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
Federal Government Steps Up Efforts to Deport Central American Mothers and Children without Due Process
In this statement, CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project Managing Attorney Katie Shepherd highlights one of the 16 families picked up by ICE in recent arrests and slated for removal; sadly this family was deported before having had a meaningful chance to make claims for protection.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Against Respondent Who Lost Hearing Notice
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order sua sponte against respondent who lost her hearing notice and misremembered the date of her hearing. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Taunaholo, 5/25/16)
CA5 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Proceedings Based on Changed Country Conditions in Guatemala
The court upheld BIA’s denial of the motion to reopen, holding that BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding that petitioner did not present material evidence of changed country conditions in Guatemala that was unavailable at the time of her removal hearing. (Ramos-Lopez v. Lynch, 5/24/16)
CA5 Finds IIRAIRA’s “Aggravated Felony” Definition Applies Retroactively to Preclude Relief Under §212(c)
The court held that BIA did not err in finding petitioner, who pleaded guilty in December 1996 to transporting an alien within the United States, ineligible for INA §212(c) relief, because IIRAIRA §321(a)’s “aggravated felony” definition applies retroactively. (Limonteco v. Lynch, 5/24/16)
CA2 Finds Peralta-Taveras Survives Vartelas to Preclude Petitioner from Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Vartelas v. Holder did not cast doubt on the court’s decision in Peralta-Taveras v. Att’y Gen., which precludes petitioner, who had been convicted of aggravated felonies, from INA §240A relief. (Nuñez Peña v. Lynch, 5/20/16)
BIA Finds Prior Attorney Provided Ineffective Assistance By Failing to Timely File Form EOIR-42A
Unpublished BIA decision finds the respondent’s prior attorney provided ineffective assistance by failing to file the application necessary to seek cancellation of removal by the court-ordered deadline. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aminzadem, 5/20/16)
BIA Vacates Marriage Fraud Finding Against Respondent with Approved Visa Petition
Unpublished BIA decision holds that the IJ erroneously found the respondent to be ineligible to adjust status under INA §204(c) where USCIS had already granted the visa petition. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Malaviya, 5/20/16)
BIA Says Plea Colloquy Trumps Conflicting Information in Minute Order
Unpublished BIA decision finds that respondent was convicted under Cal. Penal Code §288(a), not Cal. Penal Code §288a, stating that transcript of plea colloquy trumped conflicting references in minute order and abstract of judgment. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Suarez-Cortes, 5/20/16)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte for UAC Who Failed to Appear at His Removal Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision grants a motion to rescind an in absentia removal order and reopen removal proceedings for a UAC who failed to attend his removal proceedings, finding that the respondent had presented an exceptional situation to warrant sua sponte reopening. Courtesy of Douglas Thie.
CA4 Finds IJs Are Not Required to Warn of Consequences of Filing a Frivolous Asylum Application
The court held that the warning set forth in the I-589 asylum application regarding the consequences of filing a frivolous asylum application satisfies INA §208(d)(4)(A)’s requirement that the applicant must be notified of such consequences. (Ndibu v. Lynch, 5/19/16)
District Court Grants Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Orders Bond Hearing for Detainee
The court found that petitioner’s prolonged and continued detention (for more than three years and two months) without a bond hearing had become unreasonable under INA §236(c), and ordered that the petitioner receive a bond hearing within 30 days. (Chairez-Castrejon v. Bible, et al., 5/19/16)
AILA Quicktake #167: Prepping for the Impact of ICE Raids
AILA General Counsel Laura Lichter shares information on what AILA members need to know about how they can help women and unaccompanied children who may be subject to raids and what resources are available.
Mothers and Children Detained in Violation of Court Order Plead for Freedom
Pleading for an end to their imprisonment, 69 mothers who have been detained with their children at the South Texas Family Residential Center, an immigration detention facility in Dilley, Texas, wrote a public letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
TRAC Report Finds Texas Immigration Court Leads U.S. in Issuing Removal Orders
A TRAC report found that Immigration Court judges issued 44,204 removal orders as of April 2016. Texas leads the nation with 10,102 removal orders issued, followed by California and Georgia. During April 2016, 1,186 of the 6,347 individuals ordered removed were women with children.
BIA Says Arizona Felony Conviction for Solicitation to Possess Marijuana for Sale Is a CIMT
The BIA held that, within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit, a returning LPR who has a felony conviction for solicitation to possess marijuana for sale is an arriving alien who is inadmissible under INA §212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). Matter of Gonzalez Romo, 26 I&N Dec. 743 (BIA 2016)
ICE FAQs on Agreement Between USCIS and ICE on Fingerprint Check Refresh Requests
ICE FAQs on the USCIS/ICE agreement establishing a process to refresh fingerprint checks on non-detained respondents with cases pending before EOIR whose fingerprints have been taken, but the fingerprint checks will expire prior to a final decision by EOIR. Agreement is effective as of 3/31/16.
Supreme Court Says State Offense Need Not Have Link to Interstate Commerce to Be Aggravated Felony
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the denial of cancellation of removal, holding that a state offense counts as an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43) even if it does not contain a link to interstate commerce. (Luna Torres v. Lynch, 5/19/16)
CA9 Issues Superseding Opinion in Yang v. Lynch
In a superseding opinion, the court made several amendments to its original decision, clarifying that, on a motion to reopen, the BIA cannot make the kind of credibility determination inherent in a decision to apply the falsus maxim. (Yang v. Lynch, 5/19/16)
CA9 Upholds CAT Denial to Former Gang Member Who Had Been Removed to El Salvador
The court upheld BIA’s denial of CAT protection, holding that substantial evidence supported its determination that it is not more likely than not that the petitioner, a former gang member with gang-related tattoos, will be tortured in El Salvador. (Del Cid Marroquin v. Lynch, 5/18/16)
AILA Quicktake #166: ICE Announces New Surge of Arrests
AILA's Director of Advocacy Greg Chen shares information regarding ICE's announcement that it would be conducting another surge of arrests aimed at families and unaccompanied minors across the nation and what AILA is doing.
AIM: How Cities and Immigration Collaboratives Can Work Together
In May's AILA Interview of the Month, Ana Camila Herrera, Managing Attorney, Dolores Street Community Services, shares how renewed funding for the San Francisco Immigration Legal Defense Collaborative will help provide representation to unaccompanied minors and families in immigration court.
Letter to ICE from 69 Mothers Detained in Dilley Pleading for Freedom
Pleading for an end to their imprisonment, 69 mothers who have been detained with their children at the South Texas Family Residential Center, an immigration detention facility in Dilley, Texas, wrote a public letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement; letter is available in Spanish and English.
AILA Member Talking Points on the ICE Raids Targeting Central American Families
AILA members can use these Talking Points with media when asked about ICE raids targeting Central American families.
Children in Immigration Court: Over 95 Percent Represented by an Attorney Appear in Court
An American Immigration Council factsheet demonstrating that children appear in immigration court and that when children are represented by counsel, appearance rates are even higher. This data suggests that children who do fail to appear are victims of the system’s deficits.
Detained, Deceived, and Deported: Experiences of Recently Deported Central American Families
The American Immigration Council interviewed individuals who were deported (or whose partners were deported) and their accounts reveal the dangerous circumstances these women and their children faced upon return to their home countries, as well as serious problems in the deportation process.