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
CA9 Says Guatemalan Petitioner Failed to Show a Reasonable Fear of Torture
The court upheld the IJ's decision affirming an asylum officer's negative reasonable fear determination, concluding that substantial evidence in the record supported the IJ's conclusion that the petitioner failed to demonstrate a reasonable fear of torture. (Andrade-Garcia v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
AILA Quicktake #170: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms Flores Settlement
The American Immigration Council's Legal Director Melissa Crow shares details of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ affirmation of the Flores Settlement Agreement stating that the Obama administration's family detention practices violate that agreement.
CA8 Finds Asylum Applicant Failed to Show a Material Change in Country Conditions in Nigeria
The court held that petitioner’s motion to reopen was untimely due to her inability to show a material change in country conditions in Nigeria, which would have excused her from the 90-day time limitation for filing the motion. (Zeah v. Lynch, 7/8/16)
CA3 Upholds Denial of Naturalization Application Due to Failure to Disclose Prior Removal Order
The court affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the government, finding that the appellant failed to meet his burden of showing that he was lawfully admitted and was therefore not eligible for naturalization. (Koszelnik v. DHS Secretary, et al., 7/8/16)
CA3 Says Petitioner’s Fraudulent Procurement of TPS Rendered Him Inadmissible
The court upheld the district court, holding that petitioner’s fraudulent procurement of TPS in 1992 made him inadmissible for LPR status, and because he had not been “lawfully admitted” for permanent residence, he could not be naturalized. (Saliba v. Att'y Gen., 7/8/16)
CA2 Finds Petitioner’s 1997 Pennsylvania Conviction Was a Controlled Substance Offense
The court held that petitioner’s 1997 conviction under a Pennsylvania statute was categorically a controlled substance offense, and dismissed the petition for review for lack of jurisdiction to review the removability order. (Collymore v. Lynch, 7/8/16)
Enforcement Off the Rails
There's been a lot of news coverage of the ICE raids, of the aggressive tactics used to arrest vulnerable families at their homes and to arrest children on the way to school. But what hasn't received as much coverage is the damage that raids victims endure after their arrest. Some remain trapped in
CA7 Says USCIS Erred in Evaluating Widow’s Request to Remove Permanent Residence Conditions
The court held that because USCIS mistakenly evaluated petitioner's request to remove the conditions on her permanent residence as a request for a waiver, it erroneously placed on petitioner the burden of proving that the marriage was bona fide. (Putro v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
CA4 Says “Virginia Forgery” Is an Aggravated Felony
The court denied the petition for review, concluding that “Virginia forgery” is an aggravated felony under the INA, because it is a categorical match with the federal generic definition of forgery. (Alvarez v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
Court Again Rules Against Federal Government’s Efforts to Detain Children
AILA and the American Immigration Council commented on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirming that the Flores Settlement Agreement governs the custody and release of all immigrant children, and that the Obama administration’s family detention practices violate that agreement.
CA9 Finds Serious Nonpolitical Crime Bar Rendered Salvadoran Congressman Deputy Ineligible for Asylum
The court denied a petition for review brought by a former Salvadoran professional soccer player and Salvadoran congressman’s deputy, holding that he was statutorily barred from asylum and withholding of removal relief under the serious nonpolitical crime bar. (Silva-Pereira v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
CA6 Says INA's Residual Definition of “Crime of Violence” Is Unconstitutionally Vague
Applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, the court granted the petition for review, holding that the INA §1101(a)(43)(F)’s residential definition of “crime of violence” is void for vagueness. (Shuti v. Lynch, 7/7/16)
BIA Orders IJ To Consider Whether Respondent Is Admissible as B1/B2 Nonimmigrant
Unpublished BIA decision remands for IJ to consider whether respondent is admissible as B1/B2 nonimmigrant alien, notwithstanding that DHS cancelled his visa upon his arrival in the United States. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Suarez, 7/7/16)
CA9 Affirms That Family Detention Violates Flores Settlement Agreement
The court held that the Flores settlement agreement applies to both minors who are accompanied and unaccompanied by their parents, and that the lower court correctly refused to amend the agreement to accommodate family detention. (Flores v. Lynch, 7/6/16)
BIA Reverses IJ For Preventing Witnesses From Testifying
Unpublished BIA decision holds that IJ should have permitted witnesses to testify in support of registry application notwithstanding failure to submit declarations or summaries of witness testimony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Galvan, 7/6/16)
Immigration Law Advisor, May-June 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 4)
The May-June 2016 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes an article on developments in civil detention, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from April and May 2016 and BIA precedent decisions.
Know Your Rights Information for Asylum Seekers
To help families and individuals who recently entered the United States seeking refuge from violence and persecution, AILA offers information in English and Spanish on rights and responsibilities throughout the asylum process. Special thanks to Laura Lichter.
CA1 Finds Petitioner Failed to Satisfy Derivative Citizenship Statute Criteria
The court held that petitioner did not satisfy the applicable statutory criteria for obtaining derivative citizenship in consequence of his mother’s naturalization, which were set forth in the derivative citizenship statute in effect at the time he was still a minor. (Thomas v. Lynch, 7/5/16)
CA11 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Denial of Motion for Sua Sponte Reopening
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion for sua sponte reopening, because petitioner had not raised any constitutional claims. (Butka v. Att'y Gen., 7/5/16)
DOJ OIL July 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for July 2016, with articles on Shuti v. Lynch and EOIR’s proposed rule that would establish procedures for reopening cases based on ineffective assistance of counsel, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for July 2016.
BIA Chastises DHS in Reopening Proceedings Sua Sponte
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte based on approval of visa petition and states that numerous objections raised in DHS opposition were based on inaccurate assertions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Awaye, 7/1/16)
CA6 Finds Petitioner Did Not Prove He Entered the U.S. Without Inspection
The court held that petitioner, a citizen of India who initially claimed that he entered with a visitor visa and later claimed that he entered without inspection, failed to prove his manner of entry into the U.S. pursuant to INA §245’s eligibility requirement. (Patel v. Lynch, 6/30/16)
BIA Notes DHS Concession That Pennsylvania Offense Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision remands record following concession by DHS that possession of marijuana with intent to deliver under 35 Pa. Cons. Stat. 780-113(a)(30) is not an aggravated felony under Moncrieffe v. Holder. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Stewart, 6/30/16)
CA2 Says NY Child Pornography Conviction Is an Aggravated Felony
The court upheld the BIA, holding that the petitioner's conviction for possession of child pornography in New York constituted an aggravated felony under the INA. (Weiland v. Lynch, 6/29/16)
BIA Says IJs May Implement Safeguards in Cases Involving Issues of Mental Competency
The BIA held that, in cases involving issues of mental competency, an Immigration Judge (IJ) has the discretion to select and implement appropriate safeguards, which the Board of Immigration Appeals reviews de novo. Matter of M-J-K-, 26 I&N Dec. 773 (BIA 2016)