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
EOIR Fact Sheet: An Agency Guide
EOIR provides a fact sheet with an agency overview as well as a list of common forms of protection and relief from removal.
When Law Professors Attack: Four False Assumptions in the WSJ Op-Ed
Apparently, it is now fashionable to blame immigration lawyers for the ills of the U.S. immigration system. It started in October when Attorney General Jeff Sessions, railed against the “dirty immigration lawyers,“ baselessly charging that they are exploiting loopholes (also known as “the law&
DHS OIG Report on USCIS Award of Family Case Management Program Contract
DHS OIG released a report on USCIS’s Award of the Family Case Management Program (FCMP) Contract to GEO Care, LLC, a subsidiary of the GEO Group, Inc, which determined ICE properly awarded FCMP contracts in compliance with federal requirements. (OIG-18-22, 11/30/17)
NIJC Report: "What Kind Of Miracle ..." Violation Of Immigrants’ Right To Counsel at Cibola
The National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) released a report entitled “What Kind of Miracle” documenting the wretched history and due process failings at the 1,100-bed Cibola County Correctional Facility in New Mexico.
EOIR Extension of Comment Request Period on Revisions to Form EOIR-29
EOIR notice extending the comment period on revisions to Form EOIR-29, Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from a Decision of a DHS Officer, for 30 days. The comment period was previously announced at 82 FR 45304 on 9/28/17. Comments are now due 1/2/18. (82 FR 56845, 11/30/17)
ICE Memo on ERO Support of the EOIR’s Legal Orientation Program
The Washington Post obtained an ICE memo with guidance on best practices in support of EOIR’s Legal Orientation Program (LOP), stating that LOP attendees “… complete their cases faster than detainees who have not received LOP” and includes a list of the 37 ICE facilities where LOP operates.
BIA Holds New Jersey “Disorderly Persons Offenses” Are Not Convictions Under the INA
Unpublished BIA decision holds that New Jersey shoplifting convictions prosecuted as “disorderly persons offenses” did not qualify as convictions for immigration purposes. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Flores, 11/29/17)
CA4 Denies Petition for Review of Removal Order Where Petitioner Entered Under Visa Waiver Program
The court denied the petition for review, holding that where evidence establishes a visitor was properly admitted under the Visa Waiver Program, the court may presume that the government obtained the entrant’s waiver to challenge any subsequent removal order. (Nardea v. Sessions, 11/29/17)
AILA Insight: Looking Forward: DACA Legislation Heading Into 2018
AILA member Sarah Pitney compares potential Dreamer legislation.
AILA Quicktake #225: Dream Act Updates
As Congress looks to fund the government past December 8, 2017, AILA Director of Government Relations Greg Chen explains how the Dream Act fits in.
CA9 Affirms Denial of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection
The court denied the petition for review, finding that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s denial of the petitioner’s claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. (Manes v. Sessions, 11/27/17)
BIA Vacates IJ’s Order of Administrative Closure
Unpublished BIA decision vacates the IJ’s order of administrative closure of the removal proceedings of the respondent, an unaccompanied child. The IJ had questioned the reliability of the respondent’s address as provided by ORR. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Castro-Tum, 11/27/17)
BIA Holds That Driving with Suspended License for DUI Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that driving with a license that was suspended or revoked for driving under the influence under Calif. Vehic. Code 14601.2(a) is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of N-M-H-V-, 11/22/17)
CA7 Finds That Petitioner’s Violation of a Restraining Order Makes Her Ineligible for Cancellation of Removal
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the state court’s determination that the petitioner violated the avoidance-of-residence provision of a restraining order made her ineligible for cancellation of removal under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(ii). (Rodriguez v. Sessions, 11/22/17)
CA10 Holds Pretrial Release May Not Be Denied Solely Because Defendant Is Subject to an ICE Detainer
Where the defendant was facing federal prosecution for illegal reentry and was also the subject of an ICE detainer, the court held that he could not be denied pretrial release solely due to the risk that ICE would remove him before his criminal trial. (U.S. v. Ailon-Ailon, 11/22/17)
AIM: Fighting for Detained Clients Pro Bono
In November's AILA Interview of the Month, Jim Merklinger, Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of the Association of Corporate Counsel, shares how he volunteered and successfully represented a detained client.
Sign-On Letter Requesting Investigation of Georgia Immigration Detention Centers
On 11/21/17, AILA joined immigrants’ rights, human rights, and civil rights organizations in a letter requesting that the Georgia congressional delegation investigate the conditions at the Stewart and Irwin County immigration detention centers in Georgia.
Senators Urge Senate Majority Leader to Bring Dream Act to the Senate Floor
On 11/21/17, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) along with ten senators urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to bring the bipartisan Dream Act (S. 1615) to the Senate floor for consideration before the holidays.
BIA Holds Georgia Theft by Shoplifting Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that theft by shoplifting under Georgia Code Ann. 16-8-14 is not a CIMT because it does not require the owner’s property rights to be permanently or substantially eroded. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-J-C-, 11/20/17)
BIA Holds New York Second Degree Burglary Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that second-degree burglary under N.Y.P.L. 140.25(2) is not an aggravated felony burglary offense because it does not require an unlawful entry. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of G-A-A-M-, 11/17/17)
BIA Finds IJs Violated Due Process Rights of Pro Se Asylum Seeker
Unpublished BIA decision finds pro se asylum seeker was denied fair hearing where IJ scheduled merits hearing two weeks after submission of application and denied continuance for additional time to secure counsel and corroborating evidence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-C-Q-, 11/17/17)
CA9 Finds Petitioner’s Conviction for Felony Hit and Run in California to be a CIMT
The court denied the petition for review, applying the modified categorical approach to conclude that the petitioner’s conviction for felony hit and run under California Vehicle Code §20001(a) was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Conejo-Bravo v. Sessions, 11/17/17)
District Court Issues Preliminary Injunction in Favor of Asylum Seekers at Buffalo Federal Detention Center
A district court issued a preliminary injunction requiring the Buffalo Federal Detention Center to comply with a 2009 ICE directive on evaluating parole requests for asylum seekers and to provide asylum seekers detained for six months or more with bond hearings. (Abdi v. Duke, 11/17/17)
Preview of Free On-Demand Webinar on Bond Hearings
The AILA/American Immigration Council’s Immigration Justice Campaign and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN) have produced a bond hearings webinar that is designed particularly for attorneys who are new to these proceedings.
BIA Says Whether Violation of a Protection Order Renders a Noncitizen Removable Is Not Governed by the Categorical Approach
The BIA held that in considering whether a violation of a protection order renders a noncitizen removable, an IJ should consider the probative and reliable evidence regarding what a state court has determined about the violation. Matter of Obshatko, 27 I&N Dec. 173 (BIA 2017)