands for Determination in the First Instance
The court concluded the BIA abused its discretion by not considering the medical “exceptional circumstance” claim for missing asylum hearing; also, BIA did not explicitly rule on whether petitioner’s specific departure was abandonment of asylum application. (Payeras v. Sessions, 8/9/18)
Immigration Judges Spotlight DOJ Hijacking of Court Independence
Today, NAIJ accused EOIR of violating the Constitution, federal statute and the NAIJ’s union contract by stripping cases away from a judge; Jeremy McKinney, AILA Treasurer noted the grievance “puts the spotlight on how fundamentally compromised our immigration court system has become.”
Judges’ Union Files Grievance Over DOJ’s Interference with Judicial Independence and Violation of the Due Process Rights
The National Association of Immigration Judges, the union representing the nation’s roughly 350 federal Immigration Judges, filed a formal grievance seeking redress for the unwarranted removal of cases from the docket of a Philadelphia-based judge, United States Immigration Judge Steven A. Morley.
Judges’ Union Grievance Seeking Redress for the Unwarranted Removal of Cases from IJ
The National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) filed a formal grievance seeking redress for the unwarranted removal of cases from the docket of a Philadelphia-based judge, Immigration Judge Steven A. Morley. NAIJ represents approximately 350 federal immigration judges nationwide.
CA8 Affirms Asylum Denial for Mother, Remands to Properly Consider Applications of Children
The court confirmed petitioner failed to prove membership in PSG, agreeing she was targeted because she refused to divulge whereabouts of her brother who fled recruitment; her children, however, raised additional PSG basis that was not adequately considered. (De Rivas v. Sessions, 8/8/18)
CA9 Holds BIA Erred in Finding State Child Abuse Conviction Was Categorically a Crime of Child Abuse
The court remanded, holding NV misdemeanor child abuse statute’s “reasonable foreseeability” standard of harm to child is broader than BIA’s “reasonable probability” standard thus conviction basis could be outside the scope of the federal generic crime. (Alvarez-Cerriteno v. Sessions, 8/8/18)
CA9 Dismisses Review for Lack of Jurisdiction, Holds No Final Order of Removal Exists
The court held petitioner’s first departure executed removal order; upon expiration of subsequent parole, ICE wrongly put him into VWP asylum-only proceedings. CA9 held the resulting asylum denial was not a final finding of removability for jurisdiction. (Nicusor-Remus v. Sessions, 8/8/18)
CA4 Upholds BIA Decision that It Can Look Through an Inchoate Crime Statute to Underlying Criminal Purpose
The court upheld looking beyond a conspiracy statute to determine whether the crime behind the conspiracy conviction involved a controlled substance, thus, rendering petitioner inadmissible. It also held that §1229a(c)(3)(B) does not exclude indictments. (Shaw v. Sessions, 8/7/18)