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
CA7 Remands Withholding of Removal and CAT Claim of Former Salvadoran Gang Member
The court granted the petition for review, holding that the IJ erred in finding that there was “no credible evidence” that petitioner, a Salvadoran with ties to the Mara Salvatrucha gang, would face a clear probability of persecution if returned to El Salvador. (Arrazabal v. Lynch, 5/4/16)
CA5 Remands for BIA to Analyze Petitioner’s Conviction Under the Minimum Reading Approach
For the reasons explained in Mercado v. Lynch, the court held that the BIA erred in applying the “realistic probability” approach to hold that the petitioner’s Texas conviction for deadly conduct was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Hernandez v. Lynch, 5/4/16)
CA5 Says the “Realistic Probability” Approach Does Not Apply in the CIMT Context
The court reversed and remanded, holding that BIA erred in applying the “realistic probability” approach in analyzing whether petitioner’s convictions for indecent exposure and making terroristic threats under Texas law are crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Mercado v. Lynch, 5/4/16)
CA5 Transfers Case Due to Genuine Issue of Material Fact About Petitioner’s Nationality
The court transferred the case to a U.S. district court for a hearing and decision on petitioner’s nationality claim with regard to whether he benefits from INA §309(c), which governs the transmission of citizenship to “person[s] born ... out of wedlock.” (Hernandez Rosales v. Lynch, 5/3/16)
CA11 Says Noncitizens Whose Removal Orders Are Reinstated May Not Apply for Asylum
The court denied the petition for review, finding that INA §241(a)(5) renders noncitizens whose removal orders are reinstated ineligible to apply for asylum. (Jimenez-Morales v. Att'y Gen., 5/2/16)
Immigration Law Advisor, April 2016 (Vol. 10, No. 3)
The April 2016 issue of Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, includes an article on the intercountry adoption process, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions from March 2016 and BIA precedent decisions.
BIA Says Failing to Appear for Service of Sentence Is an Aggravated Felony
The BIA held that an "offense relating to a failure to appear by a defendant for service of sentence" is an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(Q) if the underlying offense was "punishable by" imprisonment for a term of five years or more. Matter of Adeniye, 26 I&N Dec. 726 (BIA 2016)
DOJ OIL May 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for May 2016, with articles on Torres v. Lynch and the Adverse Credibility Project, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for May 2016.
DOD Fact Sheet on MAVNI Recruitment Pilot Program
DOD fact sheet on the Military Accessions Vital to National Interest (MAVNI) recruitment pilot program. To determine its value in enhancing military readiness, the limited pilot program will recruit up to 5,200 people in FY2016, and will continue through September 30, 2016.
BIA Provides Additional Opportunity to Comply with Biometrics Requirement
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent who forgot to submit fingerprints should receive another opportunity to comply with the biometrics requirements and present her asylum application. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-H-A-, 4/29/16)
BIA Remands Record Due to Insufficient Evidence of Offense of Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision remands record because DHS submitted only a computer printout of the respondent’s conviction in support of the charge of deportability that did not list the elements of the offense. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez, 4/29/16)
Sign-On Letter to Attorney General Lynch on Appointing Counsel to Children
On 4/29/16, AILA joined faith-based, human rights, and immigrants’ rights groups in urging Attorney General Loretta Lynch to halt the practice of pursuing deportation proceedings against children who do not have counsel and to guarantee that every child facing deportation is provided legal counsel.
Written Testimony from ICE Director Sarah Saldana on Criminal Aliens
Written testimony from Sarah Saldana, Director of ICE, for the 4/28/16 hearing “Criminal Aliens Released by the Department of Homeland Security” before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where she discussed ICE enforcement and removal operations.
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial to Mexican Family Who Feared Persecution of Matazetas Gang
The court held that the petitioners, who claimed that the Matazetas gang would persecute them if they were returned to Mexico, failed to show that the government of Mexico either condoned the conduct or was unable to protect the victims. (Saldana v. Lynch, 4/28/16)
CA4 Finds Receipt of Embezzled Property Is Not Categorically an Aggravated Felony
The court found that the BIA erred in concluding that the petitioner was an aggravated felon who was ineligible for cancellation of removal, holding that a conviction for receipt of embezzled property is not an INA aggravated felony under the categorical approach. (Mena v. Lynch, 4/27/16)
H. Res. 708
On 4/27/16, Representatives Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Keith Ellison (D-MN), and Judy Chu (D-CA) introduced a resolution to repeal specific provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA).
Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual
Updated version of the Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual, dated 4/26/16. Table of changes is listed on page 211.
CA5 Says Former Informants Do Not Constitute a Particular Social Group
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner's proposed social group of former informants against the Zetas, a Mexican criminal syndicate, was not sufficiently particular as to constitute a particular social group (PSG). (Hernandez-De La Cruz v. Lynch, 4/26/16)
CA1 Denies Petition for Review But Encourages Government to Exercise PD
The court upheld the IJ and BIA’s decision that petitioner was removable as “an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled” under INA §212(a)(6)(A)(i), but encouraged the government to exercise prosecutorial discretion (PD) in this case. (Acosta v. Lynch, 4/22/16)
CA1 Finds Petitioner’s Maine Assault Conviction Was Not a “Crime of Violence”
On rehearing, the court vacated BIA’s decision and remanded, holding that under Moncrieffe v. Holder, the petitioner’s Maine assault conviction was not a “crime of violence,” and thus, he was eligible to seek cancellation of removal. (Peralta Sauceda v. Lynch, 4/22/16)
CA8 Finds Submission of I-751 Petition Was Overt Act in Furtherance of Marriage Fraud Conspiracy
The court held that the petitioner's submission of an I-751 petition constituted an overt act in furtherance of his conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, thereby extending his conspiracy crime to a date within five years of his admission to the United States. (Ashraf v. Lynch, 4/22/16)
EOIR Swears in Two Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of two immigration judges (IJs). Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch appointed Kuyomars Golparvar as an IJ at the York Immigration Court and Robin J. Rosche as an IJ at the Chicago Immigration Court.
CA8 Says Petitioner's Convictions for Domestic Assault in Iowa Were Not Categorically CIMTs
The court held that the BIA erred in declining to review the petitioner's record of convictions for domestic abuse assault in Iowa under the modified categorical approach in order to determine whether he was convicted under a subsection that describes a CIMT. (Perez Alonzo v. Lynch, 4/22/16)
BIA Remands Record Because Respondent Never Pleaded to the NTA
Unpublished BIA decision remands the record because the immigration judge did not require the respondent to plead to the allegations of fact and the charge of removability in the Notice to Appear. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Trujillo-Ma, 4/22/16)
Blazing a Trail: The Fight for Right to Counsel in Detention and Beyond
The National Immigration Law Center published a report on representation for detained immigrants, titled “Blazing a Trail: The Fight for Right to Counsel in Detention and Beyond,” highlighting the work being done to secure a right to counsel in immigration court, especially for detained people.