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
BIA Questions Whether $50 Payment Qualifies as “Material” Support
Unpublished BIA decision remands for consideration of whether giving $50 to Al-Shabaab qualified as “material” support for terrorism, instructing IJ to consider whether it had some effect on the organization’s ability to accomplish goals. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-I-Y-, 5/18/17)
CA6 Finds BIA Properly Found Petitioners Ineligible to Adjustment
The court denied the petition for review of the BIA’s affirmation of the IJ’s finding that the petitioners were ineligible for adjustment and upheld the BIA’s interpretation of “previously filed” application for adjustment of status. (Gazeli v. Sessions, 5/18/17)
BIA Says Respondent Must Prove Grounds for Mandatory Denial of Relief Do Not Apply
The BIA upheld the Immigration Judge’s adverse credibility finding and affirmed the determination that the respondent has not established eligibility for a waiver of deportability under INA §237(a)(1)(H) or for asylum or withholding of removal. Matter of M-B-C-, 27 I&N Dec. 31 (BIA 2017)
ICE ERO Announces Immigration Arrests Climbed Nearly 40 Percent Compared to 2016
ICE announced that between 1/22/17 and 4/29/17, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) deportation officers administratively arrested 41,318 individuals on civil immigration charges. Between that same time period in 2016, ERO arrested 30,028 individuals.
AILA Quicktake #203: Legislation in House Judiciary Committee
AILA's Director of Government Relations Greg Chen provides updates on three enforcement-only bills being marked up in the House Judiciary Committee on 5/18/17 and how these will undermine public safety.
AILA Statement to House Judiciary Committee on Markup of H.R. 2406, H.R. 2407, and H.R. 2431
On 5/17/17, AILA submitted the following statement opposing three immigration related bills (H.R. 2407, H.R. 2406, and H.R. 2431) scheduled for markup on 5/18/17 before the House Judiciary Committee. These bills would constitute an unprecedented expansion of the immigration enforcement.
AILA Urges House Committee to Move Away from Cruel, Costly, and Ineffective “Enforcement-Only” Immigration Legislation
AILA President Bill Stock urges the House Judiciary Committee to move away from cruel, costly, and ineffective “enforcement-only” immigration reform that completely misses the mark “on the kind of reform our country needs in order to build a 21st century immigration system that benefits us all.”
Sign-On Letter Calling on Members of Congress to Oppose H.R. 2213 and S. 595
On 5/17/17, AILA joined 67 organizations in urging members of Congress to oppose the Anti-Border Corruption Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2213) and the Senate Boots on the Border Act (S.595).
BIA Finds IJ Improperly Acted as Advocate During Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision finds that IJ impermissibly acted as an advocate rather than an impartial adjudicatory by sua sponte calling two of respondent’s relatives to testify and attempting to discredit their testimony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of M-J-R-, 5/17/17)
BIA Finds California Identity Theft Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that identity theft under Cal. Penal Code 530.5(a) is not a CIMT under Linares-Gonzalez v. Lynch 823 F.3d 508 (9th Cir. 2016). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Nguyen, 5/16/17)
BIA Holds Arizona Aggravated DUI Not CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that aggravated driving under the influence under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 28-1383(A)(1) is not a CIMT because statute applies to mere exercise of physical control over a vehicle. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rosas-Hernandez, 5/16/17)
BIA Finds Arizona Statute Not a Firearms Offense
Unpublished BIA decision holds that misconduct involving weapons under Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-3102(a)(1) is not a removable offense under INA §237(a)(2)(C) because it encompasses weapons other than firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Montes de Oca, 5/15/17)
Despite Hiring, Immigration Court Backlog and Wait Times Climb
TRAC found that despite an influx of new judges over the last 18 months, the Immigration Court’s mountainous backlog continues to rise. According to information obtained under the FOIA by TRAC, some individuals will have been waiting more than five additional years for their hearing date.
CA7 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Petitioner's Challenges to Expedited Removal Process and 8 CFR §1208.31(g)(2)(i)
The court dismissed the petition for review in part and denied the remainder, holding that it had no jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s challenges to the expedited removal process or his challenge to 8 CFR §1208.31(g)(2)(i). (Delgado-Arteaga v. Sessions, 3/23/17, amended 5/12/17)
BIA Finds Child Endangerment Statute Not a Crime of Child Abuse
Unpublished BIA decision holds that endangering the welfare of a child under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. 4304(a)(1) is not a crime of child abuse because it does not require a knowing mental state or a likelihood of harm to a child. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gutierrez, 5/12/17)
BIA Remands Record Due to Lack of Mam Interpreter
Unpublished BIA decision remands record because Mam-speaking respondent did not understand proceedings conducted through a Spanish interpreter. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ambrosio-Domingo, 5/12/17)
BIA Affirms Finding that Public Lewdness Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision denies DHS motion to reconsider prior decision holding that public lewdness under NYPL 245.00 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kaminski, 5/11/17)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Against Respondent Who Provided Relative’s Address
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order stating that respondent did not waive his right to notice of the hearing by listing the address of an uncle with whom he was not residing. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mata-Siciliano, 5/11/17)
AILA Members’ LTE Template on Large-Scale Enforcement Actions and Raids
We encourage AILA members to personalize and use this template Letter to the Editor as a starting point when writing a response to an article in your local outlet about large-scale enforcement actions and raids. Please email newsroom@aila.org with any questions or to share your success.
BIA Holds Texas Statute Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision holds that injury to a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual under Texas Penal Code 22.04(a) is not a crime of violence because it criminalizes omissions rather than intentional uses of force. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of J-K-O-, 5/10/17)
TRAC Files FOIA Suit Claiming ICE Is Withholding Data on Detainer Usage
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) alleging that, starting in January 2017, ICE began unlawfully withholding records related to its immigration enforcement actions and its interaction with other law enforcement agencies.
The Perils of Expedited Removal: How Fast-Tracked Deportations Jeopardize Asylum Seekers
The American Immigration Council released a report with original testimony to demonstrate that the government’s reliance on “fast-track” deportation methods, such as expedited removal, in conjunction with detention often results in disadvantaging women and their children held in detention centers.
CA3 Says South Carolina Accessory-After-the-Fact Conviction Is Not a “Particularly Serious Crime” Under the INA
The court held that the petitioner’s South Carolina accessory-after-the-fact conviction was not an offense “relating to obstruction of justice” and therefore could not be considered either an aggravated felony or a particularly serious crime under the INA. (Flores v. Att’y Gen., 5/8/17)
Systemic Indifference: Dangerous and Substandard Medical Care in Immigration Detention
The Human Rights Watch released a report that reveals systemic failures, such as unreasonable delays in care and unqualified medical staff, that are likely to expose a record number of people to dangerous conditions under President Trump’s ramped up deportation and detention plans.
Sign-On Letter Calling on DHS Secretary Kelly to Halt the Expansion of Immigration Detention
On 5/8/17, AILA joined 271 other organizations, urging DHS Secretary John Kelly to halt the expansion of immigration detention and to strengthen rather than lessen standards and monitoring of a system that already endangers the lives and due process rights of asylum seekers and immigrants.