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
After Matter of A-B- and USCIS Guidance, Don’t Forget to Argue for CAT Protection
AILA’s Asylum and Refugee Committee provides this practice pointer featuring tips, resources, and feedback opportunities for practitioners representing asylum seekers with cases potentially impacted by the Attorney General’s opinion in Matter of A-B- along with USCIS’s implementing guidance.
AILA: U.S. Must Reunify Families, Stay Their Removal, and Provide for the Return of 400+ Parents Deported Without Their Children
AILA calls for an immediate stay of the removal and release from custody of all of the victims of this family separation strategy so the families are afforded the chance to be represented by an attorney and to file claims for relief if they are eligible.
CA7 Affirms Conviction Was CIMT and Was Not Vacated for Reasons Other than Immigration Relief
The court held BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying MTR because petitioner failed to prove that vacatur of conviction was for a substantive or procedural defect; it also upheld finding that conviction with term of “not more than one year” met CIMT standard. (Singh v. Sessions, 7/26/18)
CA8 Holds IJ Appropriately Considered and Rejected Petitioner’s Entrapment-by-Estoppel Defense to Adjustment Denial
The court upheld IJ decision that noncitizen violated federal election laws because, although state erred by sending her a voter registration card, she signed a roster certifying U.S. citizenship; thus, she was inadmissible and precluded from VAWA adjustment. (Chernosky v. Sessions, 7/26/18)
E.D. Wash. Grants Motion to Dismiss, Holds IJ Deportation Decision Void for Lack of Proper Notice Due to Deficient NTA
The court found that despite a timely delivery to hearing due to being in custody, defendant was deprived of proper notice because NTA failed to state time and date of hearing; IJ, thus, had no jurisdiction to enter deportation order. (U.S. v. Virgen-Ponce, 7/26/18)
Supporting And Funding Immigration Services Is Particularly Vital Now
Jennifer Burk, an AILA member from the Northern California Chapter, shares highlights from the recent pro bono clinic at Annual Conference and urges AILA members to get involved and leverage their expertise to help change lives.
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte for Respondent to Apply for 212(c) Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte to allow respondent to apply for waiver under former INA §212(c) in light of intervening decision in Matter of Abdelghany, 26 I&N Dec. 254 (BIA 2014). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bowen-Ellis, 7/25/18)
CA2 Finds Petitioners Made Prima Facie Showing of Egregious Constitutional Violation
The court remanded to BIA for suppression hearing, holding that petitioners raised fair questions about the existence and scope of a search warrant; whether race was a factor in search; and if there was coercion during interrogation. (Zuniga-Perez and Hernandez-Ocampo v. Sessions, 7/25/18)
H.R. 6527: FAIR Proceedings Act
On 7/25/18, Representatives McEachin (D-VA) and Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Funding Attorneys for Indigent Removal (FAIR) Proceedings Act, which would guarantee legal counsel during removal proceedings for vulnerable immigrants, including children and individuals with disabilities.
Audio from Telebriefing on Family Separation and Family Reunifications
On a press call, AILA, the American Immigration Council, the Immigration Justice Campaign, and the Dilley Pro Bono Project provided updates on what’s happening to separated parents detained in and around El Paso, Texas, and the latest from the family detention center in Dilley, Texas.
CA1 Affirms BIA/IJ Denial of Asylum for Lack of Past Persecution, Likelihood of Future Persecution
The court agreed that three incidents of harassment perpetrated by single persons, without even slight injury, do not rise to the level of past persecution or meet the grounds for objective fear of future persecution. (Martinez-Perez v. Sessions, 7/24/18)
CA9 Holds BIA Interpretation of “Crime of Child Abuse, Neglect, or Abandonment” Entitled to Chevron Deference
The court found California felony child abuse statute was categorical match to federal statute, as interpreted by BIA; thus, court agreed with CA2 (split with CA10) that BIA was entitled to Chevron deference in its reasonable interpretation. (Martinez-Cedillo v. Sessions, 7/23/18)
Former Immigration Judge Jeffrey Chase on Attorneys and Credible Fear Review
In a July 22, 2018, blog post, former IJ Jeffrey Chase discusses the application of credible fear interviews conducted by USCIS asylum officers.
