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
CRCL Issues Recommendations to CBP and ICE Concerning Family Separation
CRCL conducted investigations reviewing allegations that CBP and ICE violated the civil rights or civil liberties of family members who were separated after crossing the U.S. border. CRCL recommendations are broad and address implementation of policies, procedures, and documentation.
CA9 Says INA §275(a)(2) Does Not Apply to Noncitizen Who Crosses into United States at Non-Designated Time or Place
The court held that, in order to convict a defendant under INA §275(a)(2), the government must prove that the noncitizen’s criminal conduct occurred at a port of entry that is open for inspection. (United States v. Corrales-Vazquez, 7/24/19)
ICE Releases Memo on Implementation of July 2019 Designation of Individuals Subject to Expedited Removal
ICE released guidance about the implementation of the expansion of expedited removal, indicating that it may begin applying expanded expedited removal on 9/1/19. It was filed by government counsel as part of the Make the Road NY v. McAleenan lawsuit challenging this expansion.
CA5 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Where Petitioner Provided a Guatemalan Address for Notice Purposes
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s motion to reopen her in absentia removal order, finding that it was not sufficient for the petitioner to provide a Guatemalan address to the immigration court pursuant to INA §239(a)(1)(F)(i). (Luna-Garcia v. Barr, 7/23/19)
CA1 Upholds BIA’s Refusal to Reopen Removal Proceedings of Lesbian Ugandan Petitioner
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the lesbian Ugandan petitioner’s motion to reopen, finding that the motion demonstrated a persistence of negative conditions for members of the LGBT community in Uganda, rather than a material change in those conditions. (Nantume v. Barr, 7/23/19)
CA9 Says Violation of a Restraining Order in Oregon Qualifies as a Conviction Rendering Petitioner Ineligible for Cancellation of Removal
The court concluded that the contempt of court judgment entered against the petitioner in Oregon for violating a restraining order qualified as a conviction rendering him ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Diaz-Quirazco v. Barr, 7/23/19)
CA8 Upholds Finding That Petitioner Who Supported the MFDC Group in Senegal Was Ineligible for Adjustment of Status
The court held that the Sengalese petitioner had failed to meet his burden of proving that MFDC was not a terrorist organization, or alternatively, that he should not reasonably have known that the MFDC was a terrorist organization when he supported it. (N’Diaye v. Barr, 7/23/19)
EOIR 30-Day Extension of Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-26
EOIR 30-day extension of a request for comments previously announced at 84 FR 19960 on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-26, Notice of Appeal from a Decision of an Immigration Judge. Comments are now due 8/22/19. (84 FR 35422, 7/23/19)
DHS Notice Expanding the Categories of Persons Eligible for Expedited Removal
DHS notice expanding the categories of persons designated eligible for expedited removal. The notice, including the new designation, is effective on 7/23/19. Comments may be submitted on or before 9/23/19. (84 FR 35409, 7/23/19)
CA5 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Where Petitioner Provided a Guatemalan Address for Notice Purposes (Withdrawn)
The court upheld BIA’s denial of petitioner’s motion to reopen her in absentia removal order, finding that it was not sufficient for the petitioner to provide a Guatemalan address to the immigration court pursuant to INA §239(a)(1)(F)(i). (Luna-Garcia v. Barr, 5/15/19, withdrawn 7/23/19)
AILA: DHS Attempts Massive Expansion of Unilateral Deportation Power
DHS announced a new policy designed to dramatically expand expedited removal to apply throughout the United States to anyone who has been in the United States for less than two years; the American Immigration Council is already planning litigation.
AILA Quicktake #271: DHS Announces the Expansion of Expedited Removal
AILA Associate Director of Government Relations Kate Voigt discusses DHS's announcement about a new policy, effective 7/23/19, to dramatically expand expedited removal, which will ramp up ICE's power everywhere in the United States, subjecting hundreds of thousands of people to rapid deportation.
