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
EOIR Publishes Revised Information Collection on Change of Address Form
EOIR published a revised information collection on Form 33/BIA, Change of Address Form for the BIA and Form 33/IC, Change of Address for Immigration Court. Comments are due 6/3/08. (73 FR 18571, 4/4/08)
CA7 Rejects Modified Categorical Approach in CIMT Determination
Citing Matter of Babaisakov, CA7 concluded that when classifying convictions under criteria beyond the criminal charge, such as whether the crime involves “moral turpitude,” the agency may consider evidence outside the charging papers and judgment of conviction.(Ali v. Mukasey, 4/4/08)
Letter from CBO on the Cost of Implementing the SAVE Act
A 4/4/08 letter from CBO Director, Peter R. Orszag, to Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, estimating the cost to the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration if the SAVE Act (H.R. 4088) were implemented.
EOIR Swears in 11 New IJs and New Assistant Chief IJ
On 4/4/08, EOIR announced that MaryBeth Keller will serve as the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge for Conduct and Professionalism, and that 11 new immigration judges were sworn in.
AILA Liaison/EOIR Q&As (4/3/08)
The EOIR provides answers to AILA Liaison agenda item questions from the 4/3/08 meeting. Topics discussed include the ICPM, telephonic hearings, venue and related bond issues, biometrics and security clearances, asylum issues, and more.
CA3 Remands Sierra Leonean Withholding Claim
The court reversed the adverse credibility determination finding that Petitioner’s omissions with respect to dates did not go to the heart of her claim and that the few inconsistencies were the result of translation problems or the IJ’s interruptions. (Kaita v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 4/3/08)
CA7 Finds IJ Erred in Finding No Past Persecution in Romanian Claim
The court held that the IJ applied an incorrect legal standard in determining that Petitioner had not suffered past persecution as a result of a genital beating. The court held that the IJ erred by requiring Petitioner to show he had been “seriously harmed.” (Irasoc v. Mukasey, 4/3/08)
Testimony on Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security
On 4/2/08, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security.”
AILA/USCIS Q & As (4/2/08)
The Q & As address multi-year EADs and Advance Parole docs, H-1B1 cap, the DV lottery and 245 processing, K-3 processing, replacing a lost I-94 card, I-130s for beneficiaries in removal, premium processing, the I-9 Handbook, H-1B portability, VAWA, CSPA, EB-5s, I-751s and much more.
CA9 Allows Family Unity Smuggling Waiver for Cancellation of Removal Applicants
The court held that its conclusion in Moran v. Ashcroft, that an applicant for cancellation is eligible for a family unity waiver for smuggling when the smuggled person was the applicant’s spouse, parent, or child, was not dicta and is controlling. (Sanchez v. Mukasey, 4/2/08).
Vera Institute Paper on Unaccompanied Children
The Vera Institute of Justice provides a literature review, which examines articles by an assortment of scholars, advocates, and practicing attorneys, provides an overview of the published research on unaccompanied children in the United States within a legal and historical context.
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on burden of proof and voluntariness under persecutor bars to asylum-based relief, federal court activity for February 2008, an article on recent trends on CIMTs, aggravated felonies, and relief, BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
CA9 Refuses to Allow VWP Entrant to Contest Removal Through Adjustment of Status
The court held that a Visa Waiver Pilot entrant may not contest removal through adjustment of status, where he was neither eligible for adjustment of status, nor had filed the adjustment application within the 90-day period of authorized stay. (Momeni v. Chertoff, 3/31/08)
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Over Dissent
The court upheld the adverse credibility finding, where discrepancies were clearly present and went to the heart of the claim. The dissent faulted the court for condoning a policy of blindsiding applicants with adverse credibility findings. (Cuko v. Mukasey, 3/31/08)
CA8 Finds Notice Properly Served on Fourteen Year Old
CA8 finds that BIA reasonably concluded that Petitioner, who was 14 years old at the relevant time, was properly served and that 8 CFR §103.5a(c)(2)(ii) does not violate due process. (Llapa-Sinchi v. Mukasey, 3/28/08)
CA7 Upholds Removability for Distribution of a Look-Alike Substance Under IL Law
CA7 found sufficient connection between look-alike substances and actual controlled substances and held that a conviction for unlawful delivery of a look-alike substance in violation of Illinois law was a violation of a state law relating to a controlled substance. (Desai v. Mukasey, 3/28/08)
CA2 Remands for Reconsideration of Derivative Citizenship Claim
The court held that an inexplicable delay in processing a parent’s naturalization application should not defeat a derivative citizenship claim. (Poole v. Mukasey, 3/27/08)
CA2 Rejects Vagueness Challenge to INA Stalking Provision
The court held that INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i), which renders deportable a person who has been convicted of a crime of stalking, is not void for vagueness on its face or as applied to Petitioner. (Arriaga v. Mukasey, 3/27/08)
CA3 Finds Error in Application of National Security Bar
The court found that the AG ignored clear congressional intent by inquiring whether an applicant “may pose” a danger to the security of the U.S. instead of asking whether he “is” a danger in considering the national security bar. (Yusupov v. Att’y Gen. of U.S., 3/27/08)
BIA Finds Alternative Proof of Ghanaian Divorce To Be Valid
The BIA held that while a court order remains the preferred method of establishing a divorce for a customary tribal marriage under Ghanaian law, affidavits executed by heads of household that meet evidentiary requirements may be sufficient. Matter of Francis Kodwo, 24 I&N Dec. 479 (BIA 2008)
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Finding Under REAL ID Analysis
The court found internal inconsistencies in Petitioner’s testimony and rejected Petitioner’s contention that the contradictions were minor. (Lin v. Mukasey, 3/26/08)
Stakeholder/USCIS Q & As (3/25/08)
The Q & As address I-589 nunc pro tunc application filing procedures, material support, repeat requests for fingerprints, filing fees for adjustment applications in proceedings that are later administratively closed, Child Status Protection Act, Fee waivers, DV 90 Day filing procedures, and more.
CA9 Finds Adjustment Unavailable to Persons Who Enter the U.S. by Fraudulent Means
The court held that Petitioner, who obtained entry into the United States by presenting an identification that was not his own to an immigration officer, was statutorily ineligible for adjustment of status under INA §245(a). (Orozco v. Mukasey, 3/25/08)
Supreme Court Finds State Law Not Pre-empted by Presidential Memo or Avena
The Supreme Court found that neither the ICJ's decision in Avena, nor a Presidential Memo, constitute directly enforceable federal law that pre-empts state limitations on the filing of successive habeas petitions. (Medellin v. Texas, 3/25/08)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim where IJ Failed to Make Credibility Finding
The court held that the IJ erred by failing to make a credibility finding, noting that instances where the IJ has conflated an adverse credibility finding with an adverse decision on the merits have been appearing before the court with increasing frequency. (Huang v. Mukasey, 3/24/08)