Bicameral Letter to ICE on Telephone Access Policies in Detention
On 7/20/18, over 150 members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives sent a letter to ICE expressing concern that detained parents who had been separated from their children have limited telephone access and were being forced to pay exorbitant out-of-pocket fees to contact their children.
CA3 Holds Lack of Jurisdiction Over Appeal of a Nationality Determination Case
The court concluded that appeals from a §1252(b)(5)(B) case that it transferred to the district court of petitioner’s residence, as mandated by the statute, must be made in the circuit court that embraces the transferee district court, in this case CA2. (Ricketts v. Att’y Gen., 7/20/18)
CA2 Holds Ounce of Marijuana Is Small Amount Under CSA, Confirms BIA Erred in Applying Realistic Probability Test
The court held BIA erred in overturning IJ’s determination that controlled substance offense was a misdemeanor based on categorical approach; thus, petitioner was not barred from cancellation for an aggravated felony. Remanded for review of cancellation grant. (Hylton v. Sessions, 7/20/18)
BIA Reverses Denial of Motion to Change Venue from Atlanta
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeals and reverses denial of motion to change venue from Atlanta to Arlington given that respondent and her attorney lived in Virginia. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Irene, 7/19/18)
EOIR Launches Electronic Filing Pilot Program
EOIR launched an electronic filing pilot program at the San Diego Immigration Court, in the first phase of the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) initiative. The program is available on a voluntary basis and over the next few months, will expand to additional immigration courts and the BIA.
EOIR Provides Information on ECAS Electronic Filing Program
EOIR provided information on the EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) electronic filing initiative, including a timeline of the pilot program, descriptions of ECAS and its components, and ECAS-related resources for attorneys and accredited representatives who practice in immigration courts.
BIA Holds New York Third Degree Burglary Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that third degree burglary under N.Y.P.L. 140.20 is not an aggravated felony burglary offense because it prohibits breaking into places other than buildings and structures. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-K-A-, 7/18/18)
FOIA Reveals EOIR’s Immigration Court Organizational Structure Staffing Implementation Plan
AILA obtained via FOIA EOIR’s Immigration Court Organizational Structure Staffing Implementation Plan, dated July 18, 2018.
CA9 Says Petitioner’s Removal Proceedings Must Be Terminated Where Petitioner Was Arrested Based Solely on His Latino Ethnicity
The court held that because Coast Guard officers committed a Fourth Amendment violation by seizing the petitioner based on his Latino ethnicity alone, the IJ erred in failing to suppress the Form I-213. Note this decision was withdrawn on 7/18/18. (Sanchez v. Sessions, 8/30/17)
AILA Policy Brief: New USCIS Notice to Appear Guidance
AILA issued a policy brief explaining the June 28, 2018, USCIS NTA guidance and the harsh impact it will have on workers, students, families, and other affected populations. In addition, the brief details the operational and procedural issues that make this new NTA policy unacceptable.
CA9 Holds CIMT Not Void for Vagueness
The court remains bound by precedent that CIMT not void for vagueness, despite interpretations of residual clauses of “crime of violence” as vague; holds Boutilier does not foreclose analysis on void-for-vagueness claims in immigration context. (Martinez-de Ryan v. Sessions, 7/17/18)
W.D. Wash. Grants Summary Judgment for Noncitizen’s APA Claim, Reinstates LPR Status Until Removal Proceedings Are Complete
The court held that revocation of green card/LPR status as void ab initio outside of INA’s five-year rescission period without a hearing was a due process violation and an agency action “not in accordance with law”; ordered status reinstated until hearing complete. (Lai v. U.S., 7/17/18)