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/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Unpublished BIA decision holds that sexual assault in the third degree under Haw.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)
AILA and the American Immigration Council File Amicus Brief in Jennings v. Rodriguez
AILA and the American Immigration Council filed an amicus brief in Jennings v. Rodriguez, urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that certain immigrants are entitled to automatic bond hearings following six months of detention. (Jennings v. Rodriguez, 10/24/16)
CA1 Finds BIA Acted Within Its Discretion in Denying Ugandan Petitioner’s Motion to Reopen
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the BIA supportably found that the petitioner failed to introduce new, previously unavailable, material evidence in connection with his motion to reopen. (Bbale v. Lynch, 10/24/16)
CA5 Says Conviction for Possession with Intent to Deliver More Than 10 Pounds of Marijuana Is Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner’s Arkansas conviction for recklessly possessing with the intent to deliver at least 10 pounds of marijuana for remuneration constituted an aggravated felony rendering him ineligible for relief from removal. (Flores-Larrazola v. Lynch, 10/24/16)
BIA Grants Joint Motion to Reopen to Pursue Provisional Waiver
Unpublished BIA decision grants joint motion to reopen and administratively close proceedings to let respondent pursue provisional unlawful presence waiver (Form I-601A). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Sapon-Ordonez, 10/24/16)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Colombian Petitioner’s Untimely Motion to Reopen
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the Colombian petitioner’s untimely motion to reopen her removal proceedings, finding that the petitioner had failed to establish an exception to the time limitations on motions to reopen. (Giraldo-Pabon v. Lynch, 10/21/16)
CA11 Says Theft by Taking in Georgia Is Not an Aggravated Felony
The court held that petitioner’s conviction for theft by taking in violation of Georgia law was not an aggravated felony theft offense under the INA, because the offense does not contain the without consent element required for the generic definition of theft. (Vassell v. Att'y Gen., 6/13/16)
Shining a Light on Domestic Violence to Assist Immigrant Victims
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is intended to shine a light on the human right to be free from violence, ensure that all victims of domestic violence know they are not alone, and foster supportive communities that help survivors seek justice. In the United States, twenty people
CA9 Finds BIA’s Decision Not to Reopen Sua Sponte Was Based on Legally Erroneous Premise
The court granted in part the petition for review, holding that BIA based its decision not to reopen proceedings sua sponte on an erroneous understanding of the relationship between prior deportation, reopening of proceedings, and INA §212(c) relief eligibility. (Bonilla v. Lynch, 7/12/16)
CA6 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Citizen of Zimbabwe Based on Adverse Credibility Determination
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum to petitioner, a citizen of Zimbabwe, finding that important factual inconsistencies between the petitioner’s asylum application and her testimony supported an adverse credibility determination. (Marikasi v. Lynch, 10/20/16)
CA9 Upholds BIA’s Interpretation of INA §240A(b) as Reasonable
The court held that the BIA reasonably interpreted INA §240A(b)(1)(D) to require that a noncitizen applying for cancellation of removal must establish hardship to a qualifying relative as of the time the IJ adjudicates the application. (Mendez-Garcia v. Lynch, 10/20/16)
CA5 Upholds Denial of Indian Petitioner’s Untimely Motion to Reopen
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s untimely motion to reopen, finding that DOS’s 2012 Country Report for India did not describe a change in country conditions that were materially different than those in place at the time he was ordered removed. (Singh v. Lynch, 10/20/16)
AILA’s Hostile Jurisdictions Working Group Issues Its Recommendation
AILA’s Hostile Jurisdictions Working Group issued a video to accompany its recommendations for a STOPLIGHT tool to measure the health of immigration adjudication ecosystems.