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
AILA DOS Liaison Q&As (4/12/18)
DOS responses to AILA/DOS liaison Q&As from a 4/12/18 meeting, addressing topics such as: Blanket Ls, visa revocations, the National Vetting Center, visa validity, administrative processing, TCN processing, affidavits of support, misrepresentations, CIMT and treatment of UK cautions, and more.
AILA ICE Liaison Committee Meeting Q&As (4/12/18)
Official Q&As from the 4/12/18 AILA liaison meeting with ICE. Topics include information on staffing and organizational updates, family separation, DACA, withholding of removal/travel documents, arrests at courthouses, gang membership, ISAP, detention, U visas, and post order issues.
BIA Reopens and Terminates Proceedings Following Adjustment of Status
Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates proceedings following adjustment from U nonimmigrant to LPR status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez, 4/12/18)
DOJ Cuts Immigrants’ Access to Counsel in Latest Attack on Due Process
AILA and the American Immigration Council responded to the recent news that DOJ was halting the Legal Orientation Program despite the program’s success and congressional directives to maintain it.
Sign-On Letter Urging ICE to Discontinue Policy of Detaining Pregnant Individuals
On 4/11/18, AILA joined over 275 organizations in urging ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan to discontinue its policy of detaining pregnant individuals, who should be able to access the critical healthcare services they need, and instead release them to continue their cases outside of detention.
BIA Terminates Proceedings Following Grant of U Visa
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeal and terminates proceedings following grant of respondent’s U visa application. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kumar, 4/11/18)
Documents Related to Lawsuit Challenging ICE Efforts to Detain and Remove Certain People Pursuing Provisional Waivers
Plaintiffs filed a class action suit in federal district court on behalf of certain U.S. citizens and their spouses with final orders of removal pursuing the provisional waiver process, challenging ICE efforts to detain and remove noncitizens in this situation. (Calderon v. Nielsen, 4/10/18)
ICE Announces MOU with Nicaragua as Participating Partner in eTD System
ICE announced that Nicaragua signed a MOU, which established Nicaragua as a partner in the ICE/ERO electronic Travel Document (eTD) system. The eTD system electronically provides biographic and biometric information for determining citizenship and obtaining travel documents for detained individuals.
CRS Report with an Overview of Discretionary Reprieves from Removal
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on discretionary reprieves from removal, discussing the primary sources of authority and describes, in general, the nature of the protections that they confer. The report includes a glossary of the principal types of discretionary reprieves.
CA9 Holds That BIA Erred by Retroactively Applying Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga to Petitioner
The court granted the petition for review and remanded the case to the BIA, holding that the BIA erred in applying Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga retroactively to the petitioner. (Garcia-Martinez v. Sessions, 4/9/18)
CA3 Holds Possession of Child Pornography Under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §6312(d) Is a CIMT
The court denied the petition for review, applying the categorical approach to hold that the petitioner’s Pennsylvania conviction for possession of child pornography under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §6312(d) was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Moreno v. Attorney General, 4/9/18)
BIA Applies Matter of Pickering on a Nationwide Basis
The BIA sustained the respondent’s appeal, reaffirming Matter of Pickering, regarding the validity of vacated convictions for immigration purposes, and the decision is modified to give it nationwide application. Matter of Marquez Conde, 27 I&N Dec. 251 (BIA 2018)
Department of the Treasury Notice on Immigration Bond Interest Rates
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 4/1/18 and ending 6/30/18, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 1.59 per centum per annum. (83 FR 14955, 4/6/18)
2018 National Day of Action Booklet
AILA encourages members to share this booklet with their representatives during AILA's National Day of Action in Washington, D.C, on April 12, 2018. AILA calls upon Congress and the president to overcome partisan difference and enact laws that update our legal immigration system.
Resources for Responding to Large-Scale Enforcement Actions and Raids
This page includes a variety of resources to assist members in responding to large-scale enforcement actions and raids, and representing individual clients who were subjected to a raid.
BIA Reopens Proceedings After Filing of U Visa Petition
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings in light of the filing of the respondent’s petition for U nonimmigrant status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Valentin, 4/6/18)
CA8 Upholds Denial of I-751 Petition
The court denied the petition for review, holding that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s and the BIA’s findings that DHS met its burden to show that the petitioner and her late husband did not intend to establish a shared life at the time of their marriage. (Sagoe v. Sessions, 4/5/18)
Senate Democrats Urge ICE to Reinstate Presumptive Release for Pregnant Women
On 4/5/18, eight Senate Democrats wrote a letter to Thomas Homan, ICE Acting Director, opposing the policy that ended presumptive release for pregnant women in immigration detention. The letter mentions the demonstrated lack of capacity to provide sufficient support for pregnant detainees.
Sign-On Letter Requesting Transparency and Accountability for Immigration Detention
On 4/5/18, AILA joined nine organizations in a letter to Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Thomas Homan, Acting Director of ICE, requesting that they bear accountability for the ongoing mismanagement of the detention system and comply with the limitations on agency spending.
Southern Poverty Law Center Files Suit Challenging Lack of Access to Counsel in Immigration Detention Centers
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging immigration detainees’ lack of access to counsel in the LaSalle, Irwin, and Stewart detention centers. (SPLC v. DHS, 4/4/18)
KIND Opposes New Case Completion Quotas for Immigration Judges
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) issued a statement, opposing the new metrics for immigration judges linking their annual performance reviews to the number of cases they complete in a fiscal year, highlighting grave consequences for due process for children fleeing violence and abuse.
Retired Immigration Judge and Former Chairman of the BIA Responds to Implementation of Production Quotas
Retired Immigration Judge and former Chairman of the BIA posted a blog post in response to the news that immigration judges will be subject to quotas as part of their performance evaluations, stating that it is “toxic” and will “compromise due process in the immigration court system.”
DOJ Strips Immigration Courts of Independence
In a joint statement, AILA and the American Immigration Council responded to the imposition of strict quotas as part of immigration judges’ performance evaluations, a shift that strips away the independence held by judges who are making high stakes decisions about whether a person will be deported.
CA8 Denies Petition for Review of Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Survivor of Gender-Based Violence
The court denied the petition for review of the denial of asylum, finding that the harm inflicted on the petitioner by her husband and by a neighbor did not rise to the level of persecution and that she failed to establish a fear of future persecution. (Lopez v. Sessions, 4/3/18)
NAIJ “Strenuously Opposes” Proposed Quotas and Completion Deadlines Announced by DOJ
Federal immigration judges, represented by the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), expressed shock and dismay at EOIR’s announcement that it intends to implement production quotas and case completion deadlines to Immigration Judge performance evaluations.