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 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Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent was not inadmissible for alien smuggling based on his conviction under INA §274(a)(1)(A)(ii), because the criminal statute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Unpublished BIA decision remands after finding that the respondent met his burden of establishing that the diagnosis of HIV-positive constitutes a material change in his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)
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)