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 Expands LOP to Three Additional Detention Sites
EOIR announced the expansion of the Office of Legal Access Programs’ Legal Orientation Program (LOP) to three additional detention sites: Irwin County Detention Center, Polk County Detention Center (IAH Secure), and Rolling Plains Detention Center. There are now 41 LOP sites.
CA3 Says 18 USC §16(b)’s Definition of “Crime of Violence” Is Unconstitutionally Vague
Applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, the court held that the definition of a “crime of violence” provided in 18 USC §16(b) is void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. (Baptiste v. Att'y Gen., 11/8/16)
EOIR Swears in Five Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of five new immigration judges. After a thorough application process, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Kerri A. Calcador, Randall Wilson Duncan, Rico M. Sogocio, Karen M. Donoso Stevens, and Dean S. Tuckman to their new positions.
BIA Says Florida Conviction for Possession with Intent to Sell Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision finds that the respondent’s Florida conviction for possession with intent to sell a controlled substance does not constitute an “illicit trafficking” offense and thus is not a conviction for an aggravated felony. Courtesy of Patricia Cooper. (Matter of –, 11/8/16)
Minutes from AILA/CBP Field Operations Liaison Meeting (11/4/16)
AILA’s CBP Office of Field Operations (OFO) Liaison Committee provides unofficial minutes from a meeting with CBP OFO on 11/4/16. Topics include: EVUS, new I-94 website, TN/L-1 checklists, returning residents, ARO issues, unlawful presence, visa/I-94 revalidation, and transgender admissions.
CA8 Finds Petitioner Admitted as Refugee Not Entitled to Presumption of Well-Founded Fear of Persecution
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s CAT claim, holding that the Haitian petitioner, who was originally admitted as a refugee, was not entitled to the presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution upon his return to Haiti. (Martine v. Lynch, 11/2/16)
CA2 Says ESTA Record Is Sufficient to Establish Waiver
The court held that an Electronic System for Travel Authorization record is sufficient evidence of waiver, and that petitioner waived his right to a hearing by submitting an ESTA application and entering the United States pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program. (Vasconcelos v. Lynch, 11/2/16)
EOIR FAQs on the Internet Immigration Information (I3)
EOIR FAQs, updated in November 2016, on the Internet Immigration Information (I3) suite of products, which includes EOIR’s electronic registry for attorneys and fully accredited representatives (eRegistry), electronic filing (eFiling), and electronic case information applications (eInfo).
AILA/USCIS Field Operations Directorate Liaison Q&As (11/1/16)
Official Q&As from the 11/1/16 AILA liaison meeting with USCIS Field Operations. Topics include staffing, processing times, interview-waiver cases, SIJ centralization, online filing of N-400s, field office SOPs, I-212s, advance parole adjudication, EB-5 processing times and follow up, and more.
BIA Says Fraud Waiver Cannot Waive Removability for CIMT Conviction Based on Underlying Fraud
The BIA held that a fraud waiver under INA §237(a)(1)(H) cannot waive a noncitizen’s removability under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i) for having been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, even if the conviction is based on the underlying fraud. Matter of Tima, 26 I&N Dec. 839 (BIA 2016)
Shadow Prisons: Immigrant Detention in the South
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and the Adelante Alabama Worker Center provides a report based on 300 in-person interviews with detainees that focuses on detention centers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana.
BIA Grants Exception to One-Year Deadline Based on Timing of Initial Master Calendar Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent qualified for extraordinary circumstances exception due to hearing timing and that the proposed particular social group of "Salvadoran women unable to leave a domestic relationship" is cognizable. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-V-C-, 11/1/16)
AILA/USCIS HQ Meeting Questions and Answers (11/1/16)
Official questions and answers from the 11/1/16 AILA liaison meeting with USCIS HQ. Topics include processing times, deferred action, EADs for individuals under OSUP, I-140 date of degrees, signature requirements, G-28 recognition, STEM OPT extensions, refugee and asylum issues, and more.
