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
Class Action Lawsuit in Minnesota Challenges Matter of Castro-Tum
Plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of certain individuals in Minnesota who are ineligible to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver because their removal proceedings are not administratively closed. (Lopez, et al. v. Barr, et al., 7/13/20)
CA4 Says Convictions for Leaving an Accident and Using False Identification in Virginia Are Not CIMTs
The court held that the petitioner’s convictions for leaving an accident in violation of Va. Code Ann. §46.2–894 and for using false identification in violation of Va. Code Ann. §18.2–186.3(B1) were not categorically crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Nunez-Vasquez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
CA2 Holds That Changed Circumstances Under INA §208(a)(2)(D) Need Not Arise Prior to the Filing of an Asylum Application
Granting the petition for review, the court held that pursuant to INA §208(a)(2)(D), changed circumstances presenting an exception to the one-year deadline for filing an asylum application need not arise prior to the filing of the application. (Ordonez Azmen v. Barr, 7/13/20)
AILA Urges President Trump to Leave the DACA Program in Place
On July 11, 2020, the Coalition for the American Dream, which includes AILA, sent a letter to President Trump urging him to leave the DACA program in place and refrain from taking any additional administrative actions that would negatively impact the program.
Practice Alert: Spreadsheet Detailing Local ICE ERO Check-In Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This practice alert contains a spreadsheet with information regarding local ICE ERO check-in procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The information included is updated by local ICE liaisons.
Government Accountability Project Sends Letter to Congressional Leaders on Whistleblower Disclosures Regarding Mismanagement of ICE Detention Faciliti
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) sent a letter to congressional leaders summarizing information from whistleblowers that addresses the mismanagement of COVID-19 issues by Lasalle Corrections. The disclosures highlight ongoing and imminent dangers to workers, immigrants, and public safety.
CA6 Finds Petitioner Failed to Show That She Would Likely Be Tortured in Bosnia
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of deferral of removal, finding that nothing in the record proved that any mistreatment the petitioner might face in Bosnia due to her family ties and criminal past was more likely than not to rise to the extreme level of torture. (Kilic v. Barr, 7/10/20)
CA9 Says Conviction for Petty Theft in California Is a CIMT (Withdrawn)
The court held that petitioner’s conviction for petty theft in California was a CIMT, and that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion to reopen to seek asylum based on changed country conditions in the Philippines. (Silva v. Barr, 7/10/20, withdrawn 3/30/21)
U.S. Conference of Mayors Urges the President and Congress to Protect Dreamers
On July 9, 2020, the U.S. Conference of Mayors published an open letter to the President urging to maintain DACA and Congress to pass legislation that would provide Dreamers with citizenship.
HR. 7569: Immigration Enforcement Moratorium Act
Reps. Escobar (TX-16) and Wilson (FL-24) introduced the “Immigration Enforcement Moratorium Act” to halt the administration’s harmful immigration enforcement activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing AILA’s prior calls on DOJ to cease in-person removal proceedings. AILA endorses this bill.
USCIS and EOIR Proposed Rule on Pandemic-Related Security Bars to Asylum and Withholding of Removal
USCIS/EOIR proposed rule to let DHS/DOJ consider “emergency public health concerns based on communicable disease due to potential international threats from the spread of pandemics" when determining ineligibility for asylum or withholding of removal. Comments due 8/10/20. (85 FR 41201, 7/9/20)
BIA Reopens and Terminates Sua Sponte in Light of Mellouli
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings sua sponte upon finding selling a precursor substance (pseudoephedrine) under Okla. Stat. 2-328 is not a controlled substance offense under Mellouli v. Lynch. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Nguyen, 7/9/20)
BIA Finds Possession of Methamphetamine in Colorado Is Not a Controlled Substance Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds unlawful possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) under Colo. Rev. Stat. 18-18-403.5 not a controlled substance offense under reasoning of Arellano v. Barr, 784 F. App’x 609 (10th Cir. 2019). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Holod, 7/9/20)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Following Prompt Filing of Motion to Reopen
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order where respondent filed motion within 15 days and submitted affidavit disavowing receipt of hearing notice. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Suilma-Andrade, 7/9/20)
Department of the Treasury Notice on Immigration Bond Interest Rates
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 7/1/20 and ending 9/30/20, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 0.15 per centum per annum. (85 FR 41097, 7/8/20)
USCIS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form I-191
USCIS 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-191, Application for Relief under Former Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Comments are due 9/8/20. (85 FR 41061, 7/8/20)
Administration Plans Unnecessary and Unconscionable Ban on Asylum Seekers Masked Behind False Public Health Premise
AILA and the Council expressed deep concern about the administration’s soon-to-be-published proposed rule that would allow DHS to ban people from seeking asylum or withholding of removal in the United States solely because they traveled from or through a country under threat by a serious disease.
ICE Issues Monthly Reports on 287(g) Enforcement
ICE announced that it has begun issuing monthly reports (starting October 2020) on its 287(g) partnerships with state and local law enforcement to identify and remove immigrants who are amenable to removal from the United States.
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Baltimore, Detroit, and Newark Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving relatively small numbers of respondents at the Baltimore, Detroit, and Newark immigration courts on 7/13/20. The option to file by email at these courts will end on 9/13/20.
CA4 Says Willful Discharge of “Any Firearm” in a Public Place Without Resulting Bodily Injury in Virginia Is Not a Removable Offense
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for willful discharge of “any firearm” in a public place without resulting bodily injury in Virginia did not qualify as a federal “firearm offense” for purposes of removal under INA §237(a)(2)(C). (Gordon v. Barr, 7/8/20)
CA11 Finds USCIS’s Denial of Form I-129 Was Final Agency Action Where Intended Beneficiary’s Removal Proceedings Were Ongoing
The court held that the denial of the plaintiffs’ Form I-129 was final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and that INA §242(b)(9) and (g) did not bar the plaintiffs’ challenge to the visa petition denial. (Canal A Media Holding, LLC, et al. v. USCIS, et al., 7/8/20)
CA8 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Consider Petitioner’s Arguments Concerning Changed Country Conditions in Somalia
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the vast majority of the petitioner’s arguments concerning his motion to reopen his asylum and withholding of removal claims based on changed country conditions in Somalia. (Sharif v. Barr, 7/7/20)
CA2 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Petitioner’s Motion to Reopen Based on “Intervening” Case Law in Obeya and Mellouli
The court found that “intervening” decisions in Obeya v. Sessions and Mellouli v. Lynch did not compel the conclusion that criminal possession of stolen property was not a crime involving moral turpitude at the time of the petitioner’s conviction. (Ottey v. Barr, 7/7/20)
CRS Releases Legal Sidebar on Supreme Court’s Decision to Uphold Limited Review of Expedited Removal
CRS released a legal sidebar on the Supreme Court’s decision in DHS v. Thuraissigiam which upheld restrictions on the ability of an individual in expedited removal to challenge matters other than the detention’s lawfulness. The sidebar explores the decision, its implications, and more.
Trump Administration Makes Immigration Courts an Enforcement Tool by Appointing Prosecutors to Lead
AILA condemns the Trump administration’s recent ramp-up of efforts to turn the immigration court system into an enforcement tool rather than an independent arbiter for justice.