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 Key Takeaways from 2024 EOIR Spring Conference Panel
On March 21, 2024, AILA hosted an open forum at the 2024 Spring Conference with EOIR leadership. The EOIR National Committee provides the following key takeaways.
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioner Targeted by Extortionists in Honduras
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the petitioner, who claimed she was targeted by extortionists in Honduras, had not established that she had been, and would continue to be, persecuted on account of a protected status. (Cruz v. Garland, 3/21/24)
CA1 Remands Petitioner’s Withholding Claim Where BIA Mischaracterized Her Gender-Based PSG
The court held that the BIA’s mischaracterization of the petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG)—which the court found could be restated simply as “Trinidadian women who oppose gender-based domestic violence”—was a legal error. (Ferreira v. Garland, 3/21/24)
EOIR Experiencing Intermittent Systemwide Outages
EOIR posted an alert that it has been experiencing intermittent systemwide outages and is working to resolve the issues. EOIR will issue new Notices of Hearing to anyone whose hearings were affected by these outages.
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee Meeting with EOIR (3/20/24)
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee provides the unofficial minutes and agenda from its liaison meeting with EOIR on March 20, 2024.
AILA’s ICE Committees Meets with ICE (3/20/24)
AILA’s ICE Liaison Committee met with ICE's OPLA and ERO on March 20, 2024. Read the agenda, key takeaways, and official minutes.
Practice Alert: Padilla v. ICE and Delays in Credible Fear Interviews
AILA shares an updated practice alert regarding the Padilla v. ICE settlement. This practice alert includes more detailed information on contacting class counsel regarding potential violations of the settlement in individual cases, as well as the current status of the litigation.
CA4 Finds Petitioner’s Virginia Convictions for Attempted Sexual Battery and Electronic Solicitation of a Minor Were CIMTs
The court affirmed the BIA’s determination that petitioner’s two Virginia convictions for attempted sexual battery and electronic solicitation of a minor were crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) that rendered him removable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii). (Gomez-Ruotolo v. Garland, 3/20/24)
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial After Finding No Nexus Between Petitioner’s Harm and Her Identity as a Mayan Akateko Woman
The court upheld the BIA’s and IJ’s conclusions that petitioner had failed to demonstrate a nexus between her particular social group (PSG) and the harm she experienced, and had not shown that the Guatemalan government had acquiesced in her mistreatment. (Sabastian-Andres v. Garland, 3/20/24)
Supreme Court Issues Ruling That Allows Texas to Enforce SB4
The Supreme Court denied the applications to vacate the stay of the preliminary injunction against Texas Senate Bill 4 (SB4) but later in the day, the Fifth Circuit again paused the law from going into effect. (United States v. Texas, 3/19/24)
Supreme Court Rules That Courts Have Jurisdiction to Review Hardship Determinations in Cancellation of Removal Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court held that the application of the exceptional and extremely unusual hardship standard to an established set of facts is a mixed question of law and fact that is reviewable as a question of law under INA §242(a)(2)(D). (Wilkinson v. Garland, 3/19/24)
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Guatemalan Petitioner Failed to Exhaust Imputed Membership and Race-Based Claims
The court held that the petitioner had failed to exhaust her race-based claims and her claim of imputed membership in the particular social group (PSG) consisting of “communal landowners of Ixchiguán, Guatemala, that refused to cooperate with criminal gangs.” (Chun Mendez v. Garland, 3/15/24)
CA11 Finds No Indication That BIA Applied Incorrect Legal Standard in Determining Petitioner Did Not Warrant Discretionary Relief
The court upheld the BIA’s dismissal of the petitioner’s appeal for adjustment of status and its subsequent denial of his motion to reconsider, finding that there was no indication that the BIA had applied a substantially incorrect legal standard. (Navarro Guadarrama v. Att’y Gen., 3/15/24)
CA6 Concludes That BIA Engaged in Improper De Novo Factfinding When Analyzing Petitioner’s Family-as-a-PSG Claim
The court held that the BIA’s conclusions as to the nexus required to prove asylum for the Salvadoran petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG) consisting of her family lacked support in the record and constituted improper de novo factfinding. (Vasquez-Rivera v. Garland, 3/15/24)
CA4 Holds That BIA Failed to Apply Correct Legal Standard in Finding Petitioner’s Conviction Was a Particularly Serious Crime
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that petitioner’s money laundering conspiracy conviction in violation of 18 USC §1956(h) was a particularly serious crime barring withholding of removal, and thus vacated the BIA decision and remanded. (Annor v. Garland, 3/15/24, amended 5/22/24)
ICE Announces Initial Deployment of 1,600 Body-worn Cameras
ICE announced the initial deployment of 1,600 body-worn cameras to HSI and ERO. During this phase, ICE will distribute body-worn cameras and provide specific training to ERO and HSI personnel in the Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, and Detroit areas of responsibility.
Think Immigration: A Look Inside DHS’ Family Expedited Removal Management Program
AILA Law Student Member Araceli Garcia describes how University of Texas Law students were able to help families in the expedited removal program and how the expansion of the FERM program has meant the need for counsel has only grown.
EOIR Announces Relocation of Orlando Immigration Court
EOIR announced that the Orlando Immigration Court will suspend regular court functions at its current location at the close of business on March 13, 2024, to prepare for the court’s relocation. Staff will remain onsite to accept phone calls and filings until March 15, 2024.
DHS Notice of Employment Authorization for Venezuelan F–1 Students Experiencing Severe Economic Hardship
DHS notice suspending certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Venezuela and who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the crisis in Venezuela. Action is effective 3/11/24 through 9/10/25. (89 FR 17500, 3/11/24)
OIDO Invitation to March Roundtable Discussions
The Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman will hold two roundtable discussions in March to collect feedback. On March 14, it will hold a MyOIDO feedback webinar and on March 21, it will hold a legal access webinar. Notice includes registration information.
CA2 Finds That BIA’s Retroactive Application of Its “Minimum Constitutional Protections” Test Was Appropriate
The court held that the BIA’s retroactive application of its “minimum constitutional protections” test was appropriate, and thus concluded that the petitioner had twice been convicted of crimes for removal purposes under INA §101(a)(48)(A) and INA §237(a)(2)(A)(ii). (Wong v. Garland, 3/11/24)
CA9 Remands for BIA to Properly Consider Whether Supporting Documents Independently Proved Petitioner’s Past Persecution Claim
The court held that the BIA did not properly evaluate whether the petitioner’s documentary evidence independently supported her claims of past persecution in her native Zambia on account of her sexual orientation. (Kalulu v. Garland, 3/11/24, amended 2/13/25)
CA5 Denies Rehearing En Banc in Mejia-Alvarenga v. Garland
The court denied the petition for en banc rehearing, but withdrew its previous opinion and substituted in its place a new decision that upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum as to the Salvadoran petitioner. (Mejia-Alvarenga v. Garland, 3/8/24)
CA8 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Vacating IJ’s Grant of CAT Relief as to South Sudanese Petitioner
The court held that the BIA did not err in rejecting the petitioner’s claim under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) for deferral of his removal to South Sudan, finding that the evidence was insufficient to establish a likelihood of torture. (Yar v. Garland, 3/8/24)
CA11 Grants Rehearing in Case Concerning Retroactive Application of Matter of Thomas and Matter of Thompson
The court granted the petition for rehearing and withdrew its previous opinion, which held that petitioner’s modification order did not change his term of imprisonment for purposes of federal immigration law, and thus that petitioner was an aggravated felon. (Edwards v. Att’y Gen., 3/6/24)