BIA Dismisses Charges From Hawaii Sexual Assault Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision holds that sexual assault in the third degree under Haw. Rev. Stat. 707-732(1)(b) is neither a CIMT nor sexual abuse of a minor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Nuezca, 10/31/16)
CA1 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Petitioner’s Good-Faith-Marriage Waiver Application
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that, in light of the petitioner’s misrepresentations to advance her application for a good-faith-marriage waiver, the evidence was insufficient to establish that she had entered into a good-faith marriage. (Quezada-Caraballo v. Lynch, 10/31/16)
Letter From Former Immigration Judges and BIA Members to DHS on Immigration Detention System
On 10/31/16, former Immigration Judges and BIA members sent a letter to DHS Secretary Johnson to express concern and disappointment on the dramatic increase of men, women, and children detained by ICE, stating that the expansion is coming at the expense of basic rights and due process.
Sign-On Letter to DHS Secretary Johnson Condemning the Escalating Detention Rates
On 10/31/16, AILA joined 230 organizations in condemning DHS’ record-level immigration detention rates, as well as ICE contract renewal with a private prison company for a family detention center. The group requested a meeting with DHS Secretary Johnson to discuss these concerns and recommendations.
American Immigration Council: The Three- and Ten-Year Bars
The American Immigration Council provides a fact sheet on the three- and ten-year bars and how recent regulatory changes have broadened the number of people eligible for a provisional waiver that allows them to apply for advance approval of the waiver in the United States.
District Court Says Government Bears Burden of Proving That Continued Mandatory Detention Is Necessary
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied the government’s Motion to Alter or Amend the Judgment, and reaffirmed that due process requires the government to bear the burden of justifying the petitioner’s continued detention. (Haughton v. Crawford, et al., 10/28/16)
CA3 Remands Bulgarian Roma Asylum Claim, Holding That the Agency Proceedings Went “Awry”
In a nonprecedent decision, the court found that the entire administrative proceedings went “awry” where the BIA demanded the asylum applicant produce an expert witness to establish his Roma ethnicity or face a denial of the claim. Courtesy of Raymond Lahoud. (Ayvazov v. Att’y Gen., 10/27/16)
USCIS Provides Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Statistics from Family Detention Facilities
USCIS provided credible fear and reasonable fear statistics from four family detention facilities (Artesia, Berks, Dilley, and Karnes). Includes information on number of receipts, interviews conducted, whether fear was established, and fear found rate for FY2014 through FY2016.
CA4 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Chinese Petitioner Who Attended “Underground” Catholic Church
The court concluded that petitioner failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution, finding that the accounts in the DOS reports he submitted substantially supported BIA’s finding of a lack of widespread persecution of unregistered Catholic churches in China. (Tang v. Lynch, 10/26/16)
AILA Notes from SCOPS Teleconference (10/26/16)
AILA notes from a teleconference with SCOPS on 10/26/16. Topics include E-3 petition processing times, delays in processing times for H-1s, L-1s, and NIWs, DACA renewal cases, ELIS approval notice format, clarification on LCA checkboxes and H-1 categorization, and physical therapist credentialing.
Immigration Policy Update: Major Shift in Migration to America’s Southern Border
AILA issued an immigration policy update to provide information on ICE’s enforcement data that reflects a decreased of apprehensions in FY2016, roughly one-third of what they were 15 years ago, as well as context on the major factors that contribute to the shift.
CA9 Says Noncitizen Issued an Expedited Removal Order at Border-Crossing Checkpoint Has “Re-Entered” Under INA §241(a)(5)
The court held that when a noncitizen is issued an expedited removal order at a U.S. border-crossing checkpoint, that noncitizen has entered the United States for the purpose of the INA’s reinstatement provision’s “reentry” requirement. (Tellez v. Lynch, 10/24/16)