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
CA7 Denies Request for Continuance to File a Second I-130
The court held it is not an abuse of discretion for an IJ to deny a continuance based on the speculative nature of an unfiled I-130, and that the denial of a prior request for relief is highly relevant in determining whether good cause exists for a continuance. (Souley v. Holder, 3/11/15)
AILA Recommends Senators Vote NO on the Inhofe Amendment 275 – Oppose Massive Escalation of Immigration Detention
AILA Recommends Senators Vote NO on the Inhofe Amendment 275, which would grant DHS extraordinarily broad power to detain noncitizens for prolonged or indefinite periods.
BIA Finds Respondent Removable for Participation in Acts of Torture and Extrajudicial Killing
The BIA found respondent removable, where killing of civilians and acts of torture occurred during his command of the Salvadoran National Guard, and he interfered with investigations, and failed to hold the perpetrators accountable. Matter of Vides Casanova, 26 I&N Dec. 494 (BIA 2015)
The Council and AILA File Amicus Brief on Scope of the § 212(h) Aggravated Felony Bar
The American Immigration Council and AILA filed an amicus brief in Mansfield v. Holder urging the Eighth Circuit Court to vacate Roberts v. Holder, which holds that the § 212(h) aggravated felony bar applies to all LPRs regardless of the manner in which they gained LPR status.
Ethical Questions for AILA Members Regarding Expanded DACA and DAPA Clients
AILA member and Ethics Committee Chair Cyrus Mehta answers ethical questions on clients who may qualify for expanded DACA and DAPA. For more information or additional questions, please email AILA’s Practice and Professionalism Center.
CA8 Says Victims of Gang Violence Is Not a Valid Particular Social Group
The court held petitioner did not demonstrate that being a victim of gang violence was a particular social group, because the group did not show sufficient particularity and visibility such that it was perceived as a cohesive group by Guatemalan society. (Chilel v. Holder, 3/10/15)
BIA Holds Respondent in Withholding Only Proceedings May Be Released from Custody
Unpublished BIA decision orders further consideration of request for custody determination by mother in withholding only proceedings denied by IJ solely to avoid separation from son who was also in custody. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-R-N-, 3/10/15)
BIA Holds Pennsylvania Reckless Endangerment Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings under Third Circuit decision finding recklessly endangering another person under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. 2705 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Vasquez-Lopez, 3/10/15)
BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte for Opportunity to Seek Cancellation
Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte after respondent is resentenced to probation, thereby making him eligible to apply for cancellation of removal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Cwalinski, 3/9/15)
BIA Precludes DHS From Relying on Unconstitutionally Obtained Evidence in Future Proceedings
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings due to egregious Fourth Amendment violation, and states that DHS is precluded from presenting same evidence in any future proceedings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pretzantizin, 3/9/15)
BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order for Respondent with Flat Tire
Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order for respondent who appeared at multiple prior hearings, was the beneficiary of an approved visa petition, and arrived late to hearing due to a flat tire. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Vega-Vargas, 3/9/15)
Amicus Brief on Filing Deadlines When There is Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim
Amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Mata v. Holder in support of the petitioner, illustrating why filing a MTR based on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim can take a considerable length of time past the 90-day statutory filing deadline.
ICE Issues Alert on Scam Targeting Noncitizens
ICE alert that it has received information indicating a possible scam targeting non-citizens, by individuals claiming to work for ICE's Detention Reporting and Information Line (DRIL).
CA5 Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Denial to Reopen Sua Sponte
The court held that since BIA has discretion in deciding whether to reopen sua sponte, it lacked jurisdiction to review BIA’s denial of petitioner’s untimely MTR and his request that BIA equitably toll the filing deadline due to ineffective assistance of counsel. (Mata v. Holder, 3/5/14)
CA2 Defers to BIA’s Interpretation of “Crime of Child Abuse”
The court held that BIA’s interpretation of the phrase “crimes of child abuse” to include child‐endangerment crimes for which injury to a child is not a required element was a reasonable reading of a statutory ambiguity and entitled to Chevron deference. (Florez v. Holder, 3/4/15)
CA5 Defers to BIA’s Interpretation of Good Moral Character Requirements
The court upheld BIA’s determination that a petitioner cannot establish good moral character if he was incarcerated for 180 days or more and that the 10 years preceding the final administrative decision should be used for removal cancellation purposes. (Rodriguez-Avalos v. Holder, 3/4/15)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Continuance for Ex-Wife’s Testimony on I-751 Waiver
The court held BIA did not abuse discretion in denying continuance for petitioner’s ex-wife to testify in support of I-751 waiver, because he did not show the testimony would have been significantly favorable to him and a good-faith effort to obtain her appearance. (Bouras v. Holder, 3/4/15)
AILA Notes from SCOPS Teleconference (3/4/15)
AILA notes from a teleconference with SCOPS on 3/4/15. Topics include processing times, family unity applications and extensions, EADs pending over 90 days, new Form G-28, I-485 receipt notice language, green card production for consular processing cases, I-129s, and defensive asylum applications.
AILA: H.R 1148 Offers No Workable Solution to Serious, Long-Standing Problems with Immigration System
AILA statement for the House Judiciary Committee markup opposing H.R. 1148, the Michael Davis, Jr. in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act.
AILA: H.R. 1149 Will Harm Vulnerable Child Victims of Violence
AILA statement for the House Judiciary Committee markup opposing H.R. 1149, the Protect the Children Act of 2015.
CA10 Says Young Males Recruited by Gangs in El Salvador Not a PSG
The court held that young El Salvadoran males threatened and actively recruited by gangs, who resist because they oppose the gangs, is not a particular social group (PSG), and that petitioner did not prove he was persecuted due to any membership in a PSG. (Rodas-Orellana v. Holder, 3/2/15)
CA11 Upholds BIA’s Frivolous Asylum Application Finding
The court upheld the BIA, finding that petitioner filed a frivolous asylum application, and that it lacked jurisdiction to consider claims that BIA denied her a sufficient opportunity to account for application discrepancies and violated her due process. (Indrawati v. Att’y Gen., 3/2/15)
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on deciphering the Lopez-Mendoza “identity statement rule”, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for February 2015 and recent BIA precedent decisions.
EOIR Releases FY2014 Statistics Yearbook
EOIR’s FY2014 yearbook with data on cases before immigration courts, BIA, and OCAHO, as well as appeals of IJ decisions to the BIA. The data includes information on respondents’ cases by naturalization, language, and disposition, and provide detailed information surrounding asylum cases.
DOJ OIL March 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for March 2015, with articles on Maldonado v. Holder and Lenjinac v. Holder, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for March 2015.