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
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)
BIA Grants New Bond Hearing Because IJ Conducted All the Questioning
Unpublished BIA decision remands for new bond hearing because the IJ conducted all the questioning and did not give either attorney a chance to ask questions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-R-B-, 5/12/20)
BIA Finds Respondent Who Arrived Late to Hearing Did Not Fail to Appear
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent did not fail to appear for hearing where he arrived 25 minutes late due to unexpectedly heavy traffic and was in communication with his attorney who was in the courtroom. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hernandez-Yanez, 5/8/20)
BIA Rules That Absence of a Checked Alien Classification Box Does Not Render an NTA Fatally Deficient
The BIA ruled that the absence of a checked alien classification box does not, by itself, render an NTA fatally deficient; preclude an IJ from exercising jurisdiction over removal proceedings; or terminate proceedings under MPP. Matter of Herrera-Vasquez, 27 I&N Dec. 825 (BIA 2020)
Supreme Court Finds CA9 Abused Its Discretion in Case Involving Immigration Consultant Convicted of Encouraging Illegal Immigration
Where the Ninth Circuit had asked amici to argue issues framed by the court instead of adjudicating the case presented by the parties, the Supreme Court held that the court’s departure from the party presentation principle was an abuse of discretion. (United States v. Sineneng-Smith, 5/7/20)
CA4 Finds Petitioner’s Virginia Conviction for Distribution of Cocaine as an Accommodation Was an Aggravated Felony
Applying the modified categorical approach, the court held that distribution of cocaine under Virginia Code §18.2-248 satisfies the federal definitions of an aggravated felony and of a crime relating to a controlled substance, and thus denied the petition for review. (Cucalon v. Barr, 5/7/20)
CA8 Holds Knowing Failure to Comply with Minnesota’s Sex Offender Registration Statute Is a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that petitioner’s convictions for Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Fifth Degree in Minnesota and knowing failure to comply with Minnesota’s sex offender registration statute constituted crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Bakor v. Barr, 5/7/20)
Immigration Justice Campaign and Partners File Complaint Highlighting ICE’s Failure to Protect Detainees During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On May 7, 2020, the Immigration Justice Campaign and partners filed a complaint with the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the Office of the Inspector General highlighting the experiences of those detained in ICE custody during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complaint Details ICE’s Failure to Protect Those in Its Custody Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
Immigration Justice Campaign Director Karen Lucas and National Advocacy Counsel Katie Shepherd detail why ICE’s failure to protect those in its custody during the COVID-19 pandemic demands immediate oversight by DHS.
BIA Equitably Tolls Deadline for MTR Filed Two Years After Favorable Circuit Decision
Unpublished BIA decision equitably tolls the MTR deadline and terminates proceedings where respondent filed motion more than two years after Ninth Circuit decision holding that conviction did not qualify as an aggravated felony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Dang, 5/7/20)
AILA Provides Summary of the Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Act
AILA provides a summary to the S__: Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Act (FIRST Act) introduced by Senator Booker (D-NJ) that would require the release of most individuals detained by ICE during a national emergency related to a communicable disease.
CA9 Says Initial NTA Need Not Contain Time, Date, and Place Information to Vest an Immigration Court with Jurisdiction
The court concluded that an initial Notice to Appear (NTA) does not need to contain the time, date, and location information of a removal hearing to vest an immigration court with jurisdiction if such information is provided before the hearing. (Aguilar Fermin v. Barr, 5/5/20)
AILA and the American Immigration Council Obtain EOIR Hiring Plan via FOIA Litigation
On 4/21/20, AILA and the Council obtained via FOIA litigation the EOIR IJ and AIJ hiring process, approved by Attorney General Barr on 3/8/19. This document revises both the IJ hiring process implemented on 3/28/18, and the process for hiring BIA members implemented on 9/12/07.