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
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Urge the Administration to Comply with the Flores Settlement Agreement
On 9/11/15, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights urged the President, Attorney General Lynch, and Homeland Security Secretary Johnson to comply and not appeal the U.S. District Court order in Flores v. Johnson concerning the detention of children and families
CA1 Upholds Finding That Petitioner Failed to Establish Changed Country Conditions
The court held that the BIA and IJ acted within their discretion in finding that the petitioner had failed to establish changed country conditions for Christians in China since the issuance of his in absentia removal order. (Liu v. Lynch, 9/11/15)
The Council and AILA File Amicus Brief on Detention Under INA §236(a)
The American Immigration Council and AILA filed an amicus brief in Guerra v. Shanahan urging the Second Circuit to affirm that a person with a reinstated order of removal who has yet to receive a final administrative decision on a withholding application is detained under INA §236(a).
BIA Holds Failure To Disclose DUI Does Not Preclude Adjustment of Status
Unpublished BIA decision orders further consideration of adjustment application, noting that failure to disclose arrest for DUI was an adverse discretionary factor but did not render respondent ineligible to adjust status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Asamoah, 9/11/15)
BIA Upholds Termination of Proceedings Against Returning LPR
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings upon finding failure to disclose conviction is not basis to regard returning LPR as an applicant for admission and record did not clearly establish existence of foreign conviction. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Liu, 9/11/15)
BIA Finds IJ Violated Respondent’s Right to Counsel
Unpublished BIA decision finds IJ failed to advise respondent of pro bono representation option, ascertain whether she was provided list of free legal service providers, or obtain a knowing and voluntary waiver of right to counsel. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of A-M-R-D-, 9/10/15)
BIA Grants Untimely Motion to Reconsider Under Mellouli for Removed Respondent
Unpublished BIA decision grants motion to reconsider sua sponte for respondent who had already departed the country because he was no longer removable under Mellouli v. Lynch, 135 S. Ct. 1980 (2015). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Asamoah, 9/10/15)
BIA Finds Iraqi’s Past Experience of Working with Americans to Be Immutable Characteristic
Unpublished BIA decision remands petitioner’s asylum claims, finding that the Iraqi citizen-respondent's past experience of having cooperated or worked with Americans or American entities in Iraq was, by its very nature, immutable. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman. (Matter of X-, 9/10/15)
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.
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 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 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)
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.
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)
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.
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.
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)
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)
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.
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)