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 Finds IJ Should Have Granted Continuance for Attorney Preparation
Unpublished BIA decision reverses denial of continuance where counsel was hired less than a month before merits hearing and IJ’s assistant did not return messages asking to review record of proceedings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Vargas Salgado, 6/13/19)
BIA Holds Oregon Aggravated Identity Theft Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that Oregon aggravated identity theft is not a CIMT because it applies to individuals who merely provide false identification to law enforcement with the intent to evade arrest. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Naranjo-Pairol, 6/13/19)
CA9 Finds Resident of CNMI Is Removable Because of Binding Precedent
The court concluded that, because it must follow the court’s binding precedent involving immigrants residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the petitioner was removable and ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Torres v. Barr, 6/12/19)
CA1 Upholds Asylum and CAT Denials to Mexican Petitioner Who Filed Untimely Asylum Application
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s ruling on the petitioner’s asylum claim, and found that the petitioner had provided the court with no basis for overturning the BIA’s ruling on his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim. (Rodriguez-Palacios v. Barr, 6/12/19)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Failed to Make Colorable Claim That BIA Erred in Adopting IJ’s Findings
The court dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction, finding that the petitioner had failed to raise a colorable claim of constitutional or legal error when he challenged the denial of his application for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(b). (Perez v. Barr, 6/12/19)
DOJ OIG Releases Audit Report on DOJ’s Use of Immigration Sponsorship Programs
The DOJ OIG released a report on DOJ's use of immigration sponsorship programs including significant public benefit parole, deferred action, the S Visa, and PL-110. The report examined DOJ components’ oversight of sponsorship activities and information management and coordination.
The Attorney General's Judges: How the U.S. Immigration Courts Became a Deportation Tool
Innovation Law Lab and the Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on the current state of the U.S. immigration courts and examines the system's collapse and explains why "it cannot be salvaged in its current form."
Supplement Complaint Demands Government Action on Inadequate Medical Care in Colorado Detention Center
On June 11, 2019, the American Immigration Council and AILA supplemented a complaint originally filed in June 2018 highlighting numerous examples of inadequate medical care in the Denver Contract Detention Facility, an immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado.
BIA Dismisses Appeal and Issues Decision on “Realistic Probability”
The BIA discussed the interplay between state and federal drug laws, finding respondent did not establish a realistic probability that the state would apply the statute to an offense involving a substance that was not federally controlled. Matter of Guadarrama, 27 I&N Dec. 560 (BIA 2019)
New Resource: Removal Defense Skills “Conference-In-A-Box"
The Immigration Justice Campaign has put together a "conference-in-a-box": everything an AILA chapter would need to host an intensive one or one-and-a-half-day-long removal defense skills workshop. The Campaign is making these materials available for free to AILA chapters!
BIA Vacates Removal Order Entered Against Pro Se Respondent at First Master Calendar Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision vacates removal order against pro se respondent who was ordered removed at first hearing and received no opportunity to testify about his reasons for not wanting to leave the United States. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cota-Morris, 6/11/19)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte Following Ninth Circuit Decision on Stop-Time Rule
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte to seek LPR cancellation of removal following Lopez v. Barr, 925 F.3d 396 (9th Cir. 2019), holding that hearing notice itself cannot trigger stop-time rule. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rodriguez-Echeverria, 6/11/19)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Because Respondent Was Naturalized Citizen at Time of Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings under Okpala v. Whitaker, 908 F.3d 965 (5th Cir. 2018), because respondent was a naturalized citizen at the time of the conviction giving rise to the charge of removability. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ogoti, 6/10/19)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Since Respondent Was a Naturalized Citizen at Time of Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision holds termination of proceedings is warranted because respondent was not removable due to the fact that he was a naturalized citizen at the time of his conviction and that Okpala is controlling. Courtesy of Imran Mirza. (Matter of Ogoti, 6/10/19)
ICE Email to Journalist Confirms 2009 and 2011 Policy Memos Are Still in Effect
In an email sent to a Searchlight New Mexico journalist, ICE confirmed that the 2011 prosecutorial discretion memo and the 2009 Stay of Removal memo for U and T visa petitioners are still in effect.
Former IJ Jeffrey Chase Discusses BIA and Selective Dismissal
Former IJ Jeffrey Chase discussed Matter of Andrade Jaso and Matter of Carbajal Ayala, which held that IJs have the authority to dismiss removal proceedings upon finding the filing of a meritless asylum application with USCIS for the sole purpose of seeking cancellation of removal.
Highlights from Spring Liaison Meeting Between AILA and DOS (4/11/19)
Unofficial notes and highlights from the DOS Liaison Committee’s meeting with the Department of State Visa Office on 4/11/19.
CA7 Upholds Denial of Untimely Request for Continuance Where Good Cause Was Not Shown
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion by denying an untimely motion to continue a removal hearing where it found that good cause was not shown, because it gave rational reasons for the denial and did not rest its decision on an impermissible basis. (Toure v. Barr, 6/7/19)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief Raising Concerns About the Elements of Robbery
AILA and other groups submitted an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Lopez-Aguilar v. Barr arguing that the Oregon Revised Statues §164.395 is overbroad to the generic crime of theft and departs substantially from the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
GAO Issues Report on Immigration Enforcement and Cases Involving Noncitizen Veterans
The GAO issued a report finding that ICE does not consistently adhere to its policies for handling cases of noncitizen veterans who may be subject to removal. The report also found that ICE does not consistently identify and track such veterans.
CA9 Says Petitioner’s Conviction for Third-Degree Robbery in Oregon Is Not a CIMT
The court granted in part the petition for review, holding that petitioner’s Oregon conviction for third-degree robbery was not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) that would make him ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Aguirre Barbosa v. Barr, 3/28/19, amended 6/6/19)
AILA Quicktake #267: The American Dream and Promise Act Passes the House of Representatives
The American Dream and Promise Act, which would provide protection from deportation and a path to citizenship to over 2 million Dreamers and TPS and DED recipients, passed the House. AILA's Associate Director of Government Relations Kate Voigt discusses the significance of this landmark bill.
House Passes the American Dream and Promise Act
AILA applauds the passage of the American Dream and Promise Act in the House of Representatives.
The Degradation of Padilla Rights in Nebraska
Law Student member Damon Hudson discusses the impact of Padilla v. Kentucky in Nebraska and how the Nebraska Supreme Court has limited Padilla rights.
FOIA Reveals EOIR’s 2018 IJ Training, Court Performance Measures Adjournment Codes
AILA and the American Immigration Council obtained via FOIA EOIR’s training materials on Court Performance Measures Adjournment Codes from the June 2018 Legal Training Program for immigration judges.