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
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Married Homosexual Petitioner from Mexico
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s finding that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on his membership in the particular social group (PSG) of “married homosexual males in Mexico.” (Pacheco-Moran v. Garland, 6/5/23)
CA5 Finds Petitioner Forfeited Right to Notice by Failing to Correct Erroneous Mailing Address
Denying the petition for review, the court concluded that the petitioner had forfeited his right to notice by failing to correct the erroneous mailing address listed in his “Notification Requirement for Change of Address” and Form I-830. (Nivelo Cardenas v. Garland, 6/2/23)
CA7 Finds Female Business Owner in El Salvador Failed to Establish Well-Founded Fear of Future Persecution
The court held that the documentary evidence did not compel a finding that the petitioner had established a well-founded fear of future persecution, but instead demonstrated general conditions of crime and violence in El Salvador. (Granados Arias v. Garland, 5/31/23)
CA4 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Petition Filed Eight Months After BIA’s Final Order of Removal
The court held that the BIA’s December 2020 order denying cancellation of removal was a “final order of removal” that started INA §242(b)(1)’s 30-day clock, and thus that the petitioner’s filing for review in August 2021 was outside the mandatory filing period. (Salgado v. Garland, 5/31/23)
ICE Begins Testing Wrist-Worn GPS Monitoring Technology
ICE announced that it began limited testing in Denver of a wrist-worn GPS monitoring device as part of its ongoing efforts to provide additional technology in the Alternatives to Detention suite of options.
Practice Alert: Regulatory Changes Due to the Asylum Transit Ban
AILA provides a practice alert on regulatory changes made by the newly published regulation Circumventing Lawful Pathways. Interior attorneys should be aware that these changes are not limited to the border and do impact asylum eligibility for non-expedited removal cases.
USCIS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comment on Proposed Revisions to Form I-589
USCIS 60-day notice and request for comment on proposed revisions to Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. Comments are due 7/24/23. (88 FR 33161, 5/23/23)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim Where BIA Applied Wrong Standard in Reviewing IJ’s Nexus Determination
The court remanded petitioner’s asylum claims, finding that the BIA applied the wrong standard in reviewing the IJ’s determination that the evidence failed to establish the requisite nexus between a protected ground and past or future harm. (Umana-Escobar v. Garland, 3/17/23, amended 5/23/23)
BIA Holds That Conviction in New York for Displaying Perceived Firearm During Burglary Is an Aggravated Felony Crime of Violence
The BIA held that a conviction for displaying what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, or other firearm while committing burglary under New York law constitutes an aggravated felony crime of violence. Matter of Pougatchev, 28 I&N Dec. 719 (BIA 2023)
CA9 Reverses District Court’s Determination That INA §276 Violates Equal Protection Clause
The court held that plaintiff did not carry his burden of proving that INA §276 was enacted with the intent to be discriminatory towards Mexicans and other Central and South Americans, and thus that the district court erred in holding otherwise. (United States v. Carrillo-Lopez, 5/22/23)
Practicing Law in TV Land
AILA member Tony Drago describes the impact of using video rather than in-person hearings, writing that while “In 2022, EOIR issued guidance to immigration judges on the use of virtual hearings, but far more clear guidance and standards are needed to ensure fairness.“
Practice Alert: Operational and Policy Updates from ICE Post-Title 42
In the lead-up to the end of Title 42 and in the days thereafter, ICE issued several operational and policy updates. AILA provides a practice alert with a summary of information gleaned from ICE briefings and stakeholder engagements.
EOIR Announces 19 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the appointment of 19 immigration judges, including one assistant chief immigration judge, to immigration courts in Arizona, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas.
ICE Releases Post Pandemic Emergency COVID-19 Guidelines and Protocols
ICE released new guidelines following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The guidelines eliminate the requirement for COVID-19 tests and quarantine for all detainees, allowing ICE to increase the number of accessible beds and expedite the processing of detained noncitizens.
Federal Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order on CBP’s Parole with Conditions Memo
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division issued a temporary restraining order preventing the implementation of CBP’s Parole with Conditions memo until May 25, 2023.
Supreme Court Says Noncitizens Need Not Request Reconsideration of Unfavorable BIA Decision to Satisfy Exhaustion Requirement
The Supreme Court held that INA §242(d)(1) is not jurisdictional, and that a noncitizen need not request discretionary forms of administrative review, like reconsideration of an unfavorable BIA determination, to satisfy §242(d)(1)’s exhaustion requirement. (Santos-Zacaria v. Garland, 5/11/23)
CA1 Vacates BIA’s Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Supported the LIDER Political Party
The court found that the BIA’s conclusion—namely, that since the petitioner had left Guatemala in January 2015, fundamental changes to the conditions there had negated the objective basis for his particular fear—was not supported by substantial evidence. (Mendez Esteban v. Garland, 5/11/23)
CA6 Holds That Petitioner’s Arkansas Conviction for Third-Degree Assault on Family Member Was a Crime of Violence
The court upheld the BIA’s and IJ’s conclusion that the petitioner’s conviction in Arkansas for third-degree assault on a family member was a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a), and that he was thus statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Banuelos-Jimenez v. Garland, 5/10/23)
ICE Announces New Process for Placing Family Units in Expedited Removal
ICE announced Family Expedited Removal Management, a process for family units apprehended at the southwest border who are processed for expedited removal and indicate an intention to apply for asylum. Certain heads of a household will be placed on ATD technology.
CBP Issues Memo on Policy on Parole with Conditions in Limited Circumstances Prior to the Issuance of a Charging Document
CBP issued a memo outlining when it may exercise discretionary parole authority for urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit including its use of parole prior to the issuance of a charging document. Released as part of the Florida v. Mayorkas litigation.
DHS Issues Fact Sheet on its Strengthened Enforcement of Title 8 Immigration Authorities After Title 42 Ends
DHS announced that when Title 42 ends, the U.S. will strengthen its enforcement of Title 8 immigration authorities to expeditiously process and remove individuals who arrive at the U.S. border unlawfully and do not have a legal basis to remain.
AILA’s Asylum & Refugee Committee Sends Follow-Up Letter to USCIS Requesting Guidance on the Doyle Memo
The AILA Asylum & Refugee Committee submitted a follow-up letter to USCIS regarding the Doyle Memo-related guidance initially requested in May 2022.
BIA Holds That It May Accept Late-Filed Appeals in Certain Situations Through Equitable Tolling
The BIA held that it will accept a late-filed appeal where a party can establish that equitable tolling applies by showing both diligence in the filing of the notice of appeal and that an extraordinary circumstance prevented timely filing. Matter of Morales-Morales, 28 I&N Dec 714 (BIA 2023)
CA6 Remands Asylum Claim of Honduran Petitioner After Finding BIA’s Analysis of Two of Her Proposed Social Groups Was Flawed
The court held that the BIA’s decision with respect to two of the petitioner’s proposed social groups—namely, “rural landowners or farmers” and “single mothers living without male protection”—was not supported by substantial evidence. (Turcios-Flores v. Garland, 5/5/23)
CA5 Remands Where BIA Failed to Perform Proper CIMT Analysis
The court held that the BIA should have analyzed whether the minimum conduct that would reasonably lead to a conviction under the petitioner’s statute of conviction was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), not whether her actual conduct was a CIMT. (Zamaro-Silverio v. Garland, 5/4/23)