CA3 Upholds Denial of Cancellation of Removal to Indian Businessman Who Had Resided in the United States Since 1998
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that petitioner, who had entered the U.S. in 1998 from India on a visitor’s visa, was ineligible for cancellation of removal, because he could not show that the requisite hardship would result from his removal. (Radiowala v. Att’y Gen., 7/22/19)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Received Extortion Threats from Gangs
The court upheld the BIA and IJ’s finding that there was a lack of a nexus between the extortion threats and gang harassment that the petitioner had experienced in Guatemala and any protected ground for relief. (Hernandez-Garcia, et al. v. Barr, 7/22/19)
CA4 Says Conviction for Participation in a Criminal Street Gang in Virginia Is Not a CIMT
The court granted the petition for review, concluding that Virginia’s statute prohibiting participation in criminal gang activity does not categorically qualify as a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) for purposes of INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i). (Rodriguez Cabrera v. Barr, 7/19/19)
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Mexican Petitioner Who Feared Persecution as the Mother of a Cartel Member’s Child
Where the Mexican petitioner claimed she feared persecution as the mother of a cartel member’s child, the court held there was nothing in the record that required BIA to conclude that she had experienced past persecution or reasonably feared future persecution. (N.Y.C.C. v. Barr, 7/19/19)
TRAC Report Shows ICE Fails to Target Serious Criminals in Immigration Court Filings
A TRAC report shows that, per data through June 2019, only 2.8 percent of DHS Immigration Court filings sought removal citing criminal activity. At 10 Immigration Courts, such cases were less than 0.5 percent of DHS filings.
What Would Fix the Immigration Courts? Well, Independence is a Start!
AILA Secretary Kelli Stump highlights recent efforts by AILA and its partners to urge Congress to establish an Article I immigration court system to ensure that “when cases are as serious as they are, when lies and livelihoods are on the line“ justice is served and people get a fair day in cou
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Concluding Nepali Petitioner No Longer Had Well-Founded Fear of Persecution
The court granted in part the petition for review, finding that substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s decision to deny the Nepali petitioner’s asylum application, because the government did not rebut the presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution. (Dahal v. Barr, 7/18/19)
CA9 Grants Mexican Petitioner’s Untimely Motion to Reopen Due to Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that the petitioner had failed to show prejudice from his prior attorney’s ineffective assistance with respect to deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and relief under former INA §212(c). (Flores v. Barr, 7/18/19)
CA9 Says Ambiguous Record of Conviction Does Not Bar Eligibility for Cancellation of Removal
The en banc court held that, in the context of eligibility for cancellation of removal, a petitioner’s state law conviction does not bar relief where the record is ambiguous as to whether the conviction constitutes a disqualifying predicate offense. (Marinelarena v. Barr, 7/18/19)
CA5 Finds Haitian Petitioner with Schizophrenia Was Not Denied Due Process at Removal Hearing
The court held that the IJ did not violate petitioner’s due process rights by failing to adhere to the procedural safeguards that were put in place after his competency hearing, finding that there was no variance that would amount to due process violations. (Pierre-Paul v. Barr, 7/18/19)
Lawsuit Seeks Clarity on How Immigrants Serving Time Are Deported From The United States
The American Immigration Council, AILA, and the Immigrant Defense Project filed a lawsuit to compel the government to release information about DOJ’s Institutional Hearing Program, an obscure program that expedites the deportation of immigrants who are serving time for criminal offenses.
The Institutional Hearing Program: An Overview
The American Immigration Council provides this fact sheet with an overview of the Institutional Hearing Program’s history and what is known about the way it works. It also highlights some of the due process concerns that surround the program.
Texas Bail Bondswoman Sentenced to Imprisonment for Smuggling Hundreds of Immigrants
Pursuant to an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Hema Patel, a Texas-based bail bondswoman was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for her role in smuggling hundreds of immigrants, primarily from India, into the United States.