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
BIA Holds That Secretary of State Letter Was Sufficient to Establish Removability for Adverse Foreign Policy Consequences
The BIA held that a Secretary of State letter was sufficient to establish removability under INA §237(a)(4)(C)(i), and that failure to disclose involvement with an organization on a Form I-485 was a material misrepresentation supporting removability. Matter of M–K–, 29 I&N Dec. 556 (BIA 2026)
AILA and Public Counsel Urge Right to Counsel in Reasonable Fear Interview
The petitioner was forced to proceed in reasonable fear interview and immigration judge review without counsel, despite asking to contact his attorney. AILA and Public Counsel stress the critical role of counsel and the high stakes for pro se detainees. (Amador Canacas v. Bondi, 4/9/26)
CA9 Finds Petitioner Forfeited Merits Arguments and Failed to Exhaust Due Process Claims
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the petitioner had forfeited all exhausted bases to challenge the agency’s decision denying his asylum application and failed to exhaust the procedural due process claims he raised before the court. (Santana-Gonzalez v. Bondi, 4/8/26)
AILA and the Council File Public Comment in Opposition to New BIA Interim Final Rule
AILA and the American Immigration Council urge DOJ/EOIR to withdraw the BIA Appellate Procedures IFR, arguing it unlawfully cuts appeal time to 10 days, makes summary dismissal the default without a complete record, burdens counsel, and shifts errors and caseloads to federal courts.
EOIR Announces 15 Immigration Judges and 17 Temporary Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 15 immigration judges and 17 temporary immigration judges in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Petitioner Forfeited and Failed to Exhaust PSG Claims
The court held that the petitioner forfeited his arguments regarding the four particular social groups (PSGs) he identified before the agency and that he failed to exhaust the three new groups he presented for the first time in his petition for review. (Gamas-Vicente v. Blanche, 4/7/26)
BIA Affirms Revocation of Visa Petition Based on Substantial and Probative Evidence of Beneficiary's Prior Marriage Fraud
The BIA held that good and sufficient cause existed to revoke the prior approval of a visa petition because the record contained substantial and probative evidence of marriage fraud between the beneficiary and her prior spouse. Matter of Nwagwu, 29 I&N Dec. 651 (BIA 2026)
BIA Finds Respondent’s Criminal History and Reluctance to Accept Responsibility Outweighed Favorable Factors for Cancellation of Removal
The BIA held that respondent’s criminal history, including charges not resulting in conviction, and his reluctance to accept responsibility for his criminal acts, outweighed the favorable factors relevant to discretion for cancellation of removal. Matter of Germain, 29 I&N Dec. 648 (BIA 2026)
CA7 Finds It Lacked Jurisdiction to Review Petition for Review Where No Final Order of Removal Existed
The court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction, holding that an email from a DHS field office declining to revisit a long-executed 2018 Final Administrative Removal Order (FARO) was not a “final order of removal” reviewable under INA §242(a). (Velazquez-Olais v. Blanche, 4/6/26)
BIA Holds That Lay Testimony Is Generally Insufficient for Hardship Where Medical Evidence Is Reasonably Available
The BIA held that lay testimony alone is generally insufficient to establish exceptional and extremely unusual hardship for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(b)(1)(D) where expert medical evidence could reasonably have been produced. Matter of Pelagio Mendoza, 29 I&N Dec. 542 (BIA 2026)
BIA Reaffirms That Obstruction of Justice Offenses Require Specific Intent and Finds California Accessory Conviction Is an Aggravated Felony
The BIA reaffirmed that an obstruction of justice offense requires specific intent to interfere with the process of law, and held that a California accessory to a felony conviction categorically qualifies as an aggravated felony. Matter of Valenzuela Gallardo, 29 I&N Dec. 536 (BIA 2026)
CA8 Holds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review DHS Removal Discretion and Finds Petitioner Waived Due Process Claim
The court held that the petitioner waived her due process argument based on IJ bias by failing to meaningfully raise it before the BIA, and found that it lacked jurisdiction to review DHS’s exercise of removal discretion. (Quijano-Duran, et al. v. Bondi, 4/2/26)
CA9 Holds BIA Applied Wrong Diligence Standard and Finds “Stateless” Petitioner Acted with Due Diligence
The court held that the BIA employed the wrong diligence standard in upholding the IJ’s denial of the petitioner’s second motion to reopen and that the petitioner acted with due diligence in pursuing vacatur of the conviction on which her removal order was based. (Eskilian v. Bondi, 4/2/26)
CA9 Finds No Impermissible Retroactivity in Applying Reinstatement Provision and Petitioner Failed to Show Prejudice
The court held that applying IIRAIRA’s reinstatement provision to the petitioner was not impermissibly retroactive, and that a petitioner must show prejudice to obtain relief for an alleged denial of counsel in reinstatement proceedings. (Verduzco Ruiz v. Bondi, 4/1/26)
CA3 Holds That Abuser’s LPR or Citizen Status at Time of Application Satisfies Special Rule Cancellation Requirement
The court granted in part the petition for review, holding that for special rule cancellation under INA §240A(b)(2)(A)(i)(II), an abuser may be a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or U.S. citizen at any time before the application is adjudicated. (Cardenas v. Att’y Gen., 3/31/26)
Client Flyer: Common Terms Used in Removal Proceedings
AILA provides a flyer to help your clients understand common terms used in removal proceedings. The flyer is available as a generic PDF version and a Word version you can customize with your firm's information. The PDF is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, and Spanish. Please share.
