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
VOICE: July/August 2014
In the July/August 2014 VOICE, learn about opening a law office abroad, representing witnesses who cooperate with U.S. government officials, using your Agora digital library, visiting Hong Kong for business, and more!
CRS Memo on Current Laws Governing Removal of UACs
A Congressional Research Service (CRS) memo on the current laws governing the removal of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) from the U.S. Included is a chart comparing current law with three legislative proposed introduced in June/July 2014 that would significantly modify treatment of UACs.
CRS Report on Asylum and Expedited Removal Policies for Unaccompanied Children and Families
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on how unaccompanied children are treated in comparison to unauthorized adults and families with children in the specific contexts of asylum and expedited removal.
CA1 Declines to Review Asylum Denial for Guatemalan Child Fleeing Gang Violence
The court declined to review the asylum denial, finding that the petitioner failed to establish a viable nexus between the identified persecution and his claimed social group of abandoned Guatemalan children lacking protection from gang violence. (Guerra v. Holder, 7/29/14)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Did Not Demonstrate Good Faith Needed for Hardship Waiver
The court declined to review the denial of the waiver to remove conditions, finding the petitioner failed to establish that he entered into his marriage in good faith, as the record lacked detail and lacked evidence of commingling finances and cohabitation. (Lamim v. Holder, 7/29/14)
BIA Finds LPR Did Not Abandon Status or Deliberately Misreport Length of Prior Trips Abroad
Unpublished BIA decision finds DHS did not prove the respondent intended to abandon his LPR status by taking numerous lengthy trips to Yemen or that he deliberately misreported the length of his trips on a prior naturalization application. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ahmed, 7/29/14)
CA8 Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Refusal to Reopen Sua Sponte and MTR Denial
The court found that the publication of Descamps was not the kind of fundamental change in law for which sua sponte reopening was warranted, and also found that it lacked jurisdiction to review the motion to reopen (MTR) denial. (Barajas-Salinas v. Holder, 7/29/14)
Written Testimony of Leon Rodriguez on Oversight of USCIS
Written testimony of Leon Rodriguez from a 7/29/14 hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on oversight of USCIS, covering a wide range of topics including the timely adjudication of I-130 immediate relative petitions, L-1A site visits, DACA, EB-5, transformation, and unaccompanied minors.
National Sign-On Letter to House on Supplemental Funding
On 7/29/14 AILA joined 190 other organizations in a sign-on letter to the House urging the passage of a clean supplemental funding bill and opposing changes to the TVPRA that would water down protections for children.
National Sign-On Letter on Supplemental Funding
On 7/29/2014 AILA joined over 190 other organizations in a sign on letter to the House and Senate urging the passage of a clean supplemental funding bill and opposing changes to the TVPRA that would water down protections for children.
Proposed House and Senate Emergency Appropriations Bills
In July 2014 the House and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairs, Representative Hal Rogers (R-KY) and Senator Barbara Mikulski (R-MD) respectively, introduced legislation to provide supplemental funding to address the Central American humanitarian crisis impact on the southern border.
CA8 Says Conviction for Grand Theft Auto Is Aggravated Felony
The court held the BIA did not err in determining that petitioner’s 1989 conviction for grand theft auto was an aggravated felony, as it found that the conditional probationary 365 day county jail sentence was a term of imprisonment of at least one year. (Hernandez v. Holder, 7/28/14)
CA8 Says Iowa Tampering With Records Conviction Is Categorically a CIMT
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that petitioner’s conviction for tampering with records under Iowa Code §715A.5 was categorically a CIMT, rendering him statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal. (Villatoro v. Holder, 7/28/14)
BIA Finds IJ Failed to Advise Respondent of Eligibility for Voluntary Departure
Unpublished BIA decision remands record upon finding IJ committed legal error by failing to advise the respondent of his eligibility to apply for post-conclusion voluntary departure. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Banos, 7/28/14)
BIA Terminates Proceedings Against Respondent Accused of Cocaine Possession
Unpublished BIA decision terminates proceedings against respondent convicted of drug possession because the lab report finding the substance was cocaine was not relied upon by the criminal court. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Perez Flores, 7/28/14)
CA7 Says BIA Did Not Satisfy Hashmi Factors in Granting Continuance
The court held the BIA abused its discretion in denying the continuance pending adjudication of the I-130, as a continuance was needed due to USCIS’s carelessness in losing supporting materials about the potential fraudulent nature of petitioner’s second marriage. (Yang v. Holder, 7/25/14)
CA6 Says Petitioner Failed to State a Claim under the APA
The court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the complaint, holding that USCIS’s termination of refugee status and denial of the adjustment application were not “final agency actions” reviewable in district court under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). (Jama v. DHS, 7/25/14)
BIA Holds Iowa Delivery of Marijuana Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds delivery of marijuana under Iowa Code 124.401(1)(d) is not a drug trafficking aggravated felony under Moncrieffe v. Holder. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Telesford, 5/27/14)
BIA Withdraws from Lanferman, Citing Descamps
The BIA held that it did not have authority to continue to apply the divisibility analysis used in Lanferman and found respondent was not removable due to an aggravated felony but was removable due to his firearms conviction. Matter of Chairez-Castrejon, 26 I&N Dec. 349 (BIA 2014)
AILA: Artesia Detention Center a Due Process Failure
Following a visit to the Artesia detention facility this week and observing severe due process violations, AILA calls for the suspension of all deportations from the facility until fundamental improvements can be made.
AILA Quicktake #91: The Artesia Experience
Olsi Vrapi, AILA member and managing partner of Noble & Vrapi, joins us via Skype to discuss his experience at Artesia, a family detention center located in New Mexico set up to house families from Central America.
Special Member Update: Response to Central American Humanitarian Crisis (Updated 7/25/14)
AILA National has been coordinating efforts to effect change on the UAC humanitarian crisis through liaison, legislative, and policy channels, as well as coordinating a pro bono response. This update is on what we know, what actions we are continuing to pursue, and how you can get involved.
CA7 on CSPA “Sought to Acquire” Standard
The court remanded for the BIA to determine whether petitioner took “substantial steps” to acquire permanent status within one year of his eligibility, as required by the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) standard in effect prior to Matter of O. Vasquez. (Velásquez v. Holder, 7/23/14)
CA1 Remands Asylum Denial for Mayan Quiché Petitioner from Guatemala
The court vacated and remanded the asylum denial, finding that the petitioner showed his Mayan Quiché identity was at least one central reason why he and his community were targeted by the Guatemalan army. (Ordonez-Quino v. Holder, 7/23/14)
CA9 Affirms Government’s Modified Categorical Approach for Controlled Substance Offense
The court held DHS could consider a page in the indictment that described the controlled substance as methamphetamine because the statement was specifically incorporated into petitioner’s plea agreement as the factual basis supporting his guilty plea. (Alvarado v. Holder, 7/23/14)