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
CA1 Finds Petitioner's Claim of Derivative Citizenship Under Former INA §321(a)(3) Failed
The court found that the petitioner, an LPR who had been convicted of a deportable offense, did not prove that his parents were common law spouses in Jamaica who legally separated within the meaning of former INA §321(a)(3) when they ceased cohabitation. (Thompson v. Lynch, 12/29/15)
CA9 Says Vehicle Theft in CA Is Not a CIMT
The en banc court remanded Matter of Almanza-Arenas to the BIA, holding that because the least of the acts criminalized under California Vehicle Code §10851(a) is a temporary taking, the statute is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. (Almanza-Arenas v. Lynch, 12/28/15)
Letter to USCIS and ICE Concerning Due Process Violations at Detention Facilities
Joint letter from AILA, the American Immigration Council, CLINIC, RAICES, and Human Rights First to USCIS and ICE concerning glaring due process violations which have led to the deportation of families with valid claims for asylum or other protection under U.S. law.
Denial of Due Process to Incarcerated Immigrant Families Worsens in Spite of Court Ruling
Attorneys and advocates called the government to account for rushing detained children and mothers through the legal processes designed to protect them from danger; glaring due process violations have led to the deportation of families with valid claims for asylum or other protection under U.S. law.
CA1 Limits Attorney General’s Discretion to Use Mandatory Detention Provision
The court affirmed the district court, holding that the bar to bonded release found in the detention mandate applies only to those specified criminal noncitizens whom the Attorney General took into custody when they were released from criminal custody. (Castañeda v. Souza, 12/23/15)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Honduran Petitioner Found Not to Be Credible
The court found that the IJ and the BIA did not err in finding that the petitioner's testimony was not credible in light of the numerous contradictions and inconsistencies in her evidence that went to the heart of her asylum claim. (Rodriguez-Mercado v. Lynch, 12/23/15)
CA7 Remands for Reconsideration of CAT Eligibility of Mexican Petitioner with Ties to Drug Cartel
The court granted the motion to remand for reconsideration of petitioner’s eligibility for deferral of removal under CAT, stating that petitioner, who contended that he would be killed by a drug cartel if removed to Mexico, appeared to have a strong case. (Mendoza-Sanchez v. Lynch, 12/23/15)
AILA’s Take On Immigration Enforcement
This AILA backgrounder provides information on ICE’s enforcement data that reflects a decreased in removal numbers in FY2015 compared to last year’s numbers, as well as context on the major factors that contribute to the shift.
EOIR Notice With Correction to 8 CFR Part 1245
EOIR notice with a correction to 8 CFR Part 1245, on “adjustment of status to that of person admitted for permanent residence.” (80 FR 79460, 12/22/15)
CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum to North Korean Found to Be "Firmly Resettled" in South Korea
The court held that 22 USC §7842, which states that a North Korean national “shall not be considered” a South Korean national for refugee and asylum purposes, does not preclude a finding that a North Korean has “firmly resettled” in South Korea. (Jang v. Lynch, 12/22/15)
CA10 Says Possession of Stolen Vehicles in Oklahoma Is Categorically a CIMT
The court affirmed BIA’s determination that petitioner was removable because his conviction for possession of stolen vehicles under Oklahoma law is a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), but held that he was eligible to apply for a discretionary waiver. (Obregon de Leon v. Lynch, 12/22/15)
DHS Releases FY2015 CBP Border Security Report
DHS released report summarizing CBP’s FY2015 enforcement efforts at and between ports of entry, border technology and investment, and transparency and accountability. Border Patrol apprehensions totaled 337,117 nationwide in FY2015, compared to 486,651 in FY2014.
DHS Releases FY2015 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Report
DHS released report summarizing ICE’s enforcement and removal operations during FY2015, including the impact of civil immigration enforcement priorities, non-criminal removals, state and local law enforcement, decreased illegal migration and CBP apprehensions, and changing migration demographics.
DHS Releases End-of-Year Statistics for FY2015
DHS announced the release of its end-of-year statistics for FY2015, including reports from ICE and CBP. In FY2015, ICE removed or returned a total 235,413 individuals, and CBP made 337,117 apprehensions nationwide.
Immigration Law Advisor, November-December 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 10)
The November-December 2015 Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes with an article asylum claims filed by artists, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from October and November 2015, A.G. precedent decisions, and BIA precedent decisions.
CA9 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Resolve Citizenship Claim Absent Final Removal Order
Where the BIA vacated the IJ's order terminating removal proceedings and remanded to the IJ, the court held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the petitioner's derivative citizenship claim, because there was no final order of removal. (Viloria v. Lynch, 12/21/15)
District Court Awards $125,000 in Attorneys' Fees in Class Action Suit over Conditional Parole
The court finalized a settlement agreement providing that DOJ will pay a class of immigrants $125,000 in attorneys' fees to close out a lawsuit alleging that the IJs in the Seattle and Tacoma immigration courts uniformly denied requests for conditional parole. (Rivera v. Lynch, 12/18/15)
IJ Finds CA Firearms Conviction Is Not a Removable Offense Under INA §237(a)(2)(C)
The court held that the respondent's conviction for Carrying a Loaded Firearm in violation of California law did not constitute a firearms offense described in INA §237(a)(2)(C) that would render him ineligible for cancellation of removal. Courtesy of Brian Blackford.
Amicus Brief Filed with First Circuit on Interpretation of Modified Categorical Approach
Amicus filed by several organizations, including Immigrant Defense Project and AILA, in Peralta Sauceda v. Lynch. The brief argues that, when the record of a prior conviction is ambiguous, the conviction does not disqualify a noncitizen from cancellation of removal as a matter of law.
CA6 Upholds Denial of Withholding for “Wealthy” Mexican Petitioner
The court held that the petitioner's proposed social group, “persons who are perceived to have money or access to money due to having spent a significant amount of time in and having familial ties to the United States,” was not cognizable under the INA. (Sanchez-Robles v. Lynch, 12/17/15)
CA7 Reverses CAT Denial for Mexican Petitioner with Ties to Zetas Cartel
The court found that the IJ and BIA erred in holding that the Mexican petitioner, who had been tortured by Mexican police at the behest of the Zetas drug cartel due to unpaid debt and had been an informant, was not entitled to deferral of removal. (Rodriguez-Molinero v. Lynch, 12/17/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Because NTA Identified Different Respondent and A-Number
Unpublished BIA decision finds service of the Notice to Appear was defective, because it contained a different name and A-number from that of the respondent. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alvarenga-Torres, 12/17/15)
Recent Ninth Circuit Case Law December 2015
Summary of recent case law out of the Ninth Circuit, courtesy of the AILA Southern California Chapter. The information was compiled in December 2015 and should be used as a starting point in research.
CA9 Finds Government Met Its Burden of Proving Petitioner's Alienage
The court affirmed the district court's determination that the petitioner is not a United States citizen, finding that the government satisfied its burden to the rebut petitioner's claim of citizenship by clear and convincing evidence. (Mondaca-Vega v. Lynch, 12/15/15)
CARA Urges Texas Officials To Deny Child Care Licenses to Detention Centers in Dilley and Karnes
On 12/11/15, the CARA Pro Bono Project submitted a letter to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services urging the agency not to adopt proposed amendments to the Texas Human Resources Code that would facilitate licensing the family detention centers in Texas as child care facilities.