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 Finds BIA’s Affirmance of IJ’s Credibility Determination as to Cameroonian Petitioner Was Not Supported by Record
The court held that BIA erred by affirming the IJ’s credibility determination, where the IJ relied on petitioner’s CBP and asylum credible fear interviews that were not entered into the hearing record of the removal proceeding or raised in that hearing at all. (Nkenglefac v. Garland, 5/18/22)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim for Clear Explanation of BIA’s Nexus Determination After Finding There Was Past Persecution
Remanding the petitioner’s asylum claim, the court held that the harm the petitioner had suffered in Cameroon—including physical injury, specific death threats, and evidence of the country’s political and societal turmoil—compelled a finding of past persecution. (Fon v. Garland, 5/18/22)
CA7 Upholds BIA’s Cancellation of Removal Denial to Mexican Father Living in United States Without Authorization for 25 Years
The court held that it was required to defer to the BIA’s determination that the Mexican petitioner’s removal would not result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his minor U.S.- citizen daughter. (Arreola-Ochoa v. Garland, 5/17/22)
CA7 Says BIA Unreasonably Rejected Petitioner’s Late-Filed Brief
Where the government had been slow in providing a copy of petitioner’s immigration file to his counsel, the court held that the BIA clearly abused its discretion in failing to accept the petitioner’s late-filed brief, which was 12 days past due. (Oluwajana v. Garland, 3/9/22, amended 5/3/22)
DOS Provides Guidance for Ukraine Nationals
DOS provided updated guidance for nationals of Ukraine seeking to enter or entering the United States. The guidance clarifies information on the Uniting for Ukraine program, nonimmigrant visas, immigrant visas, humanitarian parole, refugee status, and more.
Tackling Jurisdictional Questions
AILA member Geoffrey A. Hoffman shares insights on the article he wrote for the Spring 2022 edition of the AILA Law Journal focused on the issue of jurisdiction and how the defective NTA-jurisdictional question could play a crucial part in resolving and reducing the 1.6 million case backlog. AILA me
AILA President-Elect Jeremy McKinney Responds to Supreme Court Decision in Patel v. Garland
AILA President-Elect Jeremy McKinney responded to the decision in Patel v. Garland, stating, “This decision strips non-citizens of an important avenue for relief after incorrect decisions by immigration judges. It does so by ignoring the plain language of the statute.”
Supreme Court Rules Federal Courts May Not Review Factual Findings Made in Discretionary Relief Proceedings
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled federal courts lack jurisdiction to review facts found as part of discretionary relief proceedings under INA §245 and the other provisions enumerated in INA §242(a)(2)(B)(i). (Patel v. Garland, 5/16/22)
EOIR Notice of Public Forum and Request for Feedback on Immigration Court and BIA Practice Manuals
EOIR notice of a virtual public forum on 5/24/22 at 2:00 pm (ET) to discuss and provide feedback on the Immigration Court Practice Manual and the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual. EOIR also invites written feedback on the manuals. (87 FR 29184, 5/12/22)
CA5 Denies Counsel’s Motion for Voluntary Dismissal and Remand of Petition for Review
Where counsel represented a mother and her minor daughter, and mother died following a prolonged illness, the court denied counsel’s motion for partial dismissal and remand, and ordered counsel to file petitioners’ opening brief by 5/27/22. (De La Paz Vasquez-De Martinez v. Garland, 5/16/22)
CA3 Says Haitian Petitioner’s Former Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance in Failing to Submit Readily Accessible Evidence
Where the petitioner’s former counsel had failed to present important and easily available evidence going to the heart of the petitioner’s claims, the court held that the BIA erred in denying his motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel. (Saint Ford v. Att’y Gen., 5/16/22)
CA11 Says That Noncitizen Who Was Denied Right to Counsel in Reasonable Fear Proceedings Must Show Substantial Prejudice
Denying the petition for review, the court held that even if petitioner had a right to counsel during his reasonable fear proceedings before the IJ under INA §238, he had failed to show that any purported due process violations caused him substantial prejudice. (Priva v. Att’y Gen., 5/12/22)
CA5 Holds That Petitioner Failed to Show Extreme Hardship or Extraordinary Circumstances in VAWA-Based Motion to Reopen
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding that petitioner, who filed a motion to reopen to pursue cancellation of removal under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), had failed to show extreme hardship or extraordinary circumstances. (Pena-Lopez v. Garland, 5/12/22)
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Had Violent Encounter with Gang Members
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the Guatemalan petitioner had failed to establish a nexus between his alleged persecution and either of his proposed social groups or a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Tojin-Tiu v. Garland, 5/12/22)
Practice Alert: ICE Form I-246 Stay Filings Allowed by Mail
AILA alerts members that, until further notice, all ICE ERO Field Offices will permit the filing of Form I-246, Application for Stay of Deportation or Removal, through the mail accompanied by money orders, certified funds, or request for fee waivers.
