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
Over 150 Organizations Call for USCIS to Fully Restore Deferred Action Adjudications
On September 4, 2019, over 150 organizations, including AILA, sent a letter to USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli calling for the agency to fully restore its acceptance and adjudication of deferred action requests.
Deprivation of Medical Care to Children in CBP Custody
The American Immigration Council, AILA, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network filed a complaint with DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, DHS Office of the Inspector General, and the FBI highlighting a systematic failure to provide adequate medical care to children in CBP custody.
Practice Alert: Denials and Refusals to Adjudicate Military Parole in Place Applications
AILA's USCIS HQ Committee has received reports of high rates of denials and processing delays for military parole in place applications at some USCIS field offices. The committee is also requesting examples, through a survey on this page, of impacted applications to further its advocacy efforts.
Complaint Demands Oversight of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Facilities
Katie Shepherd, National Advocacy Counsel with the Immigration Justice Campaign, responds to the government’s systematic failure to provide adequate medical care to children in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody.
BIA Reverses Denial of Motion to Change Venue from Atlanta to New York
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeal and reverses the denial of a motion to change venue to New York that the IJ had denied solely because the respondent had previously received change of venue to Atlanta. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Singh, 9/3/19)
USCIS Re-Opens Previously Pending Non-Military Deferred Action Requests
USCIS announced that it will reopen non-military deferred action cases that were pending on August 7, 2019. Letters will be sent this week re-opening these cases. On August 7, USCIS stopped considering these requests and sent out letters noting it was no longer entertaining such requests.
HHS OIG Releases Report on Challenges in Addressing Mental Health Needs of Children in HHS Custody
HHS OIG visited 45 ORR-funded facilities and found that they reported several challenges in addressing the mental health needs of children in HHS care. The report notes that family separation policies exacerbated the challenges, as greater numbers of young children stayed longer in ORR custody.
CA1 Remands Guatemalan OMK Member’s Untimely Motion to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions
The court found that petitioner had offered evidence to support her claim that Guatemala had become more dangerous for Organizacion Maya K’Iche (OMK) members, and remanded for the BIA to assess whether the evidence established a change in country conditions. (Perez-Tino v. Barr, 8/30/19)
Members of Congress Express Opposition to USCIS's Decision to End Consideration of Non-Medical Deferred Action Requests
Members of Congress issued a bicameral letter to Acting DHS Secretary McAleenan, Acting USCIS Director Cuccinelli, and Acting ICE Director Albence urging the immediate reversal of a USCIS policy change ending the agency’s acceptance and adjudication of non-military deferred action requests.
AILA Quicktake #275: New DHS Regulation Eliminates Protections for Children and Families
On 8/23/19, DHS issued a regulation that would reverse the protections of the Flores Settlement Agreement. Katy Murdza, Dilley Pro Bono Project’s Advocacy Manager, discusses how this new regulation will impact children and families in government custody.
ICE Final Rule Exempting FALCON Search and Analysis System of Records from Privacy Act
ICE final rule exempting portions of the DHS/ICE–016 FALCON Search and Analysis System of Records from certain provisions of the Privacy Act. The rule is effective 8/30/19. (84 FR 45641, 8/30/19)
AILA: Fourth Circuit Strikes Down Attorney General Opinion, Restores Fundamental Power to Immigration Judges
AILA responded to the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling in Zuniga Romero v. Barr that immigration judges have the authority to administratively close cases pending before them; the court concluded immigration law unambiguously permits immigration judges to control their own dockets.
EOIR Releases FY2018 Statistics Yearbook
EOIR released its FY2018 statistics yearbook with data on cases before immigration courts, BIA, and OCAHO. The data includes information on respondents’ cases by nationality, language, and disposition, and provides asylum case information. Information on FOIA receipts is also included.
BIA Holds Connecticut Narcotics Statute Not a Deportable Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that conspiracy to sale of narcotics under Conn. Gen. Stat. 21a-277(a) is not an aggravated felony or controlled substance offense because the state schedule is overbroad and indivisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mullings-Reeves, 8/30/19)
BIA Reverses IJ For Disregarding Prior Decision Finding Respondent Did Not Waive Appeal
Unpublished BIA decision finds that IJ improperly certified case back to the Board based on his view that the respondent had waived appeal, when the Board previously found that the respondent did not validly waive appeal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Carrillo Mazariegos, 8/29/19)
CA4 Says IJs and BIA Have General Authority to Administratively Close Cases and Vacates Matter of Castro-Tum
The court granted the petition for review, concluding that the plain language of 8 CFR §§1003.10(b) and 1003.1(d)(1)(ii) unambiguously confers upon IJs and the BIA the general authority to administratively close cases. (Romero v. Barr, 8/29/19)
Press Call: AILA Experts Join Members of Congress to Discuss USCIS’s Elimination of Non-Military Deferred Action
On 8/29/19, AILA experts were joined by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Judy Chu (D-CA), and an impacted individual, to discuss USCIS’s elimination of non-military deferred action at field offices.
CA8 Finds Nebraska Theft by Receiving Offense Is Categorically a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner was ineligible for cancellation of removal, because his Nebraska theft by receiving offense was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Reyna v. Barr, 8/29/19)
AILA Quicktake #274: USCIS Eliminates Non-Military Deferred Action at Local Field Offices
On 8/7/19, USCIS field offices stopped adjudicating requests for deferred action from non-military applicants. AILA’s Policy Associate Paul Stern explains what this policy change, which occurred without public notice, means for immigrants and their families who seek to remain in the United States.
EOIR Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-56
EOIR notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-56, Request to be Included on the List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers for Individuals in Immigration Proceedings. Comments will be accepted until 10/28/19. (84 FR 45173, 8/28/19)
CA5 Finds Oklahoma Firearm Transportation Conviction Did Not Disqualify Petitioner from Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction did not disqualify him from seeking cancellation of removal, because the Oklahoma misdemeanor of transporting a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle is not one of the firearms offense listed in INA §237(a)(2)(C). (Flores-Abarca v. Barr, 8/28/19)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to 21-Year-Old Salvadoran Who Suffered Abuse by Family Members
The court held that substantial evidence supported the agency’s findings that petitioner was no longer a member of his proposed social group composed of minors, and that changed circumstances in El Salvador made his fears of future persecution unfounded. (Miranda-Bojorquez v. Barr, 8/27/19)
DHS Reprogramming and Transferring $271 Million to Fund ICE Detention Beds and Open Temporary MPP Immigration Hearing Facilities
DHS announced that it is reprogramming and transferring $116 million of available funds to fund ICE single adult detention beds and transportation, and another $155 million to establish and operate temporary Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) Immigration Hearing Facilities along the southern border.
ICE 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form I-352
ICE 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-352, Immigration Bond. Comments are due 10/28/19. (84 FR 44913, 8/27/19)
AILA Insight: Cancellation of Removal: Proving the Continuous Physical Presence Requirement
AILA member Matthew Boles discusses cancellation of removal and its continuous physical presence requirements, including how to calculate physical presence and which documents can be used to prove continuous physical presence.