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
SCOTUS: Biden Administration ICE Guidelines Withstand States’ Challenge
AILA welcomed the SCOTUS decision in U.S. v. Texas which upholds the prerogative of the executive branch to set agency guidelines; AILA President Farshad Owji called the decision a clear message, adding “The states that attempted to derail this commonsense approach were in the wrong.”
Advocacy Groups File Lawsuit Challenging Asylum Bar’s Changes to Expedited Removal Procedures
Several advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of asylum seekers challenging the government’s asylum eligibility bar, “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways.” (M.A., et al. v. Jaddou, et al., 6/23/23)
ICE Open Forum at 2023 AILA Annual Conference
AILA shares a recording of the ICE Open Forum at the 2023 AILA Annual Conference and Webcast on Immigration Law in Orlando, FL.
EOIR Open Forum at 2023 AILA Annual Conference
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee provides key takeways from the EOIR Open Forum at the 2023 AILA Annual Conference.
Supreme Court Says Offense “Relating to Obstruction of Justice” Under INA §101(a)(43)(S) Does Not Require Pending Investigation
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an offense may “relat[e] to obstruction of justice” under INA §101(a)(43)(S) even if the offense does not require that an investigation or proceeding be pending. (Pugin v. Garland, 6/22/23)
CA10 Finds That IJ and BIA Did Not Err in Invoking Frivolous-Asylum Bar in Same Proceeding as Frivolousness Finding
The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the IJ erred in making a frivolousness finding as to the petitioner’s asylum application and invoking the statutory frivolous bar outlined in INA §208(d)(6) in the same proceeding. (Farnum v. Garland, 6/21/23)
CA7 Finds That Substantial Evidence Supported IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination as to Chinese Petitioner
The court held that, in denying petitioner’s claim for asylum, the IJ considered her testimony and evidence, pointed to several material inconsistencies and instances of evasive or untruthful testimony, and determined that her overall testimony lacked credibility. (Cui v. Garland, 6/16/23)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Citizen of Burkina Faso Who Feared Harm Based on His Political Opinions
The court held that because the IJ identified specific, cogent reasons to disbelieve the testimony of the petitioner, a citizen of Burkina Faso who feared harm due to his political opinions, sufficient evidence supported the IJ’s adverse credibility determination. (Zongo v. Garland, 6/16/23)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal to Ghanaian Petitioner Whose Family Had Been Displaced from Their Farm
The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that being removed to his native Ghana would contravene INA §241(b)(3)(A) because he would lack the freedom to return to his family’s cocoa farm due to a conflict with a local chieftain. (Odei v. Garland, 6/15/23)
CA2 Finds Immigration Court Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Denying Jamaican Petitioner’s Motions to Terminate
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner had failed to show that he satisfied any of the three requirements for termination as required under Rajah v. Mukasey, and thus was not entitled to termination of his removal proceedings. (Medley v. Garland, 6/15/23)
CA5 Rejects Petitioner’s Argument That Two Temporary BIA Members Who Ruled in His Case Acted Ultra Vires
The court rejected the petitioner’s argument that the two temporary BIA members who ruled in his case acted ultra vires because their terms had “terminated by automatic operation of law” nearly six months before they ruled in his case. (Medina Carreon v. Garland, 6/15/23)
CA8 Says Petitioner’s Conviction in Kansas for Possession of Methamphetamine Made Him Removable Under INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i)
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the BIA correctly found that the petitioner’s conviction in Kansas for possession of methamphetamine made him removable from the United States for having committed a controlled substance offense. (Rincon Barbosa v. Garland, 6/14/23)
CA8 Finds That BIA Properly Considered Hardship to Petitioner’s Relatives as One of Her Positive Equities
The court concluded that, in denying a waiver of inadmissibility to the Sierra Leonean petitioner, the BIA properly evaluated the hardship to the petitioner’s relatives as one of her positive equities. (King v. Garland, 6/14/23)
CA5 Finds BIA Properly Relied on Form I-213 to Conclude Petitioner Had Received Notice of His Removal Hearing
The court held that the BIA did not err in relying on a reconstructed record that did not contain the petitioner’s Notice to Appear (NTA) but that did include his Form I-213, Record of Deportable/Inadmissible Alien. (Alexandre-Matias v. Garland, 6/13/23)
ICYMI: ICE Online Change of Address Tool Fully Operational
ICE announced that its online change-of-address form for noncitizens is fully operational. Noncitizens now have the option to update their information online in addition to the existing options of doing so by phone or in-person.
USCIS 30-Day Notice and Request for Comment on Proposed Revisions to Form I-881
USCIS 30-day notice and request for comment on proposed revisions to Form I-881, Application for Suspension of Deportation or Special Rule Cancellation of Removal (Pursuant to Section 203 of Pub. L. 105–100, NACARA). Comments are due 7/12/23. (88 FR 38088, 6/12/23)
Southern California Chapter: Q&A from Liaison Meeting with OPLA-LA and ERO (6/12/23)
Notes from Southern California Chapter’s liaison meeting with DHS OPLA-LA and ERO on 6/12/23.
CA5 Finds Petitioner Who Had Been Convicted in Texas of Injuring a Child by Omission Was Removable
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner was removable under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i) for having been convicted of a crime of child abuse and under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) for having been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Ponce v. Garland, 6/9/23)
DHS PowerPoint on Its Efforts to Support Labor Agencies Through Worker Protection
DHS provided a PowerPoint that outlined its efforts to support labor agencies including a description of the roles and responsibilities, the centralized process for workers to request deferred action, and contact information.
CA9 Holds That IJ’s Rejection of Opportunity to File Relief Application Deprived Petitioner of Due Process
The court held that the IJ’s rejection of the petitioner’s attorney’s request for the opportunity to file a relief application on the date of the petitioner’s individual merits hearing deprived the petitioner of a full and fair opportunity to be heard. (Arizmendi-Medina v. Garland, 6/7/23)
CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Woman Who Feared Future Persecution on Account of Her Political Opinion
Where the Guatemalan petitioner claimed she feared persecution on account of her political opinion, the court held that she had failed to show a nexus between her past or feared future harms and her membership in three alleged particular social groups. (Rodriguez-Zuniga v. Garland, 6/7/23)
CA9 Says BIA Erred in Finding Petitioner’s Convictions for Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle in Washington Were CIMTs
The court held that, in finding petitioner’s convictions for attempting to elude a police vehicle were crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs), the BIA failed to address substantive changes the Washington Legislature had made to the statute of conviction. (Zhovtonizhko v. Garland, 6/7/23)
CA9 Holds That INA §236(c) Authorizes Immigration Detention During Judicial Review Phase of Removal Proceedings
The court held that a noncitizen initially subject to mandatory detention under INA §236(c) is not entitled to a bond hearing under INA §236(a) while awaiting a decision on a petition for review. (Hernandez Avilez v. Garland, 9/8/22, amended 6/6/23)
EOIR Issues Memo on Language Access in Immigration Court
EOIR issued a memo that discusses interpretation and language access in immigration court. This memo is effective 6/6/23. It supersedes and rescinds Operating Policies and Procedures Memorandum 04-08, Contract Interpreter Services.
Advocacy Groups File CRCL Complaint Regarding DHS’s Reliance on Unreliable Information from Human Rights-Abusing Governments
A group of advocacy organizations filed a complaint with DHS’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) requesting an investigation into DHS’s alleged reliance on unreliable information from human rights-abusing governments in enforcement practices and immigration proceedings.