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
CA2 Remands to Consider Whether Extraordinary Circumstances Justify Delay in Appeal
The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Bowles v. Russell does not require it to overrule Sun v. DOJ which held that extraordinary or unique circumstances may justify the untimely filing of a BIA appeal. (Khan v. Gonzales, 7/10/07)
CA7 Finds IJ Denied Right to Present Evidence by Excluding Expert Opinion
The court held that the IJ’s refusal to consider the expert’s testimony was a violation of Petitioner’s right to present evidence, findin the expert could have given his opinion regarding a political issue, and was not testifying as a document expert. (Tadesse v. Gonzales, 7/9/07)
CA9 Upholds Matter of Blake, Denies §212(c) Relief Based on Comparable Grounds Rule
CA9 upheld the BIA’s decision in Matter of Blake, finding Petitioner ineligible under former INA §212(c) because the aggravated felony ground of deportability for sexual abuse of a minor has no comparable ground of inadmissibility in INA §212(a). (Abebe v. Gonzales, 7/9/07)
GAO Report on Alien Detention Standards
A GAO report on ICE's implementation of its detention standards for aliens in custody including the finding that telephone access problems were pervasive at detention facilities though other deficiencies did not show a pattern of noncompliance.
CA11 Finds Attack by FARC Was Motivated by Petitioner’s Political Opinion
CA11 upheld the conclusion that the attack on Petitioner was politically motivated and was not a random criminal act. It later granted the government’s petition for rehearing and amended its decision to find no jurisdiction over one claim. (Lopez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/6/07)
Sample Op-Ed for Immigration Raids
This sample op-ed can be submitted as is or it can be adapted to a particular regional experience. Use this article to make the case that immigration raids only point to the urgent need for comprehensive immigration reform – raids have not and will not solve the immigration crisis in the U.S.
CA8 Finds Albania Applicant Suffered Past Persecution and Remands to BIA
The court held that Petitioner suffered past persecution in Albania based on his political opinion, finding that the IJ did not consider the question of whether the government met its burden of rebutting the presumption of a well-founded fear. (Sholla v. Gonzales, 7/5/07).
BIA Holds Alien Returning to U.S. After Failed Canadian Refugee Application is "Arriving Alien"
The BIA held that an alien who leaves the U.S. and is admitted to Canada to seek refugee status has made a departure and thus is an arriving alien when returning after the denial of an application for refugee status in Canada. Matter of R-D-, 24 I&N Dec. 221 (BIA 2007)
Human Rights Watch Assesses the Impact of Deportation Policy
A July 2007 Human Rights Watch report entitled "Forced Apart: Families Separated and Immigrants Harmed by U.S. Deportation Policy" addresses the ways in which AEDPA and IIRAIRA have impacted immigrants and their families.
Immigration Law Advisor, June 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor with articles on the unsettled concept of firm resettlement as a bar to asylum and how EOIR motions are being governed by federal courts, court activity for May 2007, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, a legislative commentary on S. 1639, and a regulatory update.
CA5 Holds Texas Hit and Run Constitutes a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The court held that Petitioner’s conviction for failure to stop and render aid following a fatal car accident in which he was involved under Texas Transportation Code §550.021 constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude. (Garcia-Maldonado v. Gonzales, 6/29/07)
CA5 Finds Jurisdiction to Issue Stays of Voluntary Departure
The court held that once the Attorney General has granted voluntary departure, the court has jurisdiction to stay the voluntary departure period to preserve the status quo pending its review of the underlying order of removal. (Sierra Vidal v. Gonzales, 6/27/07)
CA2 on Solicitation Where a Drug Crime Is the Intended Objective
The court held that Petitioner was inadmissible for a controlled substance violation as a result of his solicitation conviction under NY Penal Law §100.05(1), because the solicitation had a drug crime as its intended objective. (Mizrahi v. Gonzales, 6/27/07)
BIA Finds INA §237(a)(2)(E) Does Not Apply to Pre-enactment Convictions
The BIA held that an alien whose conviction precedes the effective date of INA section 237(a)(2)(E) is not “convicted of an offense under” that section and therefore is not barred from establishing eligibility for cancellation of removal. Matter of Gonzalez-Silva, 24 I&N Dec. 218 (BIA 2007)
Summary of Graham-Kyl-Martinez “Omnibus” Amendment
Summary of the Graham-Kyl-Martinez Amendment to S. 1639, which would impose mandatory detention and a permanent bar on relief for visa overstays, and would require a “touchback” prior to Z visa status, among other provisions.
