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
Five Incarcerated Refugee Families Finally Released After Being Held for Months on End
The CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project responded to Friday’s release of five families who had been subjected to many months of incarceration despite repeated efforts to advocate for their release pending the adjudication of their claims for protection in the United States.
Representative Bennie Thompson Expresses Concern on ICE Actions in Family Detention Centers
Letter from Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee Bennie Thompson (D-MS) to ICE Director Sarah Saldaña expressing concern regarding recent ICE actions restricting access to counsel and providing misinformation to detainees at the family detention centers in Dilley and Karnes, TX.
AILA Quicktake #137: Access to Counsel in Dilley
AILA member and CARA volunteer Kim Hunter shares the latest access to counsel issues in Dilley and how it affects detainees' cases in this Quicktake.
BIA Says Inter-Proceeding Similarities Can Be Considered in Credibility Determinations
The BIA held that, in making an adverse credibility determination, an IJ can consider significant similarities between statements submitted by applicants in different proceedings, if certain procedural steps are undertaken to preserve fairness. Matter of R-K-K-, 26 I&N Dec. 658 (BIA 2015)
AILA Files Amicus Brief with Fifth Circuit on the Modified Categorical Approach
AILA filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit in Mata v. Lynch, arguing courts should use the modified categorical approach under Descamps only when the statute of conviction contains alternative elements that must be found unanimously by a jury before a conviction.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Because Hearing Notice Did Not Contain Complete Address
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order because address on hearing notice did not include lot number and respondent acted with diligence after learning of removal order. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Reyes-Rojo, 9/8/15)
DHS Concedes Florida Statute Is Not An Aggravated Felony Fraud Offense
Unpublished BIA decision notes DHS withdrawal of appeal after conceding that exploitation of an elderly person in excess of $100,000 under Fla. Stat. 825.103 is not an aggravated felony fraud offense. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cortina, 9/4/15)
Compilation of Family Detention Case Examples
Compilation of case examples of mothers and children from the Artesia family detention center who have been granted asylum.
BIA Holds Georgia Theft Statute Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that Ga. Code 16-8-2 is not an aggravated felony theft offense because it encompasses theft by conversion, fraud, or deception, and because the statute is overbroad rather than divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ajaelu, 9/3/15)
CA9 Reverses BIA’s Denial of CAT Deferral for Transgender Woman from Mexico
The court granted in part the petition for review, holding that the BIA erred in denying CAT relief for the petitioner, a Mexican transgender woman, because it failed to recognize the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation. (Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, 9/3/15)
EOIR Announces New General Counsel
EOIR announced the appointment of Jean King to serve as the agency’s next general counsel, effective September 6, 2015. In addition to serving as the acting general counsel for eight months earlier this year, she served as the deputy general counsel since December 2012.
Immigration Law Advisor, July-August 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 7)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on Nijhawan v. Holder, as well as a chart with post-Nijhawan circuit court holdings, summaries of circuit court decisions from June and July 2015, summaries of recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Due to Confusion Regarding Date of Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order upon finding respondent’s confusion regarding date of hearing constituted exceptional circumstances in light of eligibility to adjust and attendance at all prior hearings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Bonilla-Molina, 9/2/15)
DOJ OIL September 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for September 2015, with articles on Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, Morales-Santana v. Lynch, and TPS for Yemeni nationals, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for September 2015.
CA9 Finds Voluntary Manslaughter Is Not Categorically a Crime of Violence
The court reversed the BIA's denial of petitioner's withholding and CAT applications, holding that petitioner's California conviction and 11-year sentence for voluntary manslaughter was not a categorical “crime of violence” or a “particularly serious crime.” (Quijada-Aguilar v. Lynch, 9/1/15)
CA10 Says State Conviction for Criminal Impersonation Is Categorically a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner's motion to reopen, finding that petitioner's CO conviction for criminal impersonation was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude, thus rendering petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Veloz-Luvevano v. Lynch, 8/31/15)
BIA Grants Motion to Reconsider Denial of Asylum Application
Unpublished BIA decision reconsiders prior denial of asylum application upon finding IJ erred in finding respondents’ witnesses not credible and in requiring respondent to provide corroborating evidence from former supervisor in China. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-L-, 8/31/15)
TRAC Report Finds ICE Detainer Use Declining, But Not Targeting Convicted Criminals
A TRAC report found that ICE detainer use has declined, with the latest data showing that ICE issued 7,993 detainers in April 2015, which was 30% fewer than in October 2014. The data also showed that only 32% of individuals on whom detainers were placed in April 2015 had been convicted of a crime.
CA8 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA's Sua Sponte Denial of Motion to Reopen
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of petitioner's motion to reopen, because the motion requested that the BIA reopen the proceedings sua sponte, and the court may only review a denial of a statutory motion to reopen. (Shoyombo v. Lynch, 8/28/15)
CA9 Says Matter of Briones Does Not Apply Retroactively Where Applicant Relied on Acosta
The court reversed BIA's denial of petitioner's adjustment application, finding that petitioner reasonably relied on the law in effect at the time he applied, and that Matter of Briones should not be applied retroactively to bar his application. (Acosta-Olivarria v. Lynch, 8/26/15)
CA9 Upholds CAT Denial of Petitioner with Non-Gang Tattoos
The court upheld the BIAs’ denial of petitioner's CAT application, holding that the evidence did not compel the conclusion that petitioner established it was more likely than not that he would be tortured in El Salvador due to his decorative, non-gang tattoos. (Andrade v. Lynch, 8/27/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte Because Attorney Who Received Hearing Notice Did Not Enter Appearance
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte following in absentia order because record did not contain an entry of appearance for the attorney who received the hearing notice. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ayala-Guevara, 8/27/15)
BIA Request for Amicus Briefs on Jeune v. Att'y Gen.
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) invites interested members of the public to file amicus curiae briefs on two specified issues relating to the Third Circuit's decision in Jeune v. Att'y Gen. Briefs are due by 9/25/15.
AILA Amicus Brief Filed in SCOTUS Case Luna-Torres v. Lynch
AILA amicus filed with the Supreme Court arguing that a crime is not an “offense described in” a federal criminal statute unless it meets all of the elements of that statute, including the interstate commerce requirement.
BIA Remands for Consideration of Administrative Closure Motion
Unpublished BIA decision finds that IJ's failure to consider a Motion to Administratively Close proceedings was error, and that IJ’s decision to allow DHS's sizable exhibit to be presented at the merits hearing without giving counsel sufficient time to review was unfair. Courtesy of Carlos Spector.