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
CA8 Holds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review DHS Removal Discretion and Finds Petitioner Waived Due Process Claim
The court held that the petitioner waived her due process argument based on IJ bias by failing to meaningfully raise it before the BIA, and found that it lacked jurisdiction to review DHS’s exercise of removal discretion. (Quijano-Duran, et al. v. Bondi, 4/2/26)
CA9 Holds BIA Applied Wrong Diligence Standard and Finds “Stateless” Petitioner Acted with Due Diligence
The court held that the BIA employed the wrong diligence standard in upholding the IJ’s denial of the petitioner’s second motion to reopen and that the petitioner acted with due diligence in pursuing vacatur of the conviction on which her removal order was based. (Eskilian v. Bondi, 4/2/26)
Deaths at Adult Detention Centers
AILA provides a continually updated list of press releases announcing deaths in adult immigration detention.
CA9 Finds No Impermissible Retroactivity in Applying Reinstatement Provision and Petitioner Failed to Show Prejudice
The court held that applying IIRAIRA’s reinstatement provision to the petitioner was not impermissibly retroactive, and that a petitioner must show prejudice to obtain relief for an alleged denial of counsel in reinstatement proceedings. (Verduzco Ruiz v. Bondi, 4/1/26)
CA3 Holds That Abuser’s LPR or Citizen Status at Time of Application Satisfies Special Rule Cancellation Requirement
The court granted in part the petition for review, holding that for special rule cancellation under INA §240A(b)(2)(A)(i)(II), an abuser may be a lawful permanent resident (LPR) or U.S. citizen at any time before the application is adjudicated. (Cardenas v. Att’y Gen., 3/31/26)
Client Flyer: Common Terms Used in Removal Proceedings
AILA provides a flyer to help your clients understand common terms used in removal proceedings. The flyer is available as a generic PDF version and a Word version you can customize with your firm's information. The PDF is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, and Spanish. Please share.
BIA Holds Objection to Defective NTA Is Forfeited If Not Raised by Respondent and Requires In Absentia Proceedings Where Proper Notice Was Provided
The BIA held that an objection to a defective NTA is forfeited if not timely raised by respondent, and that where a respondent fails to appear but received proper notice of the hearing, the IJ should proceed in absentia and not terminate. Matter of Lopez-Orellana, 29 I&N Dec. 533 (BIA 2026)
CA2 Holds That BIA Misread Petitioner’s Arguments in Finding He Failed to Act with Reasonable Due Diligence for Equitable Tolling
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion in denying the petitioner’s motion to reopen based on a change in law that arguably entitled him to relief from removal, finding that the BIA’s conclusion relied on a misreading of the petitioner’s arguments. (Ramsay v. Bondi, 3/27/26)
DHS Notice Extends Finding of Mass Influx of Aliens
DHS notice stating that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is further extending the “Finding of Mass Influx of Aliens” first issued 1/23/25. This extension, dated 1/12/26, will expire in 180 days. (91 FR 14703, 3/26/26)
AILA Congressional Briefing on 3/26: Administration Policies Weaken Asylum System and Immigration Courts
On 3/26, AILA briefed Congress on three policy briefs from the A Better Way on Immigration series focusing on the Administration’s policy changes made over the past year to pursue its mass deportation campaign, weaken the asylum system, and make the immigration courts less efficient and independent.
