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
CA5 Holds Hardship Waiver Under INA §216(c)(4)(A) Does Not Require Good Faith Marriage
The plain language of INA §216(c)(4)(A) indicates that an extreme hardship waiver of the joint filing requirement to remove the conditions on permanent resident status does not also require a showing of a good faith marriage. (Waggoner v. Gonzales, 5/30/07)
CA4 Overturns IJ’s Denial in Chinese One-Child Claim on Issue of Past Harm
CA4 found that the IJ did not make an adverse credibility finding regarding Petitioner’s evidence of his wife’s forced abortion, and thus a determination that his lack of credibility re is own fear of sterilization does not defeat his asylum claim. (Lin-Jian v. Gonzales, 5/30/07)
CA9 Discusses “Paying Down” the Loss to the Victims of a Fraud Offense
The court held that Petitioner, who repaid the stolen money to her victims only after her fraudulent scheme was discovered, cannot “pay down” the victims' loss below the $10,000 threshold so that her offense no longer qualifies as an aggravated felony. (Kharana v. Gonzales, 5/29/07)
CA9 Holds Smuggling Continues Until the Smuggler Ceases to Transport Individuals
CA9 held that smuggling under INA §212(a)(6)(E)(i) continues until the transporter ceases to carry the individuals, and found that Petitioner knowingly aided and abetted the smuggling, thus preventing good moral character for suspension of deportation. (Covarrubias v. Gonzales, 5/29/07)
CA5 Finds False Testimony Regarding Address Does Not Bar Good Moral Character
The court held that false testimony to an asylum officer regarding Petitioner's address was not made with the subjective intent of obtaining immigration benefits and thus does not preclude good moral character for purposes of cancellation of removal. (Gonzalez-Maldonado v. Gonzales, 5/25/07)
CA7 Finds Flaws in BIA’s Denial of Cameroonian FGM Asylum Claim
The court held that the BIA disregarded key evidence specific to Petitioners’ claim, relying instead on general background evidence, and then faulted Petitioners for failing to offer specific evidence. (Agbor v. Gonzales, 5/25/07)
CA9 Says Exclusion Order and Removal Interrupt Continuous Physical Presence
The court held that the accrual of Petitioner’s continuous physical presence for purposes of cancellation of removal was terminated when he was ordered excluded and removed from the United States. (Landin-Zavala v. Gonzales, 5/25/07)
CA11 Overturns IJ and Finds Ukrainian Azerbajani Suffered Past Persecution
The court found that it was clear that the protests, beatings, arrests, searches, interrogations, imprisonments and death threats amounted to persecution. The court found that the IJ erred in focusing on the lack of corroboration. (Niftaliev v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 5/25/07)
CA11 Finds Applicants Suffered Past Persecution; No Withholding for Spouse
CA11 concluded that the cumulative effect of two attacks, continuing threatening phone calls, and vandalism to a car amounted to past persecution, but that under withholding there are no derivative benefits for spouses, unlike for asylum grantees. (Delgado v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 5/25/07)
CA9 Upholds Constitutionality of GMC Regulation in Naturalization Proceedings
CA9 held 8 CFR §316.10(b)(3)(iii), which permits an adverse moral character finding for naturalization purposes based on acts that occurred within the relevant statutory period even if the conviction was entered outside the statutory period, is not ultra vires. (U.S. v. Dang, 5/24/07)
CA1 Finds Persecutor Bar Requires Culpable Knowledge
The court held that the persecutor bar should not apply to Petitioner, a former lieutenant in the Peruvian military, if his version of his state of mind is accepted, that is, if he had no knowledge of the murder of civilians. (Castaneda-Castillo v. Gonzales, 5/23/07)
CA11 Rejects Colombian Asylum Claim for Failure to Show Nexus
CA11 found there was no dispute that the FARC had persecuted Petitioners, in part, because they were wealthy and refused to pay a war tax, but that this did not mean that Petitioners’ fear of persecution was on account of political opinion. (Cardona Rivera v. U.S. Att’y Gen, 5/23/07)
Section-by-Section Summary of the Senate “Grand Bargain” Bill
Section-by-section summary of the Senate “grand bargain” CIR legislation (substitute amendment for S. 1348), prepared by AILA with the assistance of Marc Rosenblum and Kerri Sherlock.
