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
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Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte following in absentia order because record did not contain an entry of appearance for the attorney who received the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.
CA9 Says Stepchild Does Not Derive U.S. Citizenship from Stepparent
The court upheld the BIA's denial of the petitioner's claim that he derived citizenship under INA §320(a) from his U.S. citizen stepfather, finding that the definition of "child" in INA §101(c)(1) does not encompass stepchildren. (Acevedo v. Lynch, 8/24/15)
Court Orders Prompt Release of Immigrant Children from Family Detention
AILA and the American Immigration Council welcome a decision by U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Flores v. Lynch, which ruled that children should generally be released from detention within five days—preferably to a parent, including a parent with whom they were apprehended.
Sign-on Letter to White House on Transfer of Detained Transgender Women
On 8/24/15 AILA joined LGBTQ rights, civil rights, and immigrant rights organizations in a letter to President Barack Obama regarding the recent news that transgender women may soon be transferred to the Adelanto Detention Facility in Southern California.
BIA Rules on Controlling Filing Date for INA §208(b)(1)(B)(iii) Purposes
The BIA held that where an applicant’s initial asylum application was filed before May 11, 2005, and a subsequent one was submitted on or after that date, the filing date of the later application controls if it is properly viewed as a new one. Matter of M-A-F-, 26 I&N Dec. 651 (BIA 2015)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Adjustment of Status Due to False Claim of Citizenship on Form I-9
The court found that petitioner was inadmissible and thus ineligible for adjustment of status, because substantial evidence supported BIA's determination that petitioner falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen on a Form I-9 when he applied for a job in 2009. (Etenyi v. Lynch, 8/21/15)
CA9 Instructs BIA to Grant Motion to Reopen Due to Ineffective Assistance
The court held that petitioner was entitled to equitable tolling of his untimely motion to reopen, finding that lawyer’s advice to pursue a form of immigration relief for which he was statutorily ineligible constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. (Salazar-Gonzalez v. Lynch, 8/20/15)
CA7 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination of Cameroonian Petitioner
The court upheld BIA's denial of petitioner's asylum application, finding that petitioner neither demonstrated that IJ’s adverse credibility determination was erroneous nor produced any evidence sufficient to corroborate his account of mistreatment in Cameroon. (Tawou v. Lynch, 8/20/15)
CA7 Says Noncitizens Have Second Amendment Rights
The court held that noncitizens, including unauthorized noncitizens, are among "the people" on whom the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution bestows the individual right to keep and bear arms. (United States v. Meza-Rodriguez, 8/20/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte To Consider Brief Delayed in Transit
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte to consider arguments in brief that was significant delayed in transit to the Board, but reaffirms its prior decision. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Victoria Javier, 8/19/15)
CA1 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Adjustment of Status Application
The court held it lacked jurisdiction to review BIA's dismissal of the petitioner's adjustment of status application and removal order, finding that such decisions under INA §245 are purely discretionary, absent a colorable constitutional claim or question of law. (Mele v. Lynch, 8/19/15)
Report on Family Detention in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Human Rights First released a report on the Berks County Family Detention Facility. Report states that, “Detention is not only harmful to children and families, but also expensive to taxpayers at an average daily cost of $343 per person” and also provides recommendations on ending family detention.
CA9 Says INA §242(a)(2)(C) Does Not Bar Review of Procedural Motion Denial
The court held that the statutory criminal bar does not strip the court of jurisdiction to review the denial of a procedural motion that rests on a ground independent of the conviction that triggered the bar, and upheld the denial of petitioner’s motion to continue. (Garcia v. Lynch, 8/18/15)
AILA Quicktake #134: Flores Litigation Update
American Immigration Council's Legal Fellow Lindsay Harris delves into the government and plaintiffs' responses on Judge Gee's Order to Show Cause in the ongoing Flores settlement litigation and tells us what to expect next.
CA9 Says California Theft Conviction Not an Aggravated Felony
The court held that a California theft conviction was categorically not a theft offense and thus not an aggravated felony, because the statute was both overbroad and indivisible, and such a conviction was not susceptible to the modified categorical approach. (Lopez-Valencia v. Lynch, 8/17/15)
IJ Grants Asylum to Bangladeshi Member of BNP
The IJ granted the asylum application of a Bangladeshi national who was a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and who suffered persecution by the current ruling party, the Awami League. The IJ specifically found that the BNP is not a terrorist organization. Courtesy of Paul Scott.
Plaintiffs’ Response to Order to Show Cause in Flores Litigation
The 8/14/15 response to Order to Show Cause filed by the plaintiffs in the ongoing Flores litigation. Also included are supporting documents filed with the response.
TRAC Report Finds Central American Deportation Cases Dominate U.S. Immigration Courts
A Transactional Records Access Clearing House (TRAC) report found that Central Americans continue to outnumber Mexicans when DHS seeks deportation orders in Immigration Court. To date in FY2015, 42% of DHS filings involved individuals from Central America, up from 25% three years ago.