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
BIA Issues New Decision in Matter of Silva-Trevino
The BIA concluded that the categorical and modified categorical approaches provide the proper framework for determining when a conviction is for a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of Silva-Trevino, 26 I&N Dec. 826 (BIA 2016)
Family Detention During Obama Administration
Resources related to the Obama administration’s family detention policy and conditions.
AILA Quicktake #177: DHS Committee Recommends End of Family Detention
AILA's Associate Director of Advocacy Karen Lucas shares recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security's Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers' report on family detention.
Federal Government Must Adopt Own Advisory Committee’s Recommendations and End Family Detention
AILA, the Council, and CLINIC welcomed the unanimous conclusion from the DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers that “detention is generally neither appropriate nor necessary for families” and urged DHS to adopt the recommendations immediately.
USCIS Message: Biometrics Appointment Notices for DACA Requestors
Some DACA requestors reported delays when receiving their Application Support Center biometrics appointment notices. USCIS recently mailed out biometrics appointment notices to these individuals with most appointments being scheduled during the week of October 24, 2016.
CA1 Finds Exceptional Circumstances Exist to Reopen Petitioner’s Removal Proceedings
The court concluded that the BIA abused its discretion when it found that the circumstances attendant to entry of an in absentia removal order against a young undocumented immigrant who was ill-served by two attorneys were not exceptional. (Murillo-Robles v. Lynch, 10/7/16)
Report of the DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers
The DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers released recommendations to improve detention management and conditions, stating "DHS’s immigration enforcement practices should operationalize the presumption that detention is generally neither appropriate nor necessary for families."
District Court Finds That Petitioner’s Detention of More Than One Year Has Become Unreasonable
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that the constitutional concerns raised by prolonged detention require implying a reasonable time limitation in INA §236(c), and found that petitioner’s detention had become unreasonable. (Haughton v. Crawford, et al., 10/7/16)
CA3 Finds Pennsylvania Conviction Involving a Non-Federal Counterfeit Substance Is Not an Aggravated Felony
The court reversed the BIA and remanded, holding that the petitioner’s Pennsylvania conviction for a non-federal counterfeit substance under 35 P.S. §780-113(a)(30) was not an aggravated felony under the modified categorical approach. (Singh v. Att'y Gen., 10/6/16)
BIA Reopens Sua Sponte to Allow DACA Recipient to Travel on Advance Parole
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte to allow beneficiary of DACA program to travel abroad pursuant to grant of advance parole. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Colotl, 10/6/16)
CA2 Upholds Denial of Asylum Despite Errors in BIA's Underlying Analysis
The court held that although the BIA erred in finding that the petitioner testified inconsistently, the BIA's ultimate ruling was supported by substantial evidence, and the same decision would be made on remand. (Li v. Lynch, 10/5/16)
House Members Call on President Obama to Stop Haitian Deportations
On 10/5/16, more than 50 representatives urged President Obama to reconsider the resumption of non-criminal deportations to Haiti in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. They also asked for undocumented Haitians to be ensured full and fair asylum hearings and effective assistance of counsel.
CRS Report: U.S. Invokes Visa Sanctions under Section 243(d)
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a Legal Sidebar report explaining how the U.S. invoked “visa sanctions” under Section 243(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) against The Gambia for failing to accept the return of Gambian citizens and nationals removed from the U.S.
Immigration Law Advisor, September-October 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 7)
The September-October 2016 issue of Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes an article with a survey of case law addressing defenses against the “material-support” terrorism bar, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from August 2016 and BIA precedent decisions.
AAO Grants §212(i) Waiver for Extreme Hardship to USC Spouse of Citizen of Egypt
In a nonprecedent decision, the AAO found that the applicant proved he was eligible for a §212(i) waiver for fraud or misrepresentation by showing that his spouse would suffer extreme hardship if she relocated to Egypt. Courtesy of Eric Singer. Matter of A-M-M-G-, ID# 12378 (AAO Oct. 4, 2016)
BIA Says Pre-Conclusion Voluntary Departure Does Not Preclude Bond Appeal
Unpublished BIA decision holds that respondents need not waive appeal of denial of bond redetermination in order to accept pre-conclusion voluntary departure. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Nunez, 10/4/16)
AILA: SCOTUS Denies Rehearing in Deferred Action Case Leaving Millions of Immigrants Out in the Cold
AILA is disappointed with today’s Supreme Court decision denying the request for a rehearing in United States v. Texas; AILA President Bill Stock noted, “the Supreme Court has once again allowed state governments to block federal policy initiatives with which they disagree.”
USCIS Statistics on Asylum Filings for Minors for FY2016
USCIS provided FY2016 statistics (through 9/30/16) on minor principal applicants (affirmative asylum applicants under the age of 18 at time of filing) and asylum applicants of any age filed with USCIS under the initial jurisdiction provision of the TVPRA while in removal proceedings.
ACLU Report: Shutting Down the Profiteers: Why and How DHS Should Stop Using Private Prisons
This report from the American Civil Liberties Union spotlights the dangerously close ties between ICE and the private prison industry, describes the human toll of over-detention and privatization, and provides a concrete plan for how ICE can and should phase out its reliance on private prisons.
Report of the DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers
In this report, the DHS Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers recommended that DHS to discontinue the general use of family detention, reserving it for rare cases, and that if continued custody is absolutely necessary, families should be detained for the shortest amount of time.
District Court Finds That Immigration Detainers Require a Warrant
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that ICE’s policy of issuing detainers without regard to whether the subject of the detainer was likely to flee before a warrant could be obtained was unlawful. (Jimenez Moreno v. Napolitano, 9/30/16)
BIA Finds Virginia Drug Schedules Overbroad Under Categorical Approach
Unpublished BIA decision holds that Virginia drug schedules are overbroad under categorical approach because they contain substances not listed on the federal schedule, and remands to consider whether statutes are divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lee, 9/30/16)
DOD Letter Regarding MAVNI Applicants in the Army’s Delayed Entry Program
DOD issued a letter stating that the Army will conduct a comprehensive review of the immigration status of 4,300 MAVNIs in the Army’s Delayed Entry Program to ensure that applicants maintain an immigration status or obtains deferred action so they qualify for enlistment.
Resources on Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Immigrant Detainees with Mental Disabilities
Resources related to Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder, the class action lawsuit brought on behalf of immigrant detainees with mental disabilities.
American Immigration Council Special Report: Access to Counsel in Immigration Court
The American Immigration Council issued a special report that presents the results of the first national study of access to counsel in U.S. immigration courts with data from over 1.2 million deportation cases decided between 2007 and 2012.