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.
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Updates from EOIR
Browse the Featured Issue: U.S. Immigration Courts under Trump 2.0 collection
Law School Professors Submit Amicus Brief in Support of Respondents’ Interlocutory Appeals
Amicus curiae brief authored by two law school professors in support of interlocutory appeals filed on behalf of the Cornell Law School clinical programs regarding three separate denials of motions for law student appearances by an IJ in New York. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman.
CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project Succeeds in Winning Stays of Deportation of Four Mothers and Their Children Recently Rounded-Up by ICE
Last night, the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project succeeded in halting the deportation of four Central American families apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over the weekend, who had been scheduled for deportation this morning.
AILA and the Council Letter to DHS Secretary Johnson on Raids Targeting Central American Families
On 1/6/16, AILA and the Council requested a meeting with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson to discuss the agency’s current aggressive tactics to apprehend and deport Central American families.
After Successfully Delaying the Deportations of Four Central American Families, Groups Demand Meeting with DHS Secretary Johnson
AILA and the American Immigration Council sent a letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson criticizing raids to remove asylum-seeking Central American families and calling for a meeting to discuss how to guarantee due process and the necessary humanitarian protections for those families.
CA8 Upholds Finding That Petitioner's Fear of Future Persecution Was Not Objectively Reasonable
The court upheld the IJ and the BIA's denial of asylum to the Nicaraguan petitioner, finding that the petitioner failed to establish that his fear of future persecution was objectively reasonable. (Castillo-Gutierrez v. Lynch, 1/5/16)
DHS Statement on Southwest Border Security
DHS released a statement on border security, with information on a nationwide enforcement operation by ICE to remove families and unaccompanied children where 121 individuals were taken into custody, primarily from Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Release outlines additional efforts being taken.
AILA Condemns Raids on Vulnerable Central American Families
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis condemned reports of ICE raids targeting Central American families saying, “Rounding up mothers and children who have fled the most violent region in the western hemisphere and are trying to find refuge abrogates our legal obligations.”
DOJ OIL January 2016 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for January 2016, with articles on Gonzalez Cano v. Lynch and Bernardo v. Johnson, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for January 2016.
BIA Terminates Proceedings Based on Unreliable Form I-213
Unpublished BIA decision terminated proceedings against respondent charged with being present without admission or parole, because the Form I-213 did not reflect two prior lawful nonimmigrant admissions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bahamonde Michilena, 12/31/15)
Sign-on Letter to the President Opposing DHS Reported Plans to Conduct Nationwide Raids
On 12/31/15, over 150 organizations joined AILA in expressing opposition to the DHS reported plans to conduct nationwide raids to round up and deport Central American children and their parents. The letter urges the President to offer greater protection to Central American families fleeing violence.
CA7 Says BIA Used Wrong Standard in Reviewing IJ's Factual Finding
In determining petitioner’s eligibility for deferral of removal under CAT, the court held that BIA was required to review IJ's factual finding that petitioner would more likely than not be tortured if removed to Honduras only for clear error, not de novo. (Estrada-Martinez v. Lynch, 12/31/15)
Preserving the One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Cases Stuck in the Immigration Court Backlog
The Council and AILA provide a practice advisory on steps attorneys can take to preserve clients’ asylum claims where the master calendar hearing is scheduled beyond the one-year filing deadline. Steps include filing affirmatively with the Asylum Office, lodging, and filing a motion to advance.
District Court Orders ICE Detainee Be Held in Psychiatric Facility to Receive Mental Health Treatment
The court granted the mentally incompetent plaintiff-petitioner's preliminary injunction, ordering that she be held at a psychiatric facility for mental health treatment targeted towards restoring her to mental competence. Courtesy of Kerry Doyle. (Doan v. Bergeron, et al., 12/31/15)
Practice Pointer: Escalating Requests for Prosecutorial Discretion
Practice pointer on how to seek review of a prosecutorial discretion denial by ICE HQ when attorney for the respondent believes that prosecutorial discretion is clearly warranted in the client’s case. Special thanks to the AILA ICE Liaison Committee.
CA4 Says Conspiracy to Violate MD's Controlled Substances Law Is Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner's conviction for conspiracy to violate Maryland's controlled dangerous substances law constituted an aggravated felony subject to removal under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii). (Etienne v. Lynch, 12/30/15)
District Court Overturns USCIS Finding of Marriage Fraud and I-130 Denial Affirmed by BIA
The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut held that it was an arbitrary and capricious abuse of discretion for USCIS to conclude that there was "substantial and probative evidence" of marriage fraud pursuant to INA §204(c). Courtesy of Justin Conlon.
CA9 Remands to BIA Where Petitioners Incurred Legal Expenses in Reliance on Pre-Briones Law
The court held that the petitioners could establish a legitimate reliance interest on pre-Briones law by showing they incurred legal expenses pursuing adjustment during the 21-month period between Acosta v. Gonzales and Matter of Briones. (Correo-Ruiz v. Lynch, 12/30/15)
BIA Finds Minnesota Domestic Assault Not a Crime of Violence
Unpublished BIA decision finds misdemeanor domestic violence assault under Minn. Stat. 609.2242 subdiv. 1(1) is not a crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a) because statute applies to harms caused by nonviolent means. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Santamaria, 12/30/15)
BIA Vacates Removal Order Based on Allegation of Unlawful Voting
Unpublished BIA decision finds that neither a conviction for voter registration fraud under Va. Code 24.2-1016 nor a proffer to having voted in two unspecified elections demonstrated that respondent was removable under INA §237(a)(6). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cundall, 12/29/15)
CA1 Finds Petitioner's Claim of Derivative Citizenship Under Former INA §321(a)(3) Failed
The court found that the petitioner, an LPR who had been convicted of a deportable offense, did not prove that his parents were common law spouses in Jamaica who legally separated within the meaning of former INA §321(a)(3) when they ceased cohabitation. (Thompson v. Lynch, 12/29/15)
CA9 Says Vehicle Theft in CA Is Not a CIMT
The en banc court remanded Matter of Almanza-Arenas to the BIA, holding that because the least of the acts criminalized under California Vehicle Code §10851(a) is a temporary taking, the statute is not categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. (Almanza-Arenas v. Lynch, 12/28/15)
Letter to USCIS and ICE Concerning Due Process Violations at Detention Facilities
Joint letter from AILA, the American Immigration Council, CLINIC, RAICES, and Human Rights First to USCIS and ICE concerning glaring due process violations which have led to the deportation of families with valid claims for asylum or other protection under U.S. law.
Denial of Due Process to Incarcerated Immigrant Families Worsens in Spite of Court Ruling
Attorneys and advocates called the government to account for rushing detained children and mothers through the legal processes designed to protect them from danger; glaring due process violations have led to the deportation of families with valid claims for asylum or other protection under U.S. law.
CA1 Limits Attorney General’s Discretion to Use Mandatory Detention Provision
The court affirmed the district court, holding that the bar to bonded release found in the detention mandate applies only to those specified criminal noncitizens whom the Attorney General took into custody when they were released from criminal custody. (Castañeda v. Souza, 12/23/15)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Honduran Petitioner Found Not to Be Credible
The court found that the IJ and the BIA did not err in finding that the petitioner's testimony was not credible in light of the numerous contradictions and inconsistencies in her evidence that went to the heart of her asylum claim. (Rodriguez-Mercado v. Lynch, 12/23/15)