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
BIA Finds Respondent Who Voted in Federal Election Removable Under the INA
The BIA held that a respondent who has voted in an election involving candidates for federal office in violation of 18 U.S.C. §611(a) is removable, whether or not the respondent knew that he or she was committing an unlawful act by voting. Matter of Fitzpatrick, 26 I&N Dec. 559 (BIA 2015)
BIA Rescinds in Absentia Order Due to Misadvice from ICE Officer
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia removal order in light of ICE officer’s misadvice that respondent could change venue to a different immigration court following her release from custody. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Guzman, 5/7/15)
BIA Rescinds in Absentia Order Due to Misplaced Hearing Notice
Unpublished BIA decision finds that reopening and rescission of the in absentia removal order was warranted pursuant to INA §239(a)(2), in light of respondent’s argument that her grandmother misplaced the hearing notice. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alfaro, 5/6/15)
BIA Finds Circuit Remand Qualifies as Changed Circumstances for Bond Purposes
Unpublished BIA decision finds unopposed OIL motion to remand following appeal to Ninth Circuit qualifies as a material change in circumstances for purposes of respondent’s request for custody redetermination. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Rodriguez Garcia, 5/6/15)
BIA Holds Possession of Child Pornography in California Is an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that possession of child pornography under California Penal Code §311.11(a) is categorically an aggravated felony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Calito, 5/5/15)
IJ Reverses and Terminates Removal Proceedings Due to Silva-Trevino Vacatur
The IJ found that the vacatur of Matter of Silva-Trevino removed the requirement that courts must examine the record of conviction whenever an overbroad statute encompasses both turpitudinous and non-turpitudinous conduct, regardless of the statute's structure. Courtesy of Brian Blackford.
EOIR Announces Launch of eInfo
EOIR press release announcing the launch of eInfo, a web-based application that allows registered attorneys and fully accredited representatives to view their clients’ case information and provides similar information currently available via the Automated Case Information Hotline.
Immigration Law Advisor, April 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 4)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on corroboration requirements under the REAL ID Act, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for March 2015, the A.G.’s vacated decision in Silva-Trevino, and summaries of recent BIA and AAO precedent decisions.
Punch Line Material
Three cheers to Daniel M. Gerstein and Martina L. Melliand for their story (The forgotten cornerstone in the immigration reform debate) in The Hill yesterday regarding the forgotten child in the immigration reform debate: the immigration court. We hear endless stories about increased funding for ICE
DOJ OIL May 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for May 2015, with articles on Mellouli v. Lynch and Texas v. United States and a report on the Adverse Credibility Project, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for May 2015.
CA4 Says Petitioner Eligible for Asylum Due to Threats Over Son's Refusal To Join a Gang
The court held that petitioner’s maternal relationship to her son was at least one central reason for her persecution, and that the BIA abused discretion in concluding that death threats were not made "on account of" her membership in her nuclear family. (Hernandez-Avalos v. Lynch, 4/30/15)
Without Good Counsel
On April 21, 2015 - a Harvard University graduate student, Rebekah Rodriguez-Lynn, published a column in the Los Angeles Daily News titled: “How U.S. immigration laws helped tear my family apart.“ Ms. Rodriguez-Lynn is a U.S. citizen and a resident of Southern California; she shares her story
CA5 Says Stop-Time Rule Renders LPR Ineligible for Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the stop-time rule applied to offenses that would render LPRs, including those not currently seeking admission to the U.S., inadmissible, and that the petitioner was therefore not eligible for cancellation of removal. (Paz Calix v. Lynch, 4/28/15)
CRCL Newsletter, April 2015 (Vol. 5, No. 6)
The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) released its April 2015 newsletter, which included articles on the updated solicitation for license plate reader database access, the 2015 Privacy and Civil Liberties Assessment Report, town halls with Syrian American communities, and more.
Senator McCaskill Requests that DHS Investigate the Modified Contract to Manage Dilley
On 4/27/15, Senator Claire McCaskilll (D-MO) requested that the DHS OIG review the process DHS used to modify an existing contract with the City of Eloy, Arizona for management of an ICE facility to extend to management of the Dilley detention facility by a private prison company.
BIA Rescinds in Absentia Order Due to Erroneous Denial of Motion to Change Venue
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds an in absentia removal order, finding that the IJ’s erroneous denial of respondent’s unopposed motion to change venue constituted exceptional circumstances justifying respondent’s failure to appear. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Flores, 4/24/15)
DHS Instruction Card on Prosecutorial Discretion
Copy of a DHS instruction card to be carried by enforcement personnel, providing guidance and brief instruction on the DHS enforcement priorities articulated in a November 20, 2014 prosecutorial discretion memorandum.
CA4 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Consider Denial of I-130 Petition
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s Form I-130 and that transfer of the motion to reopen petitioner’s visa denial to district court was not in the interests of justice. (LeBlanc v. Holder, 4/21/15)
CA11 Says Uttering Forged Instrument Is an Aggravated Felony and a CIMT
Applying a categorical approach, the court held that uttering a forged instrument necessarily involves deceit and is thus a categorical aggravated felony under Florida law as well as a crime involving moral turpitude. (Walker v. Att’y Gen., 4/21/15)
CA7 Reverses Due to Flawed Adverse Credibility Determination
The court remanded, holding that if an IJ explicitly premises a demand for corroborating evidence on an adverse credibility determination that is flawed, then there must be a reassessment of credibility, which may turn out to remove the need for corroboration. (Nadmid v. Holder, 4/21/15)
CA8 Affirms Asylum Denial for Mungiki Opposer in Kenya
The court held that “individuals openly opposed to the Mungiki,” the largest criminal organization in Kenya, was not a particular social group, because such a description was too large and diffuse a segment of society to be perceived with particularity by society. (Kanagu v. Holder, 2/9/15)
OIG Report on ICE Detainee Air Transportation Program
DHS OIG report on ICE’s Detainee Air Transportation Program, which is responsible for moving and removing detainees in ICE custody, operated charter flights with empty seats and could have realized savings of up to $41.1 million. The program transported 930,435 detainees over a 3-1/2 year period.
BIA Finds Removal Proceedings May Be Delayed If Criminal Conviction Remains Pending
The BIA says that removal proceedings may be administratively closed, where warranted, pending the adjudication of a direct appeal of a criminal conviction. Matter of Montiel, 26 I&N Dec. 555 (BIA 2015)
BIA Administratively Closes Proceedings Pending DHS Determination on Prosecutorial Discretion
Unpublished BIA decision administratively closes proceedings, pending DHS’s determination of whether the respondent merits a favorable exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-A-P-, 4/17/15)
CA9 Affirms Order Removing Petitioner Due to Domestic Violence Conviction
The court held that the BIA correctly found that a conviction of domestic violence pursuant to California’s Penal Code constitutes a categorical crime of domestic violence under the INA. (Carrillo v. Holder, 3/31/15)