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
CA1 Finds BIA Failed to Consider Petitioner’s Evidence That He Would Be Tortured by Private Militias and Armed Criminals in Somalia
The court vacated the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that BIA erred by not addressing petitioner’s argument that he would face torture from private militias and armed criminals in Somalia. (Ali v. Garland, 5/5/22)
EOIR Director Provides Guidance on Friend of the Court Model in Removal Proceedings
EOIR Director Neal issued a memorandum (DM 22-06), effective May 5, 2022, that provides updated guidance on utilizing the Friend of the Court model in removal proceedings before the immigration courts. The memo also rescinds and cancels Policy Memorandum 20-05.
BIA Dismisses Respondent’s Appeal after Finding Pennsylvania Statute Punishing Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance Is Divisible w
BIA found any fact that establishes or increases permissible range of punishment for a criminal offense is “element” for purposes of categorical approach and Pennsylvania state law is divisible with respect to substance possessed. Matter of German Santos, 28 I&N Dec. 552 (BIA 2022)
Featured Issue: Use of Video Teleconferences During Immigration Hearings
Find resources related to the use of video teleconferencing (VTC) during immigration hearings. AILA believes that the use of this technology undermines the quality of communications during immigration hearings and threatens due process. Learn more now.
CA9 Finds BIA Erred in Deeming Homosexual Nigerian Petitioner’s Asylum Application Frivolous
The court held that the BIA erred in affirming the IJ’s frivolous asylum application determination and denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief to the petitioner, who asserted a fear of persecution or torture in Nigeria based on his status as a gay man. (Udo v. Garland, 5/4/22)
Policy Brief: Use of Virtual Hearings in Removal Proceedings
AILA and the American Immigration Council make detailed recommendations on the use of virtual technology in immigration hearings, describing the challenges of video teleconferencing and recommending agency standards and guidance.
Knowing the History of “The Huddled Masses”
In this blog post, AILA member and Law Journal author John Medeiros introduces his piece featured in the recent special edition of the AILA Law Journal celebrating AILA's 75 years; his piece “Huddled Masses“ chronicles the history of U.S. immigration and the development of U.S. immigration la
Practice Alert: Escalating Problems with Virtual Hearings and Contacting the Court
The AILA EOIR/ICE Joint Liaison Committee provides a practice alert on how to escalate certain problems with WebEx virtual hearings and contacting the immigration court and staff. Includes contact information for key EOIR personnel and a sample email template.
House Members Urge Funding for Legal Representation to Indigent Adults in Removal Proceedings
Forty-seven members of the House of Representatives, led by Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA), sent a letter calling for funding for the Department of Justice to expand federally funded legal representation for indigent adults facing immigration court removal proceedings.
Representatives Send “Dear Colleague” Letter to Appropriators on ICE Custody Determinations and DHS FY2023 Appropriations Bill
Members of Congress sent a letter to House appropriators urging them to include language similar to section 219 of the FY2022 Full Committee Draft Bill, requiring individualized custody determinations for everyone in ICE custody within 20 days of coming into custody, notwithstanding INA §236(c).
CA8 Remands Where BIA Failed to Address IJ’s Findings Regarding Petitioner’s Likely Treatment in an IDP Camp in Somalia
The court held that the BIA erred by resolving DHS’s appeal without addressing the IJ’s findings regarding the likely treatment of the petitioner, a member of a minority clan in Somalia who suffered from mental illness, in an internally displaced person (IDP) camp. (Salat v. Garland, 4/28/22)
Congressional Letter on Inclusion of Individualized Custody Determinations Language in the FY2023 Bill
Members of Congress sent a letter to the House Subcommittee on Homeland Security Appropriations urging inclusion of language in the FY2023 appropriations bill requiring individualized custody determinations for all people in the custody of ICE within 20 days of custody.
Resources Related to the Orantes Injunction
The Orantes injunction requires DHS uphold certain rights of Salvadorans in immigration detention. In Feb. 2022, plaintiffs filed a motion to reopen discovery, arguing MPP raises questions about government's compliance with injunction. The court granted majority of the motion on 4/27/22.
CA2 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Petitioner’s Challenge to IJ’s Adverse Withholding Determination
The court dismissed the petition for review for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the IJ’s adverse withholding determination did not qualify as an order of removal, and thus did not fall within INA §242’s jurisdictional grant. (Bhaktibhai-Patel v. Garland, 4/27/22)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Motion to Reopen and the Vacatur of a Criminal Conviction
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief requesting the BIA to pursue uniform rules that comprise a framework of fundamental fairness when adjudicating motions to reopen based on a vacated conviction that renders the respondent no longer deportable or eligible for discretionary relief.
CA9 Says BIA Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Finding Petitioner Did Not Warrant Equitable Tolling of Motion to Reopen
Where petitioner filed a motion to reopen 16 years after the statutory deadline, the court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding he did not warrant equitable tolling of the time limit based on alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. (Hernandez-Ortiz v. Garland, 4/26/22)
CA9 Concludes It Can Deny Petition Based on BIA’s Lack of Jurisdiction Even Where BIA Did Not Rule on That Basis
Upholding the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen, the court concluded that it could properly deny a petition for review based on the BIA’s lack of jurisdiction under INA §241(a)(5), even where the BIA did not rely on that jurisdictional bar. (Gutierrez-Zavala v. Garland, 4/26/22)
Chief Immigration Judge Provides Guidance on Deferring Adjudication of Certain Cases
Guidance from Chief Immigration Judge Tracy Short alerting courts that he will be moving certain cases that “are not ripe for adjudication” off court dockets. Special thanks to Evan Benz, who submitted a FOIA to obtain this guidance.
The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders
The American Immigration Council and the National Immigration Litigation Alliance provide this practice advisory with a basic overview of motions to reopen removal orders that are filed by EOIR.
ICE 30-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form I-312/Form I-312A
ICE 30-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-312, Designation of Attorney in Fact, and Form I-312A, Revocation of Attorney in Fact. Comments are due 5/25/22. (87 FR 24326, 4/25/22)
CRS Provides Report on U.S. Immigration Courts and the Pending Cases Backlog
CRS provided a report on the U.S. immigration courts and the pending cases backlog. The report outlines EOIR’s adjudicatory components, explains removal proceedings, presents proposed solutions to the backlog, addresses the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2022, and more.
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on the Nonstate Actor Test
AILA and partners submitted a brief urging the court to apply the de novo standard of review to the agency’s legal analysis in regards to the nonstate actor test, grant the petition for review, and remand for the BIA to apply correct standard of review and unable-or-unwilling nonstate actor test.
DHS OIG Releases Report on Standard Violations at South Texas ICE Processing Center
DHS OIG inspected the South Texas ICE Processing Center, identifying violations of ICE detention standards that compromised the health, safety, and rights of detainees. DHS OIG made five recommendations; ICE concurred.
ICE 30-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form I-333
ICE 30-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-333, Obligor Change of Address. Comments are due 5/23/22. (87 FR 24190, 4/22/22)
BIA Sustains Respondent’s Appeal after Applying Matter of Pickering and Finding Virginia Controlled Substance Statute Divisible
BIA found that if a nunc pro tunc order is based on procedural or substantive defect in underlying proceedings, the original conviction is invalid for immigration purposes and that VA Code is divisible with respect to controlled substance involved. Matter of Dingus, 28 I&N Dec. 529 (BIA 2022)