ICE Announces Updated Phased Return to Social Visitation at Detention Facilities
ICE initiated an updated phased return to social visitation in its detention facilities consistent with federal, state, and local guidelines. Screening for COVID-19 symptoms, temperature checks, and applicable PPE will be required for those seeking social visitation. More information is available.
CA11 Concludes That BIA Provided Reasoned Consideration to Petitioner’s Racial Persecution Claim for Asylum
The court held that the BIA had provided reasoned consideration to the petitioner’s racial persecution claim, and that petitioner had failed to exhaust his claim that he was entitled to advance notice of the IJ’s need for specific corroborating evidence. (Lopez Morales v. Att’y Gen., 5/11/22)
The “SS EOIR” is Changing Course; Encouraging Winds Ahead
AILA member Stacy Caplow reflects on her Spring 2022 edition of the AILA Law Journal article entitled “The Sinking Immigration Court: Change Course, Save the Ship“ in this blog post and why readers should take heart given a recent shift in EOIR hiring.
Immigration Detention Ombudsman Provides First Quarterly Newsletter
The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman provided its first quarterly newsletter, which introduces the function of the office, provides information on case management, links to the inspection of the Limestone County Detention Center, and more.
Attorney General Overrules Matter of G-G-S-
The AG overruled Matter of G-G-S- and found immigration adjudicators may consider the respondent’s mental health in determining whether an individual convicted of a particularly serious crime constitutes a danger to the community. Matter of B-Z-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 563 (A.G. 2022)
CA7 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Reweigh Factors IJ Considered in Making Particularly Serious Crime Determination
The court dismissed petitioner’s applications for adjustment of status and withholding of removal, finding that it was beyond its jurisdiction to reweigh the factors the IJ considered in determining that petitioner’s conviction was a particularly serious crime. (Kithongo v. Garland, 5/9/22)
CA2 Says Petitioner’s New York Conviction for Attempted Second-Degree Money Laundering Was Not a CIMT
The court denied the Attorney General’s petition for panel rehearing and issued an amended opinion holding that the petitioner’s conviction for attempted second-degree money laundering in New York was not a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Jang v. Garland, 5/9/22, amended 7/29/22)
AILA Submits Statement for Markup of Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022
AILA submitted a statement to the House Judiciary Committee for the markup of the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022 (H.R.6577). AILA urges Congress to pass this legislation, which would create an independent immigration court system under Article I.
Senators Request Funding for Legal Services for People in Immigration Court Proceedings
Nineteen senators joined Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in sending a letter to Senate appropriators requesting that the FY2023 DOJ appropriations bill include no less than $400 million in funding for legal representation for indigent adults facing immigration court proceedings.
CA2 Holds That Immigration Court’s Removal Determination under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(ii) Is a Circumstance-Specific Inquiry
The court held that an immigration court’s removal determination under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(ii) is a circumstance-specific assessment of the particular protection order to which the noncitizen was subject and a court’s finding that the noncitizen violated that order. (Alvarez v. Garland, 5/5/22)