CA8 Holds IJ Improperly Excluded Expert Report and Testimony in Asylum Case
The court held that the IJ’s exclusion of experts’ reports and testimony likely affected the outcome of the asylum proceedings and resulted in the violation of Petitioner’s due process rights. (Tun v. Gonzales, 5/21/07)
CA9 Holds Time Served Under Recidivist Statute May Count Toward Prison Term for §212(c) Purposes
The court held that an IJ may include time served under a recidivist statute or other sentencing enhancement when considering eligibility for §212(c) relief. (Saravia-Paguada v. Gonzales, 5/21/07)
CA6 Reverses IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding; Recommends New IJ on Remand
The court found that the IJ focused on irrelevant and arguably nonexistent inconsistencies in making his adverse credibility finding. (Mapouya v. Gonzales, 5/18/07)
CA7 Holds Palestinian Is Citizen of Jordan Based on Admission at Hearing
The court upheld the IJ’s removal order to Jordan for a West Bank Palestinian, stating that it suspected that he was stateless, not a Jordanian citizen, based on West Bank history. (Zahren v. Gonzales, 5/17/07)
CA9 Finds BIA Error in AWO Where Petitioner Alleged “Procedural Irregularity” in IJ Proceedings
The court held that the BIA erred when it summarily affirmed the IJ’s decision, and thereby failed to consider and decide Petitioner’s claim that his statutory and constitutional right to counsel was violated. (Montes-Lopez v. Gonzales, 5/17/07)
CA9 Says Waiver of Inadmissibility Does Not Waive Continuous Residence for Legalization
CA9 upheld the denial of Petitioner’s legalization application. A waiver of inadmissibility would waive INA §212(a)(9)(A)(ii)(II) for departing under a deportation order, but would not cure the resulting lack of continuous residence since 1/1/82. (Pedroza-Padilla v. Gonzales, 5/15/07)
CA7 Remands Claim of Chinese Christian Where IJ Quizzed Applicant on Bible
The court reversed the adverse credibility determination holding that the IJ impermissibly relied on his perceived common knowledge about the Bible when he concluded that Petitioner had only a rudimentary knowledge of Christianity.(Jiang v. Gonzales, 5/14/07)
Tracking ICE’s Enforcement Agenda
A summary of ICE enforcement activities prepared by the Detention Watch network. (Courtesy Detention Watch Network.)
CA7 Says Pre-Conviction Detention May Be Counted Toward Prison Term for §212(c) Purposes (Updated 5/22/07)
The court denied the petition for review, holding that pre-conviction detention, which is credited as time served, may be counted toward the term of imprisonment when determining eligibility for §212(c) relief. (Moreno-Cebrero v. Gonzales, 5/10/07)
CA2 Denies §212(c) Relief Notwithstanding Concurrent AOS
The court held that AEDPA §440(d) barred Petitioner, who was deportable for an aggravated felony, from relief under former INA §212(c) notwithstanding a concurrent adjustment application. (Ruiz-Almanzar v. Ridge, 5/8/07)
CA9 Holds Expedited Removal Order Interrupts Continuous Physical Presence
The court held that an expedited removal order interrupts continuous physical presence in the U.S. for purposes of cancellation of removal under INA §240A(b)(1). (Juarez-Ramos v. Gonzales, 5/8/07)
CA8 Finds Past FGM Is Persecution and Basis for Asylum
The court joined the growing number of circuits holding that FGM rises to the level of persecution. CA8 held here that the persecution was on account of her membership in the particular social group of Somali females. (Hassan v. Gonzales, 5/7/07)