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
Attorney General Appoints Three New Board Members to the BIA
EOIR announces that Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch has appointed Molly Kendall Clark, Ellen Liebowitz, and Blair T. O’Connor as board members to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Notice includes biographical information on the new board members.
H.R. 4646: Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2016
On 2/26/16, Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) introduced the House version of the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act 2016, which mandates that unaccompanied children and vulnerable immigrants receive legal representation.
CA8 Says Petitioner Failed to Show That His Conviction Was Not Vacated for Immigration Purposes
The court upheld BIA's finding that petitioner failed to prove that his state court conviction for theft in the fourth degree, a crime involving moral turpitude, was vacated for a substantive or procedural reason and not for immigration purposes. (Andrade-Zamora v. Lynch, 2/26/16)
AILA Applauds House Access to Counsel Legislation
In response to the introduction of the “Fair Day in Court for Kids Act” in the House of Representatives, AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis noted that the bill would, “stop the injustice of forcing vulnerable individuals to face deportation without counsel.”
CBP Issues Memo on Admissibility Processing and Family Units
CBP issued a memo to admissibility processing and family units, noting that when family units are encountered, the designation must be noted for the purposes of statistics and ICE detention actions. Memo includes the definition of a family unit.
Immigrant Rights Organizations Argue Against Government’s Inhumane Family Detention Policies
The four CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project partners joined with other immigrant rights organizations in an amicus brief explaining how the government has misinterpreted the Flores settlement and failed to comply with Judge Dolly Gee's August 2015 ruling in the case.
District Court Awards $82,500 to Plaintiff Wrongfully Detained for More Than Three Years
The district court found that the plaintiff, a U.S. citizen who was wrongfully arrested and detained for more than three years and subjected to removal proceedings, had met his burden of proof with respect to his false arrest and imprisonment claims. (Watson v. United States, 2/25/16)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reconsider Despite Change in Law Favorable to Petitioner
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in concluding that a change in the law favorable to petitioner, which occurred long after the expiration of his filing deadline, did not constitute extraordinary circumstances justifying equitable tolling. (Omar v. Lynch, 2/25/16)
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Possession with Intent to Deliver Marijuana Conviction Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds 35 Pa. Cons. Stat. 780-113(a)(30) is not an aggravated felony, even though a separate statute specifically criminalizes the distribution of a small amount of marijuana for no remuneration. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rodriguez-Trinidad, 2/24/16)
CA1 Finds Petitioner's Nine-Day Detention and Beatings Did Not Qualify as Past Persecution
The court held that a single detention, even one accompanied by beatings, does not necessarily rise to the level of past persecution, and upheld BIA's finding that petitioner's treatment by family planning authorities in China did not qualify as past persecution. (Chen v. Lynch, 2/24/16)
CA1 Says Women with Children Whose Husbands Live and Work in the U.S. Is Not a PSG
The court held that the BIA supportably found that petitioner had not presented evidence that her proposed particular social group (PSG)—women with children whose husbands live and work in the U.S.—was socially distinct. (Granada-Rubio v. Lynch, 2/24/16)
BIA Says State Offense Must Require Violent Physical Force to Be "Crime of Violence"
The BIA held that, for a state offense to qualify as a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a), the state statute must require as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of violent physical force. Matter of Guzman-Polanco, 26 I&N Dec. 713 (BIA 2016)
AIM: Training for Immigration Court
In February's AILA Interview of the Month, AILA member Ellen Messali shares how she worked with the Hartford Immigration Court to provide training and mock trials for immigration lawyers who may not have courtroom experience and how other chapters can replicate the success.
AILA and the NJIC File Amicus Brief with CA11 on Issue Exhaustion
AILA joined the National Immigrant Justice Center (NJIC) in filing an amicus brief with the 11th Circuit in Jeune v. Lynch urging the court to treat issue exhaustion as a claims-processing rule rather than a jurisdictional matter.
Amicus Brief in Flores Supporting Plaintiffs-Appellees and Urging Affirmance
Immigration rights organizations filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs-appellees and in support of affirmation of the district court judgment in the Flores settlement agreement lawsuit.
AILA Statement to Senate Judiciary on Protecting Children, Families, and Other Border Arrivals
AILA submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee for the 2/23/16 hearing “The Unaccompanied Children Crisis: Does the Administration Have a Plan to Stop the Border Surge and Adequately Monitor the Children?”
CA8 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to El Salvadorian Whose Murdered Cousin Belonged to Gang
The court held that none of the proposed family-based social groups in which petitioner claimed membership had the kind of visibility and particularity required to constitute a recognizable social group. (Aguinada-Lopez v. Lynch, 2/23/16)
Updated United States-Mexico Local Repatriation Agreements
DHS and the Mexican government signed nine local repatriation agreements to establish local procedures for the orderly and safe repatriation of Mexican nationals from the United States to Mexico.
DHS Announces that the United States and Mexico Signed Updated Repatriation Arrangements
DHS signed nine local repatriation arrangements, covering all locations along the U.S.-Mexico border, with information on general repatriation procedures, location-specific information, and specific measures for vulnerable populations, such as unaccompanied minors and those with medical conditions.
CA5 Remands for BIA to Determine Whether Asylum Status Is Terminated upon Adjustment to LPR Status
Finding that the BIA did not address relevant subsections of INA §201, DHS regulations, and previous BIA decisions, the court remanded for the BIA to consider in the first instance whether a petitioner's asylum status is terminated upon adjustment to LPR status. (Ali v. Lynch, 2/22/16)
CA7 Upholds BIA's Marriage Fraud Finding Despite Procedural Errors
Despite procedural errors made by USCIS and the BIA, the court held that substantial evidence, including the petitioner's own written confessions, supported the BIA's finding that petitioner had engaged in marriage fraud under INA §204(c). (Sehgal v. Lynch, 2/22/16)
CA4 Says BIA Did Not Err in Following Matter of J-E- to Deny Petitioner's CAT Application
Deferring to the BIA's interpretation of the CAT's intent requirement as articulated in Matter of J-E-, the court found that the BIA did not err in denying petitioner's application for deferral of removal under CAT. (Oxygene v. Lynch, 2/22/16)
CA7 Grants Withholding of Removal to Woman Who Fears FGM in Botswana
The court held that substantial evidence did not support the BIA's conclusion that petitioner likely would not be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) if she were removed to Botswana, in light of petitioner's credible testimony that her family practiced FGM. (Musa v. Lynch, 2/19/16)
CA8 Upholds CAT Denial Where Petitioner Failed to Show She Would Likely Be Tortured in Haiti
The court upheld the BIA's denial of the petitioner's application for CAT relief, finding that the BIA did not err in concluding that the petitioner failed to show that she would more likely than not be tortured if removed to Haiti. (Mervil v. Lynch, 2/19/16)
BIA Grants Adjustment Application Despite Allegation of Visa Fraud
Unpublished BIA decision reverses discretionary denial of adjustment application upon finding that positive equities outweighed alleged involvement in fraudulent petition for a religious visa. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Mirza, 2/19/16)