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 Holds Florida Third Degree Theft Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings upon finding third degree grand theft under Fla. Stat. 812.014 is not a CIMT and notes it reached same result in prior unpublished decision. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alvarez Fernandez, 9/23/14)
BIA Reverses IJ For Providing Required Advisals During Bond Proceedings
Unpublished BIA decision remands record because the IJ provided numerous required advisals during bond proceedings rather than removal proceedings. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Deleon, 9/23/14)
BIA Says Respondent Is Ineligible for Cancellation of Removal
The BIA held an alien is ineligible for cancellation under INA §240A(b)(1)(C), if he falls within the scope of INA §212(a)(2)(B), for being convicted of two or more offenses for which the aggregate sentences imposed were five years or more. Matter of Pina-Galindo, 26 I&N Dec. 423 (BIA 2014)
AILA's Take on Asylum for Detained Families
AILA’s take on the Obama administration’s decision to deny asylum to Central American families fleeing violence.
Family Detention Case Examples
A compilation of case examples of mothers and children detained at the Artesia family detention center.
AILA's Take on Family Detention
AILA calls on the Obama administration to stop the mass detention and rapid deportation of Central American mothers and children in this backgrounder document.
AILA's Take on Bond for Detained Families
AILA backgrounder on the Obama Administration’s decision to denying bond to all Central American families being detained.
House Briefing on Family Detention
A 9/22/14 AILA-sponsored briefing in the House on family detention.
ICE to Open Additional Facility in South Texas to House Adults with Children
ICE announcement that it plans to open and operate a new facility in early November in Dilley, Texas to detain adults with children in response to the influx of individuals apprehended along the Southwest border. Facility has capacity for 2,400 individuals.
BIA Remands for Application of Realistic Probability Test in Moncrieffe and Duenas-Alvarez
The BIA held where a state statute covers a substance not included in a federal statute’s generic definition, there must be a realistic probability that the state would prosecute conduct falling outside the generic crime to defeat removability. Matter of Ferreira, 26 I&N Dec. 415 (BIA 2014)
BIA Reverses IJ For Considering Allegations in Complaint Unrelated to Crime of Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision remands for further consideration of whether stalking under Minn. Stat. 609.749(2)(1) is a CIMT whereas because the complaint on which the IJ relied did not charged the respondent with other offenses. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Enriquez, 9/22/14)
CA9 Says CA Attempted Arson Is an Aggravated Felony (Updated 11/6/14)
The court held a conviction for attempted arson in violation of California Penal Code §455 was an aggravated felony and the additional element in the federal explosive materials statute is a purely jurisdictional element to be disregarded. (Sandoval-Gomez v. Holder, 9/22/14, vacated 10/24/14)
EOIR to Close El Centro, California Immigration Court
EOIR announcement that it will close its El Centro Immigration Court in California on September 30, 2014, as a result of DHS’s decision to close this location as a primary place of detention for respondents in removal proceedings, and the new hearing location will be the Imperial Immigration Court.
Letter to Vice President Biden on Pro Bono Representation
A 9/19/14 letter from AILA and other legal services organizations urging the Administration to take action to remove impediments to access to counsel for children and families.
AILA Quicktake #97: Deputy Secretary Mayorkas' Speech and Artesia Hearings
AILA's Director of Advocacy Greg Chen sits down to provide a recap on Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas' appearance at the National Press Club this week. Chen also discusses the immigration court proceedings happening for detainees in Artesia.
CA9 Finds CHS §11351 Conviction Is Neither Aggravated Felony Nor Controlled Substance Offense (Withdrawn) (Updated 10/20/14)
The court vacated the removal order, applying the modified categorical approach and finding that the conviction under §11351 of the California Health and Safety Code (CHS) was neither an aggravated felony nor a controlled substance offense. (Medina v. Holder, 9/19/14; withdrawn 10/10/14)
BIA Holds IJ Should Have Reviewed Initial I-485
Unpublished BIA vacates denial of I-485 due lack of healthcare worker certification and instructs IJ to determine whether resubmitted I-485 should be treated as renewed application and whether a continued offer of employment exists. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kim, 9/19/14)
CA3 Holds Pennsylvania Child Endangerment Conviction Is Not a CIMT
The court applied the categorical approach and held that the least culpable conduct criminalized under §4304(a)(1) of Pennsylvania’s child endangerment statute did not implicate a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Hernandez-Cruz v. Att'y Gen., 9/4/14)
AILA Amicus Brief Requesting BIA to Reexamine Adoption of Circumstance-Specific Methodology
AILA amicus brief to the BIA requesting the reexamination of its adoption of a circumstance-specific inquiry for the exception clause of the controlled substance ground of removability in light of Moncrieffe v. Holder and the continued validity of Matter of Davey.
ICE Shares Stories from Artesia Detention Facility Demonstrating Humanitarian Mission
ICE press release sharing the experiences ICE employees at the Family Residential Facility in Artesia. Stories included how a HSI special agent used his skills as an EMT to help a toddler experiencing a seizure and how agents and officers have been teaching children there American football.
BIA Distinguishes Moncrieffe and Reaffirms Matter of Davey
The BIA held the exception in INA §237(a)(2)(B)(i) calls for a circumstance-specific inquiry into the character of the unlawful conduct on a single occasion, not a categorical inquiry into the elements of a single statutory crime. Matter of Dominguez-Rodriguez, 26 I&N Dec. 408 (BIA 2014)
CA11 Says Silence in DOS Reports Cannot Rebut Evidence of Torture of Returned Asylum Seekers
The court vacated and remanded the 2013 order of removal, concluding that the silence in the DOS Country Reports could not, without more, rebut evidence presented that petitioner would suffer persecution as a failed asylum seeker if returned to Sri Lanka. (Gaksakuman v. Att’y Gen., 9/18/14)
EOIR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Custody and Bond Proceedings Representation
EOIR notice of proposed rulemaking to amend the regulations to allow a representative to enter an appearance in custody and bond proceedings without such an appearance constituting an entry of appearance for all Immigration Court proceedings. Comments are due by 11/17/14. (79 FR 55659, 9/17/14)
EOIR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Pro Bono Legal Services Providers List
EOIR notice of proposed rulemaking to change the name of the “List of Free Legal Services Providers” and to enhance the eligibility requirements for organizations, private attorneys, and referral services to be included in the List. Comments are due by 11/17/14. (79 FR 55662, 9/17/14)
BIA Says IJ Erred in Denying Continuance and Former Attorney Did Not Act Frivolously
Unpublished BIA decision remanding and permitting respondent to seek voluntary departure, holding IJ erred in denying request for a continuance, IJ did not err in denying administrative closure, and former attorney did not act frivolously in pursuing these requests. Courtesy of Jordan G. Forsythe.