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
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)
CA10 Says INA’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 INA’s definition of “crime of violence,” which expressly incorporates 18 USC §16(b)’s definition of “crime of violence,” is unconstitutionally vague. (Golicov v. Lynch, 9/19/16)
CA11 Finds Conviction Under Florida Controlled Substance Statute Is an Aggravated Felony
The court upheld the BIA, finding that petitioner’s conviction for violating Florida’s Possession with Intent to Sell, Deliver, or Manufacture a Controlled Substance statute constituted an aggravated felony rendering him removable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Spaho v. Att'y Gen., 9/19/16)
BIA Solicits Amicus Briefs on Whether a “Wave Through” Entry Constitutes an Admission in “Any Status” Under INA §240A(a)(2)
The BIA invites interested members of the public to file amicus curiae briefs on whether a “wave through” entry constitutes an admission in “any status” for the purposes of the seven years continuous residence requirement under INA §240A(a)(2). Briefs are due by 10/19/16.
Amicus Brief in Flores Supporting Plaintiffs’ Motion to Enforce Settlement
AILA and the American Immigration Council filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs’ motion to enforce settlement and appoint a special monitor in the Flores settlement agreement lawsuit.
Flores Response to Motion to Enforce and Opposition for Evidentiary Hearing
The plaintiffs’ combined response to the motion to enforce the Flores settlement agreement and appoint a special monitor, as well opposition to defendants’ motion for evidentiary hearing.
BIA Dismisses DHS Interlocutory Appeal Involving SIJS
Unpublished BIA decision declines to consider interlocutory DHS appeal challenging administrative closure pending adjudication of visa petition for SIJ status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of R-L-O-H-, 9/19/16)
BIA Vacates Finding of Removability Based on Plea Under People v. West
Unpublished BIA decision vacates finding that conviction was an aggravated felony where complaint only recited statutory language and respondent entered plea under People v. West and did not plead guilty “as charged.” Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ponce-Zacarias, 9/16/16)
CRS Report on Syrian Refugee Admissions and Resettlement in the United States
A Congressional Research Service report details the U.S. refugee admissions process and the placement and resettlement of arriving refugees in the United States.
DOJ Notice of Public Meeting of ICE Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers
DOJ notice that the ICE Advisory Committee on Family Residential Centers (ACFRC) will meet in Washington, DC on 10/7/16 to discuss ACFRC subcommittee reports and vote on potential recommendations. The meeting will be open to the public, and registration is required. (81 FR 63784, 9/16/16)
Solicitor General Apologizes to the Supreme Court, Again
The moral of this blog post is two-fold. First, stranger things have happened, and second, do not believe everything someone tells you because just saying it does not make it so. On August 26, 2016, Acting Solicitor General Ian Heath Gershengorn penned a letter to the Honorable Clerk of the Supreme
BIA Says INA §101(a)(43)(G) Encompasses Extortionate Takings
The BIA held that a “theft offense” under INA §101(a)(43)(G), which requires the taking of property “without consent,” includes extortionate takings, in which consent is coerced by the wrongful use of force, fear, or threats. Matter of Ibarra, 26 I&N Dec. 809 (BIA 2016)
TRAC Report Finds Priority Cases Overwhelm Immigration Court’s Capacity to Handle
This TRAC report finds that, as of the end of August 2016, the number of IJs continues to prove insufficient to handle the growing backlog in the immigration courts, particularly for priority cases like those involving UACs and women with children, which account for 31% of the court’s backlog.