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
EOIR Releases Memo on UAC and Family Docketing Practices
EOIR memo with updated docketing practices related to unaccompanied children cases and adults with children released on alternatives to detention cases in light of new priorities. This memo supersedes the 9/10/14 Docketing Practices memo.
BIA Says Bond Redetermination Rules are Mandatory, Not Jurisdictional
The BIA held that 8 CFR §1003.19(c) relates to venue and thus, the IJ erred in dismissing Respondent’s bond redetermination request for lack of jurisdiction when he was transferred to a detention center outside the court’s jurisdiction. Matter of Cerda Reyes, 26 I&N Dec. 528 (BIA 2015)
CA10 Finds Petitioner Was Subject to Mandatory Detention
The court denied the petition for review, finding petitioner was not entitled to a bond hearing due to the BIA’s interpretation of §236(c) and because the government had a continued duty to impose detention even if it failed to detain him in a timely manner. (Olmos v. Holder, 3/24/15)
FOIA Results from Request Regarding Stewart Immigration Court
FOIA results from a request for information regarding the Stewart Immigration Court in Lumpkin, Georgia. Special thanks to the South Florida AILA Chapter.
Statement by ICE Director Saldana Clarifying Testimony on Secure Communities
Statement by ICE Director Sarah Saldana stating that she supports the end of the Secure Communities program and the replacement of it with a new Priority Enforcement Program.
BIA Finds IJ Should Consider Explanation for Absence of Evidence But Is Not Required to Identify Specific Evidence Needed
The BIA found that an IJ is not required to identify the specific evidence necessary to meet the burden of proof or to provide an automatic continuance for applicant to obtain that evidence prior to making a decision on that application. Matter of L-A-C-, 26 I&N Dec. 516 (BIA 2015)
CA8 Upholds Denial of a 13th Continuance for Petitioner with Sham Marriage
The court found that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying a 13th continuance, where the petitioner was found to have entered into a sham marriage, never appealed that finding, and presented no evidence of any likelihood of an I-130 approval. (Mogeni v. Holder, 3/9/15)
EOIR Outlines Legal Standard for Evaluating “Reason to Believe”
Unpublished EOIR decision finding that an arriving immigrant must show through evidentiary factors that there is not "reasonable, substantial, and probative" evidence that supports an officer or IJ having a "reason to believe" he is knowingly involved in drug trafficking. Courtesy of Marshal Hyman.
BIA Holds Advance Parole Form Is Not Valid Entry Document
Unpublished BIA decision holds Form I-512L (Authorization for Parole of an Alien Into the United States) is not a "valid entry document" under INA §212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Abraham, 3/19/15)
BIA Reverses Finding of Inadmissibility for Alien Smuggling
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent was not inadmissible for alien smuggling based on his conviction under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(ii), because the criminal statute requires a mens rea of recklessness rather than actual knowledge. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez, 3/19/15)
DHS Releases a Privacy Impact Assessment on ICE’s Use of License Plate Readers
DHS released a privacy impact assessment on how ICE’s intends to procure the services and use of information obtained from license plate readers (LPRs) as an investigatory tool in support of its criminal investigations and civil immigration enforcement actions.
Practice Advisory on Prosecutorial Discretion and How to Advocate for Your Client
The American Immigration Council updated its practice advisory, Prosecutorial Discretion: How to Advocate for Your Client, which provides practical tips for attorneys seeking to persuade DHS officers to exercise prosecutorial discretion in favor of their clients.
ICE Announces New Procedures for Custody Determinations Involving Detainees with Criminal Convictions
ICE news release providing enhanced policies and procedures with regard to the potential release of individuals with a criminal conviction from detention.
Prosecutorial Discretion Requests under the Johnson Enforcement Priorities Memorandum
AIC and AILA provide a practice advisory on the 11/20/14 memo on Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants, which discusses DHS’s new enforcement priorities, exceptions to the priorities, use of detention, and implementation.
BIA Finds Change in HIV Status Constitutes a Material Change
Unpublished BIA decision remands after finding that the respondent met his burden of establishing that the diagnosis of HIV-positive constitutes a material change in his circumstances as a gay man in that his HIV-positive status would increase his risk of persecution in Jamaica.
CA7 Affirms BIA’s Denial of CAT Relief to Bosnian Petitioner
The court denied CAT relief, finding that BIA had considered all the evidence in the record in determining if it was more likely than not that petitioner would be tortured in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that BIA's determination was supported by substantial evidence. (Lenjinac v. Holder, 3/17/15)
National Sign-On Letter Calling on the President to End Family Detention
A 3/17/15 national sign-on letter calling on President Obama to revisit family detention in light of federal district court injunction against detaining to deter and strong new evidence that detained mothers and children are asylum seekers.
BIA Reduces $20,000 Voluntary Departure Bond
Unpublished BIA decision vacates order requiring posting of $20,000 voluntary departure bond, finding that a bond of $1,000 is sufficient to ensure respondent’s departure within the specified time period. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pimentel, 3/17/15)
BIA Orders Consideration of Untimely 212(c) Application
Unpublished BIA decision orders consideration of application for INA §212(c) waiver filed after deadline imposed by IJ, given that respondent had been an LPR since 1967. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cuello, 3/17/15)
AILA Factsheet: Dispelling Myths about Advance Parole
Critics have alleged that DACA and DAPA and advance parole create a new path to citizenship for unauthorized persons. This AILA factsheet explains that only a small percentage of individuals who receive DACA or DAPA would be able to obtain green cards using advance parole.
USCIS Memo on Adjudication of Special Rule Cancellation Requests within Eighth and Ninth Circuits
USCIS memo stating that for applications for special rule cancellation under NACARA adjudicated in the Eighth/Ninth circuits, asylum officers must calculate the 7-year continuous physical presence and good moral character period from the filing date the Form I-881, not the date of the adjudication.
AILA Notes from Liaison Teleconference with USCIS Customer Service (3/13/15)
AILA notes from a teleconference on 3/13/15 with the USCIS Customer Service and Public Engagement Directorate on issues related to myUSCIS, expanded DACA/DAPA, NCSC, ELIS, processing times, G-28 issues, and derivatives separation.
CA6 Says BIA Petitioner Did Not Demonstrate Sufficient Hardship to Children
The court held that BIA and IJ used the proper standard to evaluate hardship, even though the term "on balance" was used by IJ, and that it lacked jurisdiction to second-guess the BIA's judgment on sufficiency of the danger to petitioner’s children. (Montanez-Gonzalez v. Holder, 3/12/15)
CA2 Finds BIA May Apply Waiver Doctrine to Matters Not Raised Before IJ
The court held that the BIA may apply the doctrine of waiver to refuse to consider an issue that could have been, but was not, raised before an IJ. (Prabhudial v. Holder, 3/12/15)
CA8 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial for Guatemalan Petitioner
In an unpublished decision, the court upheld the BIA determination that the petitioner failed to establish a clear probability that his life or freedom would be threatened in Guatemala because of his membership in a particular social group. (Romero-Romero v. Holder, 3/11/15)