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
AILA Key Takeaways from Spring Conference Open Forum with BIA
AILA’s EOIR National Liaison Committee provides key takeaways from the open forum with the BIA at AILA’s Spring Conference.
EOIR Announces Appointment of Sheila McNulty as Chief Immigration Judge
EOIR announced the appointment of Sheila McNulty as the Chief Immigration Judge. Judge McNulty has served EOIR since 2010, including as part of the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge leadership for the past 6.5 years.
AILA ICE Liaison Committee Meeting with ICE
AILA’s ICE Liaison Committee provides meeting minutes with ICE responses from the committee’s 4/26/23 liaison engagement with the agency. Topics include OPLA non-appearance, ERO check-in procedures, and related problems with Notices to Appear.
Practice Alert: Choice of Law in Removal Proceedings after Matter of Garcia
The ICE Committee provides a practice alert on Matter of Garcia, which addresses the increased use of video teleconference hearing and different geographic locations of the IJs, courts, and non-citizens as it relates to venue and what circuit court law to apply.
CA3 Finds Guatemalan Petitioner with SIJ Status Was Not Paroled for Purposes of Removal
The court found that the petitioner’s Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) status did not exempt him from removal, reasoning that the plain language of INA §245(h)(2) shows that SIJ parole applies only for adjustment of status, not for purposes of removal. (Cortez-Amador v. Att’y Gen., 4/25/23)
CA4 Upholds CAT Denial to Bisexual Man and Former Gang Member Petitioner from Jamaica
The court found that petitioner, a bisexual man and former gang member, had not shown the requisite likelihood that he would be tortured if returned to his home country of Jamaica, and thus upheld the agency’s denial of his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim. (Kerr v. Garland, 4/24/23)
CA5 Upholds BIA’s Determination That Visa Fraud Waiver Could Not Overcome Grounds for Petitioners’ Removal
The court held that the visa fraud waiver did not reach the petitioners’ grounds for removal, that it lacked jurisdiction over the claims the BIA did not reach, and that the petitioners failed to show a violation of their due process rights. (Reese v. Garland, 4/24/23)
CA2 Rejects Petitioner’s Argument That BIA Impermissibly Engaged in Factfinding in Characterizing His Criminal History
The court found that the BIA did not second-guess the IJ’s factual findings, but instead conducted a de novo reweighing of the equities based on the facts found by the IJ, and thus properly exercised its discretion to deny cancellation of removal. (Hernandez v. Garland, 4/21/23)
ICE Launches Online CeBONDS Capability to Automate Bond Payments
ICE announced the implementation of Cash Electronic Bonds Online (CeBonds), a web-based system aimed to provide a fully automated online platform for requesting verification of bond eligibility, making cash immigration bond payments, and sending electronic notifications to cash bond obligors.
CA5 Finds That Habeas Corpus Petitions Are Hybrid Actions for Purposes of the EAJA
Denying the appellants’ motion for attorney’s fees, the court held that habeas corpus petitions are not purely civil in nature but rather are hybrid actions, and therefore do not unequivocally fall under the text of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). (Gomez Barco v. Garland, 4/20/23)
Practice Alert: Key Takeaways on the Credible Fear Interviews in Customs and Border Protection Custody
AILA provides a practice alert regarding DHS changes to how and when credible fear interviews occur for individuals processed under Title 8 expedited removal.
USCIS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comment on Proposed Revisions to Form I-212
USCIS 60-day notice and request for comment on proposed revisions to Form I-212, Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the United States after Deportation or Removal. Comments are due 6/20/23. (88 FR 23682, 4/18/23)
Practice Pointer: Motions to Withdraw and Substitute Counsel
The EOIR Liaison Committee provides a practice pointer for attorneys moving to withdraw as counsel of record for cases pending in the EOIR system and respondents who may decide to change counsel.
CA1 Upholds BIA’s Finding That Petitioner Had Not Entered into Marriage in Good Faith
The court held that substantial evidence supported the agency’s finding that petitioner had not entered into his marriage in good faith, where the evidence showed a severely limited commingling of assets and a dubious commitment to the marriage by both parties. (Alzaben v. Garland, 4/14/23)
CA3 Finds That IJ’s Consideration of Evidence Underlying Petitioner’s Expunged Charges Fell Within IJ’s Broad Discretion
The court held that the IJ did not err in concluding that the facts and circumstances surrounding the petitioner’s arrest, which included expunged criminal charges, presented serious adverse factors that worked against a favorable exercise of discretion. (Doyduk v. Att’y Gen., 4/14/23)
Practice Alert: During Webex Hearings, All Parties Should be Clearly Visible on Camera
The EOIR Liaison Committee provides a practice alert on member concerns regarding judges having their courtroom cameras positioned in such a way that the judge’s face is not clearly visible during Webex hearings.
Practice Alert: EOIR Specialized Dockets
The EOIR Liaison Committee provides a practice alert on EOIR’s clarification that every immigration court has specialized dockets and that practitioners may seek engagement with local EOIR to determine when specialized dockets occur at particular immigration courts.
Practice Alert: Following Date and Time on NTA vs. Relying on ACIS/800#
The EOIR Liaison Committee provides a practice alert on member concerns on the Notice to Appear (“NTA”) that lists a hearing date and time and the 1-800 number used to determine whether they have a court hearing.
Practice Alert: EOIR’s “Off Calendar” Notices
The EOIR Liaison Committee provides a practice alert on its “Off Calendar” initiative to address immigration court backlogs.
EOIR to Host Series of Stakeholder Meetings Regarding Pre-Hearing Conferences
EOIR invites stakeholders to meet with assistant chief immigration judges to discuss pre-hearing conferences for immigration court matters. Register for EOIR’s Stakeholder listserv for those details coming soon. EOIR plans to host 28 meetings on this topic between April 17 and May 25, 2023.
CA2 Remands Asylum Claim of Ukrainian Petitioner After Finding That Agency’s Adverse Credibility Determination Relied on Legal Error
The court held that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was not supported by substantial evidence and that the IJ unjustifiably refused to allow the petitioner to present readily available witness testimony, thereby depriving him of a full and fair hearing. (Malets v. Garland, 4/14/23)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Child Endangerment Statutes
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Diaz-Rodriguez v, Garland on whether child endangerment statutes qualify as crimes of "child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment" under INA 237(a)(2)(E)(i) and urge the Court to grant certiorari in this case.
Department of the Treasury Notice on Interest Rate for Immigration Bonds
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 4/1/23 and ending 6/30/23, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 3 per centum per annum. (88 FR 20945, 4/7/23)
ICE Announces Online Tool for Noncitizens to Provide Change of Address
ICE announced an online change-of-address form for noncitizens that will give individuals the option to update their information online in addition to the existing options of doing so by phone or in-person.
CA11 Holds That Petitioner Had No Protected Liberty Interest in Discretionary Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the petitioner did not have a constitutionally protected liberty interest in cancellation of removal, and found that it lacked jurisdiction under INA §242(a)(2)(B)(i) to review the petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim. (Ponce Flores v. Att’y Gen., 4/5/23)