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 Submits Amicus Brief on Nonstate Actor Determinations in Asylum Claims
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Portillo-Flores v. Barr requesting that the Fourth Circuit to grant en banc review and clarify the standard of review courts apply when making nonstate actor determinations in asylum claims.
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) Tear Sheets
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief urging the BIA to conclude that DHS’s service practices for MPP notice and advisal sheets deny respondents their statutory right to notice of the time and place of their removal proceedings and their statutory right to a full and fair hearing.
CA3 Says Petitioner’s New Jersey Conviction for Criminal Sexual Contact Is an Aggravated Felony
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner’s conviction in New Jersey for criminal sexual contact constituted an aggravated felony under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii) that rendered him removable. (Grijalva Martinez v. Att’y Gen., 10/21/20)
AILA and the Council Submit Comments Opposing EOIR’s Proposed Rule, Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal
AILA and the Council submitted comments opposing EOIR’s proposed rule, Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal. If implemented, this rule would drastically limit the ability of individuals to obtain asylum and withholding of removal in the United States.
ICE Implements July 23, 2019, Expedited Removal Designation
ICE announced that due to an order issued by the DC Circuit Court, ICE can now expedite the removal of certain individuals pursuant to the 7/23/19 Designation of Aliens for Expedited Removal. The announcement provides information on which individuals, except for UACs, can now be subjected to ER.
USCIS and EOIR Final Rule on Bars to Asylum Eligibility
USCIS and EOIR final rule that adds seven additional mandatory bars to eligibility for asylum, among other changes. The final rule is effective 11/20/20. (85 FR 67202, 10/21/20)
EOIR Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-31A
EOIR extension of a comment period previously announced at 85 FR 42009 on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-31A. Comments are now due 11/19/20. (85 FR 66578, 10/20/20)
CA9 Says Knowingly Sponsoring or Exhibiting an Animal in Animal Fighting Venture Is a CIMT
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction under 7 USC §2156(a)(1) for knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT), and found that he was ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Ortega-Lopez v. Barr, 10/20/20)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Immigration Judges’ Authority to Administratively Close Removal Proceedings
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Gonzalez-Penaloza v. Barr arguing that the AG’s decision in Matter of Castro-Tum stripping IJs and the BIA of their authority to administratively close removal proceedings is unreasonable and creates unjust, inefficient, and unworkable results.
TRAC Issues Report on the Pandemic and ICE Use of Detainers in FY2020
TRAC reported that the pandemic appears to have caused only a temporary and modest drop in detainer usage by ICE. Average weekday detainer usage, overall trending downward, fell in mid-March below 400 per weekday, but started climbing back up mid-April, and by mid-May had recovered completely.
DHS Releases Fact Sheet on Measures on the Border to Limit the Further Spread of Coronavirus
On October 19, 2020, DHS updated its fact sheet on measures to limit non-essential travel across the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders and to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The measures have been extended until November 21, 2020.
South Florida EOIR Miami Court Rotation (Phase 1)
EOIR Miami Immigration Judge Court Rotation for Phase 1, beginning on October 19 and October 26, 2020.
USCIS 30-Day Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Revisions to Form I-191
USCIS 30-day extension of a comment period previously announced at 85 FR 41061 on proposed revisions to Form I-191, Application for Relief under Former Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Comments are now due 11/16/20. (85 FR 65858, 10/16/20)
DOJ and DHS Release Report on Incarceration and Immigration Status
DHS and DOJ released the FY2019 Alien Incarceration Report, providing data on the immigration status of known or suspected immigrants incarcerated under the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, and in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the U.S.
CA9 Says Oregon’s Former Marijuana Delivery Statute Is Not an “Illicit Trafficking of a Controlled Substance” Offense
The court held that Oregon’s former marijuana delivery statute, Or. Rev. Stat. §475.860, was not an “illicit trafficking of a controlled substance” offense, and thus found that the petitioner’s conviction did not make him removable as an aggravated felon. (Cortes-Maldonado v. Barr, 10/15/20)
EOIR Releases Statistics on Immigration Judge Hiring for FY2020
EOIR released statistics on total immigration judges (IJs) hired and total IJs on board. In FY2020, EOIR hired 100 IJs and had 520 IJs on board.
CA3 Finds Petitioner’s Conviction Under New Jersey’s Terroristic-Threats Statute Was Not a CIMT
Granting the petition for review, the court held that, under the modified categorical approach, the petitioner’s conviction under New Jersey’s terroristic-threats statute was not a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Larios v. Att’y Gen., 10/14/20)
CA4 Grants Asylum to Salvadoran Petitioner Targeted by Gang Because Her Parents Failed to Comply with Extortive Threats
The court held that the IJ and the BIA had failed to adequately address unrebutted evidence in the record that compelled the conclusion that the petitioner’s membership in her family was at least one central reason for her persecution. (Hernandez-Cartagena v. Barr, 10/14/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Imperial and Miami Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small numbers of respondents at the Imperial and Miami immigration courts on 10/19/20. The option to file by email at these courts will end on 12/18/20.
ICE Notice of Modification of Bond Management Information System of Records
ICE notice of modification of the “Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-004 Bond Management Information System” system of records. Comments are due 11/12/20. (85 FR 64515, 10/13/20)
CA9 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination as to Petitioner from the DRC Based on Inconsistencies in the Record
Where there were inconsistencies, an omission, and implausibilities in the record, the court held that substantial evidence supported the denial of asylum to the petitioner, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on adverse credibility grounds. (Mukulumbutu v. Barr, 10/13/20)
CA11 Says There Is No Duress or De Minimis Exception to the Material Support Bar
The court held that its precedent established that no duress exception exists to the material support bar, and that the statutory text showed that any provision of funds to a terrorist organization categorically qualifies as material support. (Hincapie-Zapata v. Att’y Gen., 10/13/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Atlanta Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small numbers of respondents at the Atlanta W. Peachtree Street and Ted Turner Drive immigration courts on 10/13/20. The option to file by email at these courts will end on 12/12/20.
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Seattle Immigration Court
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small numbers of respondents at the Seattle immigration court on October 13, 2020. The option to file by email at this court will end on December 12, 2020.
EOIR Announces 20 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 20 new immigration judges, including three assistant chief immigration judges. Per the notice, EOIR’s immigration judge corps has increased nearly 70 percent since January 2017. Notice includes the judges’ biographical information and courts of appointment.