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
U Visa: A Sliver of a Silver Lining for Victims of Violent Crimes
Congress created the U nonimmigrant visa with the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in October 2000. As the USCIS website explains, this legislation was intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic viole
House Democrats Tell the President to End the Immigration Raids
A 1/12/16 letter from 146 House members to President Obama demanding an end to immigration home raids that have targeted Central American families with children.
CA7 Upholds CAT Denial to HIV-Positive, Homosexual Mexican Petitioner
The court held that the HIV-positive, homosexual Mexican petitioner did not satisfy his burden of showing that it was more likely than not that he would be tortured by the government or with the government’s acquiescence if he was removed to Mexico. (Lopez v. Lynch, 1/12/16)
District Court Grants Writ of Habeas Corpus to Detainee Held for Twenty-Six Months
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas granted the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that the petitioner's detention of more than twenty-six months was unreasonable, and that the appropriate remedy was a bond hearing. Courtesy of Carlos Spector.
BIA Reopens Sua Sponte Following Vacatur of Decades-Old Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte following vacatur of 1997 criminal conviction, calling a constitutionally defective conviction “a gross miscarriage of justice.” Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez, 1/12/16)
Notice Regarding Interest Rate Paid on Cash Deposited to Secure ICE Immigration Bonds
Notice that for the period beginning 1/1/16, and ending on 3/31/16, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration bond interest rate is 0.14 per centum per annum. (81 FR 1289, 1/11/16)
CA7 Defers to BIA’s Finding That Continuous Residency Clock Stopped with Drug Conviction
The court held that BIA reasonably construed INA §240A(a) to find that the clock for accruing time toward continuous residency permanently stopped with the LPR petitioner's 1998 drug conviction, and thus that petitioner was not eligible for cancellation of removal. (Isunza v. Lynch, 1/11/16)
District Court Allows Class Action Lawsuit over Conditions at CBP Detention Facility to Proceed
The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona allowed a class action lawsuit filed by detainees against CBP over alleged inhumane treatment and conditions at a CBP detention facility to move forward. (Unknown Parties v. Johnson, et. al., 1/11/16)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum and Withholding of Removal to Chinese Farmer
The court upheld the IJ and the BIA, holding that the petitioner did not provide, or adequately explain the absence of, reasonably available evidence to corroborate his testimony regarding the appropriation of his farmland by the Chinese government. (Chen v. Lynch, 1/8/16)
CA11 Denies Withholding of Removal to Homosexual/Transgender Haitian Petitioner
The court held that petitioner had failed to exhaust his past persecution claim, and that petitioner failed to show that the BIA erred in its assessment of his future persecution claim by not considering his transgender status separately from his homosexuality. (Jeune v. Att'y Gen., 1/8/16)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Where Evidence Was Previously Discoverable
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioner's motion to reopen, because the petitioner's newly submitted evidence to establish he had a bona fide marriage was previously discoverable. (Makundi v. Lynch, 1/8/16)
ICE Factsheet on the Family Case Management Program
ICE released a Fact Sheet announcing that it will commence the Family Case Management Program (FCMP) on 1/21/16 in select metropolitan areas. FCMP is a new alternative to detention (ATD) initiative that uses qualified case managers to promote participant compliance with immigration obligations.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Because Parent Provided Incorrect Address
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order due to exceptional circumstances, because the respondent was a minor when she was released from custody and her father provided an incorrect address on her behalf. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Romero, 1/8/16)
CA6 Reverses Adverse Credibility Determination of Christian Petitioners from the West Bank
The court held that the IJ and BIA's adverse credibility determination was not supported by substantial evidence, and that the petitioners credibly testified to being attacked and persecuted in the West Bank by Muslims on the basis of their Christian religion. (Marouf v. Lynch, 1/6/16)
CA5 Finds Petitioner Did Not Satisfy Burden of Showing He Was Eligible for Relief
The court held that the petitioner, who had been convicted for the possession of cocaine in Canada in 1991, failed to satisfy his burden of showing that his offense did not qualify as an offense relating to a controlled substance under the INA. (Le v. Lynch, 1/6/16)
Law School Professors Submit Amicus Brief in Support of Respondents’ Interlocutory Appeals
Amicus curiae brief authored by two law school professors in support of interlocutory appeals filed on behalf of the Cornell Law School clinical programs regarding three separate denials of motions for law student appearances by an IJ in New York. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman.
CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project Succeeds in Winning Stays of Deportation of Four Mothers and Their Children Recently Rounded-Up by ICE
Last night, the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project succeeded in halting the deportation of four Central American families apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend, who had been scheduled for deportation this morning.
AILA and the Council Letter to DHS Secretary Johnson on Raids Targeting Central American Families
On 1/6/16, AILA and the Council requested a meeting with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson to discuss the agency’s current aggressive tactics to apprehend and deport Central American families.
After Successfully Delaying the Deportations of Four Central American Families, Groups Demand Meeting with DHS Secretary Johnson
AILA and the American Immigration Council sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson criticizing raids to remove asylum-seeking Central American families and calling for a meeting to discuss how to guarantee due process and the necessary humanitarian protections for those families.
CA8 Upholds Finding That Petitioner's Fear of Future Persecution Was Not Objectively Reasonable
The court upheld the IJ and the BIA's denial of asylum to the Nicaraguan petitioner, finding that the petitioner failed to establish that his fear of future persecution was objectively reasonable. (Castillo-Gutierrez v. Lynch, 1/5/16)
DHS Statement on Southwest Border Security
DHS released a statement on border security, with information on a nationwide enforcement operation by ICE to remove families and unaccompanied children where 121 individuals were taken into custody, primarily from Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Release outlines additional efforts being taken.
AILA Condemns Raids on Vulnerable Central American Families
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis condemned reports of ICE raids targeting Central American families saying, “Rounding up mothers and children who have fled the most violent region in the western hemisphere and are trying to find refuge abrogates our legal obligations.”
DOJ OIL January 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for January 2016, with articles on Gonzalez Cano v. Lynch and Bernardo v. Johnson, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for January 2016.
BIA Terminates Proceedings Based on Unreliable Form I-213
Unpublished BIA decision terminated proceedings against respondent charged with being present without admission or parole, because the Form I-213 did not reflect two prior lawful nonimmigrant admissions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bahamonde Michilena, 12/31/15)
Sign-on Letter to the President Opposing DHS Reported Plans to Conduct Nationwide Raids
On 12/31/15, over 150 organizations joined AILA in expressing opposition to the DHS reported plans to conduct nationwide raids to round up and deport Central American children and their parents. The letter urges the President to offer greater protection to Central American families fleeing violence.