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 Wisconsin Child Enticement Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that child enticement under Wis. Stat. 948.07 is not a CIMT because it does not require defendants to know the victim was a minor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Karnga, 12/13/19)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief Urging the Eleventh Circuit to Reverse Panel Decision
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Patel v. U.S. Attorney General arguing that the question of whether Mr. Patel is inadmissible as having made a false claim to U.S. citizenship, and therefore eligible for adjustment is reviewable, therefore recommending the preceding decision be reversed.
District Court Finds 8 CFR §241.14(d) Does Not Authorize Petitioner’s Ongoing and Potentially Indefinite Detention
A federal court in New York held that the petitioner’s continued immigration detention was not lawfully authorized by 8 CFR §241.14(d), and ordered an evidentiary hearing to determine whether INA §236(a) lawfully authorizes the petitioner’s ongoing detention. (Hassoun v. Searls, 12/13/19)
BIA Rules that IJs Are Not Required to Personally Identify Inconsistencies in the Record Before Relying on Them to Make Adverse Credibility Findings
BIA ruled that if inconsistencies in the record are obvious and previously identified by applicant or DHS, an IJ is not personally required to specify them and solicit an explanation before relying on them to make an adverse credibility finding. Matter of Y-I-M-, 27 I&N Dec. 724 (BIA 2019)
Local EOIR Liaison Meeting Minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin and Court Administrator Ponce De Leon
Local EOIR Liaison meeting minutes with ACIJ Clay Martin and Court Administrator Ponce De Leon at the San Antonio Immigration Court. Topics discussed include MPP, NTA filing issues, E-filing, and more.
Practice Alert: Updates to the BIA Practice Manual, Briefing Extensions Now Disfavored
AILA provides a practice alert outlining recent updates to the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual. Special thanks to the AILA EOIR Liaison Committee.
ICE Releases FY2019 Enforcement and Removal Operations Report
ICE released a report summarizing ERO activities during FY2019. In FY2019, ICE ERO arrested 143,099 individuals and removed 267,258. Per ICE, in FY2019, ICE ERO activity was significantly impacted by the reallocation of resources, including approximately 350 ERO officers, to the southern border.
AILA Urges the Second Circuit to Follow Other Circuits in Rejecting Matter of Mendoza-Hernandez
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Guasco v. Barr arguing that the BIA’s conclusion that the two-step notice process triggers the stop-time rule conflicts with the statute’s unambiguous text and unreasonably departs from the consistent recognition that a NTA is a single document.
CA9 Finds IJ and BIA Erred in Relying on Lack of Corroboration to Support Adverse Credibility Determination
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner, who alleged that Chinese government officials had subjected her to a forced abortion, was entitled to notice and an opportunity to produce corroborating evidence or explain why it was unavailable. (Qiu v. Barr, 12/11/19)
CA8 Finds Guatemalan Humanitarian Asylum Applicants Failed to Show Past Persecution Based on a Protected Ground
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioners’ request for humanitarian asylum, because the petitioners had failed to make an initial showing of refugee status by connecting their past persecution to a protected ground. (Mejia-Lopez v. Barr, 12/11/19)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Application for Withholding of Removal Based on Petitioner’s Membership in His Family
The court held that substantial evidence in the record supported the IJ and BIA’s finding that the petitioner had failed to establish a clear probability that he would suffer persecution in Mexico on account of his membership in his family. (De La Rosa Garcia v. Barr, 12/10/19)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions in China Regarding Religious Persecution
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying as untimely the petitioner’s motion to reopen, because the evidence in the record showed that religious persecution in China had not sufficiently increased since the petitioner’s hearing in 2011. (Lin v. Barr, 12/10/19)
USCIS Issues Guidance Implementing AG’s Decisions on Post-Sentencing Changes and Impact of DUI Convictions on Good Moral Character Determination
USCIS issued a policy alert incorporating the AG’s decisions in Matter of Thomas and Thompson regarding how post-sentencing changes impact a conviction for immigration purposes and Matter of Castillo-Perez regarding how two or more DUI convictions affect GMC determinations.
AILA Submit Amicus Brief to the Ninth Circuit on the Term “Crime of Child Abuse”
AILA submitted an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit in Blanco-Hernandez v. Barr urging the court to uphold the Supreme Court’s opinion in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions on the interpretation of the term “crime of child abuse” as it relates to consensual sex with a person 16 or older.
BIA Rules That Torturous Conduct by a Public Official Not Acting in an Official Capacity Is Not Covered by CAT
BIA ruled that only torturous conduct committed by a public official acting “in an official capacity” “under color of law” is covered by CAT. Conduct by an official not acting in an official capacity is not covered by the Convention. Matter of O-F-A-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 709 (BIA 2019)
TRAC Report Shows ICE Detains Fewer Immigrants with Serious Criminal Convictions Under Trump Administration
TRAC found that despite the growth of ICE detention, the number of detainees with serious criminal convictions has been falling steadily since 2017. Further, data showed that gang violence, terrorism, election fraud - convictions often associated with undocumented migrants - are remarkably rare.
BIA Finds New York Firearm Definition Includes Antique Firearms
Unpublished BIA decision holds criminal sale of a firearm under N.Y.P.L. 265.11(1) not a firearms offense or aggravated felony because it applies to loaded antique firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-A-T-M-, 12/6/19)
BIA Reverses Finding of Fraud in Employment-Based Visa Petition
Unpublished BIA decision reverses finding that respondent made material misrepresentation by signing Form I-485 accompanying fraudulent visa petition because application did not state that he had to be currently employed by petitioner. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Park, 12/6/19)
BIA Gives Effect to Pardon Issued by Connecticut Parole Board
Unpublished BIA decision holds that grant of full and absolute pardon by Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles is equivalent to pardon from state governor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Walton, 12/5/19)
GAO Study Shows ICE Arrests, Detentions, and Removals Increased from 2015 to 2018
A GAO study shows that the number of ICE arrests, detentions, and removals increased from 2015–18. Men from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and convicted criminals accounted for the majority of ICE arrests. Detentions of transgender, pregnant, and disabled individuals also increased.
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging Expedited Removal Pilot Program
The ACLU of Texas, the ACLU National, and the ACLU of DC filed a lawsuit challenging an “expedited removal” pilot program used to hold asylum seekers in CBP facilities without effective access to attorneys before they are removed. (Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf, 12/5/19)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief to BIA on the Term “Crime of Child Abuse”
AILA submitted an amicus brief urging the BIA to hold the Supreme Court’s opinion in Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions on the interpretation of the term “crime of child abuse” as it relates to consensual sex with a person 16 or older.
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial to Honduran Woman Who Was Harassed by Gang Members After Her Brother’s Murder
The court upheld the denial of asylum, finding that there was substantial evidence to conclude that the hardships petitioner had experienced in Honduras following her brother’s murder—namely, threats and men following her—did not constitute past persecution. (Martinez-Lopez v. Barr, 12/4/19)
Practice Advisory: Pereira v. Sessions – Updated Strategies and Considerations
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Pereira v. Sessions that service of a defective NTA does not cut off eligibility for cancellation of removal. This CLINIC practice advisory provides practitioners with strategies and considerations based on the Pereira holding and rationale.
CA11 Says “Women in Mexico Who Are Unable to Leave Their Domestic Relationships” Is Not a Cognizable Particular Social Group
The court held that, in light of the Attorney General’s 2018 decision in Matter of A-B-, “women in Mexico who are unable to leave their domestic relationships” was not a cognizable particular social group under the INA. (Amezcua-Preciado v. Att’y Gen., 12/3/19)