BIA Finds That IJs Must Identify Evidence Rebutting Presumption of Reliability of Form I-213 in Alienage Determination
The BIA held that where an IJ finds that a Form I-213 is unreliable and insufficient to establish alienage, the IJ must point to specific evidence in the record sufficient to rebut the presumption of reliability. Matter of Mercado-Martinez, 29 I&N Dec. 529 (BIA 2026)
CA8 Holds That Unadmitted Noncitizens Present in the United States Are “Seeking Admission” and Subject to Mandatory Detention
The court reversed the grant of habeas relief to the Mexican petitioner, holding that an unadmitted noncitizen present in the United States is “seeking admission” and subject to mandatory detention under INA §235(b)(2)(A). (Avila v. Bondi, et al., 3/25/26)
CA4 Holds That Virginia 12-Month Maximum Sentence Qualifies as “One Year or Longer” for CIMT Removability
The court denied the petitions for review, holding that a Virginia Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months qualifies as a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i). (Perdomo Ulloa v. Bondi, 3/25/26)
CA5 Upholds Denial of CAT Deferral as to Salvadoran Petitioner Based on Lack of Specific Intent and Speculative Torture Risk
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of CAT deferral to petitioner, concluding that El Salvador’s harsh prison conditions were not specifically intended to inflict torture and that the risk of future torture was speculative. (Fuentes-Pineda v. Bondi, 3/24/26)
CA9 Holds It Lacks Jurisdiction over Petition Challenging Only Denial of CAT Relief
The court dismissed the petition for review of the IJ’s order affirming a negative reasonable fear determination, holding that it lacks jurisdiction to hear a petition that challenges only the denial of relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Navarrete v. Bondi, 3/23/26)
EOIR Issues Policy Memorandum (PM) 26-03 on Judicial Conduct and Professionalism
EOIR Director Daren Margolin issued policy memorandum (PM) 26-03 to clarify EOIR’s process for addressing complaints of judicial misconduct by its adjudicators. The PM supersedes prior guidance on the judicial complaint process, last updated in November 2023.
BIA Holds That IJ Clearly Erred in Credibility Determination and Pattern or Practice Finding Regarding Anglophones in Cameroon
The BIA held that the IJ clearly erred in finding the respondent credible and that the IJ’s conclusory statement that there was a pattern or practice of persecution against Anglophones in Cameroon was not supported by record evidence. Matter of E–N–N–, 29 I&N Dec. 586 (BIA 2026)
Featured Issue: Ensuring Legal Representation for People Facing Removal
Despite the critical role legal representation plays in ensuring fairness in removal proceedings, the law still does not guarantee the government will pay for counsel if the person is unable to afford one. AILA provides resources on ensuring legal representation for people facing removal.
Policy Brief: America Needs Independent, Fair, and Efficient Immigration Courts
The Administration has implemented many changes to the immigration court system that undermines its ability to deliver fair outcomes consistent with the law. This brief explores these changes and provides recommendations to Congress to make the courts fairer, faster, and restore the public’s trust.
AILA Sends Letter to Leader Thune, Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries on Funding for ICE and CBP
AILA President Jeff Joseph and Executive Director Ben Johnson sent a letter to Leader Thune, Leader Schumer, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries to block funding to ICE and CBP until meaningful reforms are enacted to hold these agencies accountable and restore safety to American communities.
CA1 Finds No Colorable Legal or Constitutional Error in BIA’s Denial of Sua Sponte Reopening
The court denied the consolidated petitions for review, holding that the Bosniak petitioners failed to raise any colorable legal or constitutional claims challenging the BIA’s denial of sua sponte reopening. (Hodzic v. Bondi, et al., 3/19/26)
BIA Denies Motion to Reopen for SIJ-Based Adjustment of Status Due to Four-Year Delay in Visa Availability
The BIA held that no ineffective assistance claim lies where person retained was not an attorney and did not hold himself out as one, and that minor respondents’ SIJ-based adjustment eligibility was speculative due to visa unavailability. Matter of Z–R–C–N–, et al., 29 I&N Dec. 523 (BIA 2026)
BIA Vacates Grant of Cancellation Where Economic and Educational Hardships to Respondent’s Children Were Not Exceptional and Extremely Unusual
The BIA held that respondent had not shown that the economic, educational, and emotional hardships his 26– and 24-year-old children might experience if he was removed to Mexico would constitute exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. Matter of Arevalo-Vargas, 29 I&N Dec. 519 (BIA 2026)
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Deadline for Appealing an Immigration Judge Decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals
EOIR Director Daren Margolin issued Policy Memorandum (PM) 26-02 to clarify that the appeal deadline for all immigration court decisions to the BIA is 30 days as a result of the Amica Ctr. for Immig. Rts. v. EOIR lawsuit. The memo also states ACIS should also reflect the current 30-day deadline.
BIA Finds Respondent’s Intent to Seek Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver Did Not Warrant Continued Administrative Closure
Where the respondent’s removal proceedings had been administratively closed for over 13 years, the BIA held that continued administrative closure was not warranted based on her intention to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver. Matter of Medina Madrid, 29 I&N Dec. 514 (BIA 2026)