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
CA8 Holds Violation of Minnesota’s Fifth-Degree Possession Statute Is a Removable Offense
The court denied the petitions for review, finding that the petitioners, who had pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine in violation of Minnesota’s fifth-degree possession statute, were removable under INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i). (Bannister v. Barr, 5/26/20)
BIA Finds EWIs Cannot Be Charged with Inadmissibility Under INA §212(a)(7)
Unpublished BIA decision holds that INA §212(a)(7)(A)(i) is only applicable to respondents who seek admission at a port of entry, as distinct from those who enter without inspection. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ortiz Orellana, 5/26/20)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Against Respondent Who Reported to DHS
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order against respondent who appeared at prior hearings and reported to DHS the day after being ordered removed in absentia. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez-Polio, 5/22/20)
Practice Pointer: Resources for Removal Defense During COVID-19
This practice pointer compiles key resources from AILA and its partners for AILA members practicing removal defense during COVID-19, including local court practices and information on practicing removal defense remotely, filing motions to continue, and getting clients released from detention.
EOIR Director Rules on Requests for Reconsideration of Accreditation Denials
EOIR Director reviewed a request for reconsideration of accreditation denial and ruled on various issues related to requests for reconsideration, including the appropriate legal standard for evaluating them. Matter of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., Applicant, 27 I&N Dec. 837 (DIR 2020).
EOIR Announces Four New Assistant Chief Immigration Judges
EOIR announced four new assistant chief immigration judges (ACIJs). The ACIJs have been assigned to the following immigration courts: San Francisco; Arlington; Atlanta – W. Peachtree Street; and New York – Broadway. Notice includes the new ACIJs’ biographical information.
CA1 Finds Petitioner Pardoned by Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles Was Eligible for a Pardon Waiver
The court held that the BIA erred when it found that the pardon issued to the petitioner by the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles was not effective for purposes of establishing entitlement to a waiver of removal under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(vi). (Thompson v. Barr, 5/21/20)
ICE Issues Comment on Release of Juveniles from Family Residential Centers
ICE issued a comment regarding media coverage of its use of a form to make individual parole determinations with respect to juveniles held in custody at FRCs with their parents. ICE stated that the form was not a legally binding document and does not convey any legal implications on the family unit.
AILA Hosts Telebriefing on the Treatment of Immigrants in Detention During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On May 21, 2020, AILA and the Council, through the Immigration Justice Campaign, hosted a telebriefing discussing the treatment of immigrants in detention. The briefing highlighted the U.S. government’s failure to take urgent action to stem the spread of COVID-19 within ICE detention facilities.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Where Hearing Was Not Reflected on EOIR Hotline
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order where EOIR hotline did not reflect the existence of a hearing and the DHS attorney confirmed that the respondent was not on DHS's docket on the date she was ordered removed. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Opondo, 5/21/20)
Practice Alert: ICE to Provide 520 Free Phone Minutes Per Month for Individuals Detained During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AILA alerts members that ICE officials communicated to congressional staff on May 4, 2020, that it had committed to providing 520 free minutes per month for each person in ICE detention. On May 19, 2020, members of Congress sent a letter urging the agency to quickly implement its commitment.
CA7 Says BIA Held Petitioner to Unduly Demanding Burden on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Allegation
The court found that the BIA should not have faulted petitioner for failing to provide his initial counsel with information significant to a potential U visa application, but denied petition for review because he could not prove prejudice. (Alvarez-Espino v. Barr, 3/6/20, amended 5/20/20)
Citing COVID-19, USBP and ICE Ramp Up Repatriation Flights to Mexico
CBP announced that the USBP San Diego Sector (SDC), in collaboration with ICE, will begin transporting Mexican nationals with repatriations back to their country of origin via air flight. Per CBP, the goal of these repatriation flights is to reduce the spread of COVID-19 into the United States.
Practice Pointer: Motion to Continue Proceedings During COVID-19
The AILA EOIR Liaison Committee provides this practice pointer as a resource for those seeking to continue proceedings where current circumstances interfere with the ability to timely produce quality work in a professional and ethical matter.
CA6 Holds BIA Erred in Finding That Asylum-Seeking Mayan Indigenous Woman Could Reasonably Relocate Within Guatemala
The court found that the BIA’s conclusion that the government showed by a preponderance of the evidence that the Guatemalan petitioner could internally relocate and that it would be reasonable for her to do so was not supported by substantial evidence. (Juan Antonio v. Barr, 5/19/20)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on the Burden of Proof in Immigration Bond Hearings
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief in Brito v. Barr arguing that the government bears the burden of proof in immigration bond proceedings and that the court should resolve the questions before it without deference to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).
CA6 Says Withholding Applicants Must Be Given the Chance to Explain Why Corroborative Evidence Is Not Reasonably Available
Granting the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal, the court found that the IJ and BIA erred in failing to give the petitioner an opportunity to explain why he could not reasonably obtain certain corroborative evidence. (Guzman-Vazquez v. Barr, 5/18/20)
CA9 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Consider Petitioner’s “Settled Course” Argument Where BIA Denied Sua Sponte Reconsideration
The court held that the petitioner’s “settled course of adjudication” argument was barred by the court’s general rule that it lacks jurisdiction to review claims that the BIA should have exercised its sua sponte power in a given case. (Lona v. Barr, 5/15/20)
CA3 Holds BIA Erred in Retroactively Applying Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga to Find Petitioner Removable
The court granted the petition for review, holding that the BIA erred in retroactively applying the new standard for theft-related crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) that it had promulgated in Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga to the petitioner. (Francisco-Lopez v. Att’y Gen., 5/15/20)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Salvadoran Petitioner Where IJ and BIA Relied on Boston’s “Gang Assessment Database”
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum, finding that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence, and that the introduction of law enforcement gang database records did not violate the petitioner’s due process rights. (Diaz Ortiz v. Barr, 5/15/20)
CA10 Says Post-Departure Bar Does Not Eliminate an IJ’s Jurisdiction to Move Sua Sponte to Reopen Removal Proceedings
The court held that the BIA erred in ruling that the IJ lacked jurisdiction to move sua sponte to reopen petitioner’s removal proceedings, finding that the post-departure bar does not apply to the IJ’s own sua sponte authority to reopen removal proceedings. (Reyes-Vargas v. Barr, 5/14/20)
BIA Reopens Sua Sponte Because Florida Theft Statute Is No Longer a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte upon finding theft under Fla. Stat. 812.014 is no longer a CIMT under Descamps v. U.S., 133 S. Ct. 2276 (2013), and Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga, 26 I&N Dec. 847 (BIA 2016). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Persad, 5/14/20)
DHS Issues Privacy Impact Assessment for ICE’s Use of Facial Recognition Services
DHS issued a PIA on ICE HSI’s use of facial recognition services, including the submission of digital images to government agencies and commercial vendors to compare against their digital image galleries, and HSI’s subsequent use of potential candidate matches to produce investigative leads.
CRS Releases Legal Sidebar on Supreme Court’s Decision in Barton v. Barr
CRS released a legal sidebar examining the Supreme Court’s decision in Barton v. Barr, in which the court held that the commission of certain crimes set forth in §212 of the INA could render an LPR ineligible for cancellation of removal if committed with seven years of the LPR’s admission.
CA5 Upholds BIA’s Asylum Denial to Mexican Petitioner Whose Father Was Extorted by Zetas Drug Cartel
Finding that substantial evidence supported BIA’s denial of asylum, the court held that petitioner had failed to meet his burden to establish that it would be unreasonable for him to relocate to another part of Mexico, away from his father’s extortionists. (Munoz-Granados v. Barr, 5/12/20)