CA2 Holds That BIA Misread Petitioner’s Arguments in Finding He Failed to Act with Reasonable Due Diligence for Equitable Tolling
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion in denying the petitioner’s motion to reopen based on a change in law that arguably entitled him to relief from removal, finding that the BIA’s conclusion relied on a misreading of the petitioner’s arguments. (Ramsay v. Bondi, 3/27/26)
BIA Holds Objection to Defective NTA Is Forfeited If Not Raised by Respondent and Requires In Absentia Proceedings Where Proper Notice Was Provided
The BIA held that an objection to a defective NTA is forfeited if not timely raised by respondent, and that where a respondent fails to appear but received proper notice of the hearing, the IJ should proceed in absentia and not terminate. Matter of Lopez-Orellana, 29 I&N Dec. 533 (BIA 2026)
DHS Notice Extends Finding of Mass Influx of Aliens
DHS notice stating that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is further extending the “Finding of Mass Influx of Aliens” first issued 1/23/25. This extension, dated 1/12/26, will expire in 180 days. (91 FR 14703, 3/26/26)
AILA Congressional Briefing on 3/26: Administration Policies Weaken Asylum System and Immigration Courts
On 3/26, AILA briefed Congress on three policy briefs from the A Better Way on Immigration series focusing on the Administration’s policy changes made over the past year to pursue its mass deportation campaign, weaken the asylum system, and make the immigration courts less efficient and independent.
BIA Finds That IJs Must Identify Evidence Rebutting Presumption of Reliability of Form I-213 in Alienage Determination
The BIA held that where an IJ finds that a Form I-213 is unreliable and insufficient to establish alienage, the IJ must point to specific evidence in the record sufficient to rebut the presumption of reliability. Matter of Mercado-Martinez, 29 I&N Dec. 529 (BIA 2026)
CA8 Holds That Unadmitted Noncitizens Present in the United States Are “Seeking Admission” and Subject to Mandatory Detention
The court reversed the grant of habeas relief to the Mexican petitioner, holding that an unadmitted noncitizen present in the United States is “seeking admission” and subject to mandatory detention under INA §235(b)(2)(A). (Avila v. Bondi, et al., 3/25/26)
CA4 Holds That Virginia 12-Month Maximum Sentence Qualifies as “One Year or Longer” for CIMT Removability
The court denied the petitions for review, holding that a Virginia Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months qualifies as a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i). (Perdomo Ulloa v. Bondi, 3/25/26)
CA5 Upholds Denial of CAT Deferral as to Salvadoran Petitioner Based on Lack of Specific Intent and Speculative Torture Risk
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of CAT deferral to petitioner, concluding that El Salvador’s harsh prison conditions were not specifically intended to inflict torture and that the risk of future torture was speculative. (Fuentes-Pineda v. Bondi, 3/24/26)
CA9 Holds It Lacks Jurisdiction over Petition Challenging Only Denial of CAT Relief
The court dismissed the petition for review of the IJ’s order affirming a negative reasonable fear determination, holding that it lacks jurisdiction to hear a petition that challenges only the denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Navarrete v. Bondi, 3/23/26)