CA2 Remands for Determination of Whether Defected KGB Agents Constitute PSG
The court noted that it was not its task to determine in the first instance whether “defected KGB agents” constitute a particular social group and remanded to the BIA. (Koudriachova v. Gonzales, 6/26/07)
CA3 Holds Stop-Time Rule Does Not Permit New Period of Continuous Presence to Begin Following Crime
For purposes of the stop-time rule, the court rejected the argument that the commission of a crime only ends one period of continuous presence and that a new one begins after the crime is committed. (Briseno-Flores v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 6/26/07)
CA5 Holds Reinstatement Not Impermissibly Retroactive as Applied to Spouse of LPR
CA5 held that reinstatement of a prior removal order was not impermissibly retroactive. Although Petitioner’s I-130 was approved pre-IIRAIRA, a visa was not available and thus there was no vested right to adjustment before IIRAIRA’s effective date. (Rosa v. Gonzales, 6/25/07)
CA5 Upholds Removal of Petitioner for Falsely Claiming U.S. Citizenship to Gain Private Employment
CA5 held that private sector employment is a “purpose or benefit” under the INA and thus a person who falsely claims U.S. citizenship in order to gain such employment is inadmissible under INA §212(a)(6)(C)(ii)(I) and removable under INA §237(a)(3)(D)(i). (Theodros v. Gonzales, 6/25/07)
BIA Discusses “Mixed Motive” Asylum Cases
The BIA held that under the REAL ID Act, in mixed motive asylum cases, race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion must be at least one central reason for the claimed persecution. Matter of J-B-N- & S-M-, 24 I&N Dec. 208 (BIA 2007)
CA9 Finds Jurisdiction Over Habeas Appeal Filed After REAL ID’s Enactment
The court held that a habeas petition is “pending” in district court within the meaning of §106(c) of the REAL ID Act, when the notice of appeal was not filed at the time the Act was enacted, but was filed within the 60-day period. (Singh v. Gonzales, 6/25/07)
CA9 Holds USC Grandchild is Not a Qualifying Relative for Cancellation of Removal
CA9 held that a U.S. citizen grandchild, in the lawful custody of non-citizen grandparents, does not meet the statutory definition of “child” for purposes of cancellation of removal, nor do they qualify by virtue of a de facto parent-child relationship. (Moreno-Morante v. Gonzales, 6/21/07)
CA2 Remands to Allow Petitioner to Respond to Administratively Noticed Facts
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion in denying Petitioner’s motion to reopen based solely on administratively noticed facts, without giving Petitioner an opportunity to rebut the inferences drawn from those facts. (Chhetry v. DOJ, 6/20/07)
CA3 Holds Husband May Stand in Shoes of Wife in Population Control Case
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that one spouse’s qualifications for asylum may be imputed to the other spouse in coercive population control claims. (Chen v. Att’y Gen. of U.S., 6/20/07)
CA5 Discusses 120-Day Clock for Naturalization Adjudications Under INA §336(b)
The court held that when a CIS naturalization examination is premature because the FBI check is not complete, the 120-day period of INA §336(b) does not begin to run until CIS receives the FBI’s “definitive response,” as required by 8 CFR §335.2(b). (Walji v. Gonzales, 6/19/07)