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
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)
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.
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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.
EOIR Rescinds Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda 96-4 and 99-4
EOIR issued a memo rescinding OPPM 96-4, Processing of Motions and Appeals, and OPPM 99-4, Electronic I-830 (Notice to EOIR: Alien Address). The OPPMs were issued over two decades ago, and per EOIR, “have become outdated or unnecessary in the intervening years.”
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 7/2/20)
On July 2, 2020, the OCIJ updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before immigration courts.
EOIR Director Rules Amicus Curiae Cannot Seek Further Action Once Decision Has Been Rendered in Recognition and Accreditation Proceedings
The EOIR Director ruled that an amicus curiae is not a party in recognition and accreditation proceedings and has no authority to seek further action following the conclusion of an administrative review. Matter of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., Applicant, 28 I&N Dec. 16 (DIR 2020)
EOIR Announces Tracy Short as New Chief Immigration Judge
EOIR announced the appointment of Tracy Short as the Chief Immigration Judge. From January 2017 to June 2020, he served as the ICE Principal Legal Advisor and, later, as a Senior Advisor to the ICE Acting Director.
DHS Statement on Safety and Enforcement During the 2020 Wildfire Season
DHS announced that there will be no immigration enforcement initiatives associated with evacuations or sheltering related to wildfires in the western and southwestern portions of the U.S., including in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, except in the event of a serious public safety threat.
Voluntary COVID-19 Testing at ICE Facilities
ICE announced that it has completed voluntary COVID-19 testing for all residents at the family residential centers (FRCs) in Dilley and Karnes County, Texas, and Leesport, Pennsylvania. ICE also began offering tests to new admission at the FRCs.
BIA Finds Respondent Who Arrived 20 Minutes Late Did Not Fail to Appear
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the respondent did not fail to appear for his hearing where he arrived 20 minutes late and the IJ was still on the bench. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Flores-Lopez, 7/2/20)
CA5 Rejects Petitioner’s Argument That BIA Acted Ultra Vires by Applying a Heightened Standard to His Waiver Application
The court found that the petitioner’s contention that the BIA should have weighed the equities more in his favor failed to establish that the agency had acted ultra vires by applying a heightened standard to his waiver of inadmissibility application. (Nastase v. Barr, 7/1/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Saipan Immigration Courts
EOIR will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets including relatively small number of respondents at the Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Saipan immigration courts on 7/6/20. The option to file by email at these courts and at York will end on 9/6/20.
DHS OIG Releases Observations from Unannounced Inspections of ICE Facilities in 2019
ICE houses detainees at roughly 200 facilities nationwide. During 2019, DHS OIG made 4 unannounced inspections at 4 adult detention facilities and found violations of ICE detention standards that undermined the protection of detainees’ rights and the provision of a safe and healthy environment.
EOIR 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-27
EOIR 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-27, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Comments are due 8/31/20. (85 FR 39212, 6/30/20)
Practice Alert: Potential Effects of the June 22 Proclamation on EAD Eligibility for Individuals Subject to Removal
In addition to suspending the entry of certain nonimmigrants, the June 22, 2020, Presidential Proclamation also contains provisions that could preclude individuals in removal proceedings from obtaining employment authorization.
EOIR Releases Statistics on Attorney Discipline Complaints Received
EOIR issued data on attorney discipline complaints received from FY2000 through the third quarter of FY2020. As of the end of the third quarter of FY2020 (through June 30, 2020), EOIR received 558 attorney discipline complaints.
EOIR Releases Asylum Decision Rates by Nationality in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim for FY2020
EOIR released asylum decision rates (grants, denials, administrative closure, and other) in cases that originated with a credible fear claim, broken down by the nationality of applicants for FY2020 (through 6/30/20).
CRS Legal Sidebar: DHS’s Nationwide Expansion of Expedited Removal
CRS updated its legal sidebar on DHS’s nationwide expansion of expedited removal. The sidebar provides an overview of the expedited removal framework; DHS’s expansion of expedited removal; legal challenges to the expansion; and constitutional considerations.