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
BIA Remands for IJ to Apply REAL ID Act to Guatemalan Withholding Claim
Unpublished BIA decision remanding, finding it was unclear which standard of law the IJ applied in assessing credibility, and in applying the REAL ID Act, IJ should consider totality of circumstances and respondent’s age at time of persecution. Courtesy of Diana M. Bailey.
ICE Announces the Death of a Mexican National in ICE Custody
ICE press release announcing the death of Juan Palomo-Rodriguez, 30, a Mexican national in ICE Custody. He passed away at Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center as a result of natural causes. Rodriguez is the fourth detainee to pass away while in ICE custody in FY2011.
CA4 Denies Salvadoran Withholding Claim Based on Social Group
The court held that young, Americanized, well-off Salvadoran male deportees with criminal histories who oppose gangs is not narrow or enduring enough to clearly delineate its membership or readily identify its members. (Lizama v. Holder, 1/19/11)
CA9 Finds Immigration Consultant Fraud Excuses Late-Filed Asylum Application
The court held that the immigration consultant fraud that caused the late filing of Petitioner’s application constitutes an “extraordinary circumstance” warranting tolling of the deadline. (Viridiana v. Holder, 1/19/11; withdrawn 7/19/11)
CA9 Reverses Adverse Credibility in Chinese Christian Asylum Claim
The court reversed the adverse credibility finding as improperly based on the IJ’s perception of Petitioner’s ignorance of Christian doctrine, misstatements that did not go to the heart of the claim, and insufficient evidence of evasiveness. (Li v. Holder, 1/19/11)
CA2 Clarifies Prior Holding on Cancellation of Removal Stop-Time Rule
The court clarified that language in prior case law indicating that the stop-time rule is triggered on the date the alien commits a predicate offense, not upon conviction, is not dicta and precludes Petitioner’s contrary argument. (Baraket v. Holder, 1/18/11)
ICE Listing of Secure Communities Activated Jurisdictions
As of 1/22/13, ICE has activated the Secure Communities biometric information sharing capability in 3,181 jurisdictions in 50 states, U.S. territories, and Washington D.C.
ICE Announces Secure Communities Leads to the Removal of 461 Convicted Criminals from Sacramento County, California
ICE press release announcing that the activation of Secure Communities in Sacramento County a year ago has resulted in the removal of 461 convicted criminals from the U.S. Sacramento County is one of 41 California jurisdictions in which ICE has activated this capability.
Can DHS Keep Your Client From Being Heard? Sometimes
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Soumah v. Holder, an unpublished decision, and the impact it might have by unduly restricting the ability of aliens who made a good faith but unsuccessful effort to apprise the government of their new address to rescind in absentia orders.
OIG Report on CBP Transportation of Detainees
DHS OIG report finds that the CBP Transportation Program Management Office has not developed an effective plan to provide ground transportation for detainees, and makes recommendations to help CBP identify and implement comprehensive ground transportation solutions.
CA4 Finds Virginia First Offender Adjudication Is Not a Conviction
The court held that Petitioner’s disposition for possession of marijuana under Virginia Code §18.2-251, a first offender deferred adjudication statute, did not constitute a “conviction” under INA §101(a)(48). (Crespo v. Holder, 1/11/11)
CA5 Finds No Nexus in Family-Based Albanian Social Group Claim
Over dissent, the court found that the extensive, credible record of kidnapping and harm to petitioner’s family members evidenced a quintessentially personal motivation of revenge, not one based on membership in a social group. (Demiraj v. Holder, 1/11/11)
OIG Report on Identification of Removable Criminals
DHS OIG report on whether ICE is identifying all criminals in federal and state custody that are eligible for removal. The report finds that ICE identified 99% of the removable criminals in federal custody in FY2009, but the rates were lower among the states reviewed.
AILA/USCIS Field Operations Liaison Meeting Q&As (1/7/11)
Official minutes of the January 7, 2011, AILA meeting with USCIS Field Operations Directorate. Topics include G-28 issues, waivers, InfoPass, name changes during naturalization, AOS filing fees during proceedings, termination of proceedings, and more.
CA6 Upholds IJ Denial of Social Group Claim from Guinea
The court held that the immigration judge reasonably determined that “women subjected to rape as a method of government control” is not a particular social group because of its general, far-reaching, and circular nature. (Kante v. Holder, 1/7/11)
CA7 Discusses Temporal Limitation of 1988 ADAA Aggravated Felony Provision
The court discussed the circuit split on whether the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which made an aggravated felony conviction a deportable offense, can be applied to pre-ADAA convictions, but denied the petition for failure to exhaust. (Alvarado-Fonseca v. Holder, 1/6/11)
Is Your Client in Lawful Status, Just a Status, or In Unlawful Status? Context Counts.
AILA Amicus Committee alert on the definition of “status” and a review of several federal court cases that addressed provisions of the INA that raise the issue of when a person is in “status” in the U.S.
CA11 on Definition of “Conviction” Under INA §101(a)(48)
Adopting the approach of the Second, Third, and Fifth Circuits, the court held that a guilty plea and a finding of guilt, with a sentence of time served, qualifies as a “conviction” under INA §101(a)(48). (Rodriguez v. USCIS, 1/4/11)
CA9 Dissent Says Attorneys Have a Duty to Investigate All Grounds for Asylum
The court denied rehearing and rehearing en banc where the attorneys failed to inquire into and raise FGM as a basis for asylum from Eritrea. Judge Pregerson dissented, citing the adverse effect the decision will have on asylum seekers. (Teclezghi v. Holder, 1/4/11)
CA9 Finds IJ Erred in Requiring Corroboration of Inconclusive Conviction Record
REAL ID did not overrule Sandoval-Lua which held that the alien’s burden of proving cancellation eligibility is met where the conviction record is inconclusive as to whether the crime is an aggravated felony. (Rosas-Castaneda v. Holder, 1/4/11; amended 9/12/11)
CA9 Remands Wife’s Asylum Claim, Upholds Adverse Credibility for Husband
In a case involving separate claims of a couple from Egypt, the court upheld the IJ’s adverse credibility determination as to the husband, but remanded the wife’s claim where the BIA failed to address the IJ’s findings as to her testimony. (Rizk v. Holder, 1/3/11)
Immigration Law Advisor, November-December 2010 (Vol. 4, No. 10)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on the top twenty Federal appellate decisions on immigration, circuit court decisions for October and November 2010, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
DOJ OIL December 2010 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation December 2010 Litigation Bulletin covers Samirah v. Holder, jurisdiction over administrative closure, nine new immigration judges appointed, summaries of court decisions, and more.
MPI Report on 287(g) State and Local Immigration Enforcement
A January 2011 Migration Policy Institute report that assesses the implementation, outcomes, costs, and community impacts of the 287(g) program, which enables state and local officers to directly enforce federal immigration law and is now operating in 72 jurisdictions.
Welcome to VOICE 2.0: January/February 2011
AILA’s VOICE: An Immigration Dialogue kicks off 2011 with a new, dynamic platform. The January/February 2011 issue features articles on strict DMV policies, finding a job, the DREAM debate, keeping resolutions—and much more!