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
TRAC Found Stepped Up Illegal-Entry Prosecutions Reduce Those for Other Crimes
TRAC found that the push to prioritize prosecuting illegal border crossers has impacted the capacity of prosecutors to enforce other federal laws. In March 2018, along the southwest border 14% of prosecutions were for any non-immigration crimes, but by June 2018, this ratio had shrunk to 6%.
AILA Quicktake #247: Federal Judge Orders Restoration of DACA
Greg Chen, AILA's Director of Government Relations, discusses Judge John Bates' order to restore DACA, and the possible impacts of the hearing with Andrew Hanen on August 8, 2018, on that decision.
Federal Judge Certifies Class Action Against The Geo Group, Inc.
A District Court judge certified a class of current and former civil immigration detainees who performed work for The Geo Group, Inc. at its Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, WA and were paid a $1 daily rate. (Nwauzor et al. v. The GEO Group Inc., 8/6/18)
DHS Issues Statement Regarding Safety and Enforcement During Northern California Wildfires
DHS issued a statement that ICE has suspended routine immigration enforcement operations in the areas impacted by the wildfires in northern California. The statement notes that immigration enforcement will not be conducted at evacuation sites or assistance centers, such as shelters or food banks.
DOJ Issues Statement on Court Order Ordering the Restoration of DACA Program
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a statement in response to the court order in the D.C. District Court, ordering the restoration of the DACA program, stating, “The Department of Justice will take every lawful measure to vindicate the Department of Homeland Security’s lawful rescission of DACA.”
BIA Dismisses Appeal, Finding Involvement in Animal Fighting Venture is CIMT
BIA reaffirmed its prior decision denying the respondent’s application for cancellation of removal and dismissed his appeal, finding that exhibiting or sponsoring an animal in an animal fighting venture is a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of Ortega-Lopez, 27 I&N Dec. 382 (BIA 2018)
CA10 Confirms BIA Did Not Err in Dismissing Motion to Reconsider and Appeal of Adverse Withholding Decision Based on Particular Social Group Claims
In a non-precedent decision, the court affirmed petitioner was not a member of “Salvadoran women unable to leave domestic relationships,” and that petitioner failed to show that two other proposed particular social groups of Salvadoran women were socially distinct. (Lopez v. Sessions, 8/6/18)
Policy Brief: Protect Children by Ending Family Detention and Separation
AILA and the American Immigration Council created a resource on the administration’s policy regarding family separation and detention.
Inside EOIR: Resigning Employee Gives Insights into Why EOIR Is Failing Under Sessions and How to Fix It
Former BIA Chairman and retired immigration judge Paul W. Schmidt shares an email sent by a resigning EOIR employee about why the individual is leaving EOIR.
D. N.J. Grants TRO to Stay Removal and Habeas to Release Petitioner from Detention While Pursuing Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver
The court held that detention and attempted deportation of petitioner while he pursued a provisional unlawful presence waiver violated the APA and Fifth Amendment. Formal opinion forthcoming. (Martinez v. Nielsen, 8/3/18)
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 8/2/18)
The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before Immigration Courts. Updates were made to the introduction and 4.18, while Chapter 8 was replaced.
CA5 Upholds BIA/IJ Findings that Petitioner Does Not Qualify for Withholding of Removal
The court affirmed petitioner was not persecuted on account of imputed political opinion or membership in PSG of Roma family members; denied jurisdiction to review derivative asylum claim and CAT denial for lack of administrative exhaustion. (Revencu v. Sessions, 7/12/18, revised 8/2/18)
CA5 Rejects IJ/BIA Finding that Mann Party Sikh Asylum Applicant Could “Safely and Reasonably Relocate”
The court remanded, holding that DHS did not offer any evidence that the specific petitioner could safely relocate within India, despite the success of others similarly situated, and, thus, failed to meet its burden of proof. (Singh v. Sessions, 8/2/18)
CA9 Holds Defendant’s Prior In Absentia and Expedited Removals Invalid as Fundamentally Unfair
The court held IJ erred in finding LPR removable in absentia, and that in absentia and expedited removals denied meaningful chance for LPR to contest loss of status; thus, those removals cannot be predicate offenses for illegal re-entry conviction. (United States v. Ochoa-Oregel, 8/2/18)
CA3 Determined “False Report” Provision of Commodities Exchange Act Does Not Require Evidence of Materiality, Conviction Not Aggravated Felony
The court examined 7 USC §6b(a)(1)(B), and rejected BIA’s conclusion that it requires evidence of “materiality”; thus, conviction does not qualify as an aggravated felony under the “involving fraud or deceit” element of INA, §101(a)(43)(M)(1). (Wang v. Att’y Gen., 8/1/18)
Detaining Families: A Study of Asylum Adjudication in Family Detention
The American Immigration Council released a report that draws on thousands of government records over a 15-year period and highlights the multiple barriers to justice families seeking asylum face while in detention, as well as the important role the courts have played in protecting due process.
ABA Issues Updated Report on UACs in the United States
The American Bar Association (ABA) issued an updated report on the standards for the custody, placement and care; legal representation; and adjudication of unaccompanied alien children in the United States.
USCIS Provides Approximate Number of Active DACA Recipients as of July 31, 2018
USCIS provided data on the approximate number of active DACA recipients, broken by month and year of their current DACA expiration date, as of July 31, 2018.
USCIS Provides Data on Pending DACA Applications as of July 31, 2018
USCIS provided data on the approximate number of DACA renewals pending with expired DACA and the approximate number of DACA initial applications pending, as of July 31, 2018.
USCIS Provides Data on Active DACA Recipients as of July 31, 2018
USCIS provided data on active DACA recipients as of July 31, 2018, by country of birth, by state or territory of residence, by core based statistical area, by gender, by age, and by marital status.
CRS Provides Legal Sidebar on Family Separation at the Border and the Ms. L. Litigation
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports on family separation at the border, various proposals from the administration and lawmakers to maintain family unity, and developments in the Ms. L; et al. litigation.
Written Statement from ICE Associate Director on Immigration Enforcement and Family Reunification
Written statement from Matthew T. Albence, executive associate director of the ERO division of ICE, for the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Oversight of Immigration Enforcement and Family Reunification.”
CA7 Holds It Has Jurisdiction to Conclude BIA Determination Was Ultra Vires
The court held BIA erred by overturning IJ’s termination of proceedings and entering its own removal order in the first instance. Because BIA’s order was ultra vires and not final, the court has no jurisdiction to review underlying issues of removability. (Mejia Galindo v. Sessions, 7/31/18)
CA7 Upholds BIA Denial of Untimely and Number-Barred MTRs, Agrees Lozada Requirements Not Met
The court concluded BIA did not abuse discretion in holding that petitioner failed to prove ineffective assistance of counsel of any of his three prior attorneys; thus, his motions did not meet the “exceptional circumstance” standard to merit equitable tolling. (Sembhi v. Sessions, 7/31/18)
CA8 Affirms IJ/BIA Applied Correct Legal Standard to Protected Ground Analysis for Asylum Denial
The court held that IJ/BIA correctly considered whether applicant’s social group (son of police officer) or political opinion was “one central reason” for harm, despite adverse conclusion that they were merely incidental to gang recruitment efforts. (Gomez-Rivera v. Sessions, 7/31/18)