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 Finds Virginia Drug Schedules Overbroad Under Categorical Approach
Unpublished BIA decision holds that Virginia drug schedules are overbroad under categorical approach because they contain substances not listed on the federal schedule, and remands to consider whether statutes are divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lee, 9/30/16)
Resources on Class Action Lawsuit on Behalf of Immigrant Detainees with Mental Disabilities
Resources related to Franco-Gonzalez v. Holder, the class action lawsuit brought on behalf of immigrant detainees with mental disabilities.
BIA Holds That Respondent’s Convictions for Retail Theft and Unsworn Falsification to Authorities in Pennsylvania Are CIMTs
The BIA held that the respondent’s convictions for retail theft and unsworn falsification to authorities in Pennsylvania were crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs) that rendered him inadmissible under INA §212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). Matter of Jurado, 24 I&N Dec. 29 (BIA 2006)
AILA Notes from SCOPS Teleconference (9/28/16)
AILA notes from a teleconference with SCOPS on 9/28/16. Topics include premium processing cases, EAD renewals, DACA approval notices, the refugee admissions program and P-2 direct access for I-130 beneficiaries, and I-130 step-child petition RFEs.
American Immigration Council Special Report: Access to Counsel in Immigration Court
The American Immigration Council issued a special report that presents the results of the first national study of access to counsel in U.S. immigration courts with data from over 1.2 million deportation cases decided between 2007 and 2012.
BIA Clarifies Two Prior Decisions in Matter of Chairez
The BIA held that because the Utah statute under which respondent was convicted was not divisible as to the mens rea necessary for the offense to be a crime of violence, respondent was not removable as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony. Matter of Chairez, 26 I&N Dec. 819 (BIA 2016)
Senate Democrats Urge DHS To Release Children and Mothers in Detention
On 9/27/16, a group of senators urged DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson to release families that have been detained for prolonged periods at Berks County Residential Center in Pennsylvania, unless there is compelling evidence that they pose a specific public safety or flight risk.
Senators Call on DHS to Ensure Proper Review Process of Private Immigration Detention
On 9/26/16, twelve U.S. senators urged DHS Secretary Johnson to ensure that the review process of DHS’s use of private immigration detention centers be transparent and include input from outside experts. The senators also shared their concerns of the inadequate conditions of detention facilities.
AILA Comments on EOIR Proposed Rule Establishing Procedures for Motions to Reopen Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claims
AILA’s comments submitted on 9/26/16 in response to the DOJ notice of proposed rulemaking to amend EOIR regulations to establish procedures for the filing and adjudication of motions to reopen removal, deportation, and exclusion proceedings based upon a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
EOIR Swears in 15 Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 15 new immigration judges. Attorney General Loretta Lynch appointed judges for courts in California, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Utah, and Oregon.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order In Light of Economic Difficulties
Unpublished BIA decision finds failure to appear was the result of exceptional circumstances where respondent had lost his job, his home was in foreclosure, and his wife was experiencing health problems. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Herrera Huerta, 9/26/16)
BIA Says Federal Conviction for Criminal Copyright Infringement Is a CIMT
The BIA held that an offense of criminal copyright infringement in violation of 17 USC §506(a)(1)(A) and 18 USC §2319(b)(1) is a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of Zaragoza-Vaquero, 26 I&N Dec. 814 (BIA 2016)
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination and Denial of Asylum to Haitian Petitioner
The court upheld the denial of the Haitian petitioner’s asylum claim, finding that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s finding that the petitioner’s testimony was not credible. (Legal v. Lynch, 9/23/16)
USCIS Message: How to Inquire About Your DACA Renewal Request
USCIS message stating that it makes every effort to adjudicate DACA renewal requests within 120 days, and outlining several ways to inquire about DACA renewal requests pending for more than 105 days.
Statement by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson on Directive to Resume Regular Removals to Haiti
Statement by DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson regarding his directive on 9/21/16 that, effective immediately, immigration enforcement decisions with respect to Haitian nationals should be consistent with standard practice. Haitian nationals currently covered by TPS are unaffected by this change in policy.
AILA: Government’s Plan to Resume Haitian Removals Could Endanger Asylum Seekers and Vulnerable Immigrants
AILA expressed serious concerns about the decision by DHS and ICE to resume regular deportations of Haitians; AILA President Bill Stock noted that “the decision to recommence removals to Haiti is impossible to reconcile with recent official recognition of the ongoing humanitarian crisis there.”
CA11 Says Florida Conviction for Abuse of an Elderly Person or Disabled Adult Is Categorically a CIMT
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for abuse of an elderly person or disabled adult in Florida categorically qualified as a crime involving moral turpitude, and thus upheld the finding that petitioner was ineligible for relief from removal. (Gelin v. Att'y Gen., 9/22/16)
ICE Statement to House Judiciary Committee on Oversight of ICE
Statement of ICE Director Sarah Saldaña for a hearing on oversight of ICE before the House Committee on the Judiciary, including information on ICE use of private detention facilities.
CA9 Finds Petitioner Who Supported Alleged Terrorist Organization Is Eligible for Withholding of Removal
The court reversed the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal to the Indonesian petitioner, concluding that substantial evidence did not support its determination that the organization petitioner supported, Jemaah Muslim Attaqwa, engaged in terrorist activities. (Budiono v. Lynch, 9/21/16)
EOIR Announces New Chief Immigration Judge
EOIR announced that Attorney General Loretta Lynch has appointed MaryBeth Keller to the position of chief immigration judge. In this capacity, Judge Keller is responsible for overseeing the administration of EOIR’s 58 immigration courts across the United States.
CA3 Says It Has Jurisdiction to Review Petition Where BIA Reissued Decisions and Orders
The court held that because the BIA's reissued decisions and orders did not alter the challenged decisions and orders, it had jurisdiction over the petition to review. On the merits, the court upheld the denial of the petitioners’ asylum applications. (Ordonez-Tevalan v. Att’y Gen., 6/23/16)
BIA Remands Record Due to Delay in Forwarding Record on Appeal
Unpublished BIA decision remands the record due to the passage of time where the respondent was ordered removed in 1987 but the record on appeal was only recently received. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gonzalez-Lopez, 9/21/16)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Deliberately and Voluntarily Used a Fraudulent Japanese Passport to Gain Entry into U.S.
The court upheld the determinations of two IJs and the BIA that the petitioner, a native and citizen of China who misrepresented himself as a Japanese citizen and national, was removable because he had procured an immigration benefit through willful misrepresentation. (Li v. Lynch, 9/20/16)
White House Fact Sheet on the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees
The White House released a fact sheet on the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees hosted on 9/20/16 in New York by President Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as well as leaders from Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Jordan, Mexico, and Sweden.
CA9 Finds District Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Consider Right-to-Counsel Claims Brought by Unaccompanied Minors
In a class action brought by unaccompanied minors alleging that they have due process and statutory rights to appointed counsel in immigration proceedings, the court found no jurisdiction to consider the minors’ constitutional and statutory claims. (J.E. F.M. v. Lynch, 9/20/16)