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
Media Talking Points for AILA Members on UACs
As AILA Members are asked about unaccompanied children, they may find these brief talking points of use for interviews, particularly those focused on the proposed changes to the TVPRA. These will be updated as the issue continues to develop in the news and on the Hill.
USCIS Statistics on Asylum Filings for Minors for FY2014
USCIS provided FY2014 statistics on minor principal applicants (affirmative asylum applicants under the age of 18 at the time of filing) and asylum applicants of any age filed with USCIS under the initial jurisdiction provision of the TVPRA while in removal proceedings.
EOIR Factsheet on New Priorities to Address Migrants Crossing into the U.S.
A 7/9/14 Department of Justice factsheet on the steps EOIR will take to refocus its resources to prioritize cases involving migrants who have recently crossed the southwest border and whom DHS has placed into removal proceedings.
EOIR Announcement of New Priorities to Address Migrants Crossing into the U.S.
A 7/9/14 Department of Justice press release announcing that EOIR will refocus its resources to prioritize cases involving migrants who have recently crossed the southwest border and whom DHS has placed into removal proceedings.
AILA Statement for Senate Appropriations Hearing on UACs
AILA statement submitted to the Senate Appropriations Committee for the 7/10/14 hearing on “Review of the President’s Emergency Supplemental Request for Unaccompanied Children and Related Matters.”
Senate Homeland Security Hearing on Humanitarian Crisis at Southern Border
A 7/9/14 hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs committee, “Challenges at the Border: Examining the Causes, Consequences, and Responses to the Rise in Apprehensions at the Southern Border.”
CA7 Vacates And Remands, Says BIA Did Not Properly Apply Silva-Trevino
The court found the BIA did not properly apply the Silva-Trevino framework in determining that any portion of knowingly or intentionally failing to stop after causing injury under §9-26-1-8 of the Indiana statute categorically qualified as a CIMT. (Sanchez v. Holder, 7/9/14)
CA1 Finds Salvadoran Petitioner Failed to Show Causation in Asylum Claim
The court found that although the nuclear family can be a social group that is the target of persecution, the petitioner, a mother of three sons resisting gang violence in El Salvador, failed to show she would be persecuted as a result of her kinship. (Constanza v. Holder, 7/9/14)
AILA Recommendations on Legal Standards and Protections for Unaccompanied Children
An AILA background document on the current regional humanitarian crisis affecting the southwestern border of the United States, with AILA recommendations on legal standards and protections for unaccompanied children.
AILA: Administration Request for Funding – Not Enough to Protect Children
AILA President Leslie Holman detailed some of AILA’s concerns with the administration’s funding request to Congress for additional resources to address the needs of unaccompanied children, noting that ”Some of the request is absolutely essential but much portends steps in the wrong direction.”
White House Fact Sheet on Supplemental Funding Request to Congress
A 7/8/14 White House factsheet detailing the administration’s request for $3.7 billion in supplemental funding for an inter-agency response to the humanitarian crisis affecting the southwest border of the United States.
President's Request to Speaker Boehner for Supplemental Funding for Humanitarian Crisis
A 7/8/14 letter from President Obama to Speaker Boehner (R-OH) requesting $3.7 billion in supplemental funding for an inter-agency response to the humanitarian crisis affecting the southwest border of the United States.
CA1 Says BIA Did Not Err in Holding Petitioner to Attorney Concessions of Removability
The court found petitioner failed to demonstrate his attorney’s concessions of removability were so egregious as to warrant releasing him from those concessions and the BIA did not err in determining he was removable based upon his 2009 conviction for a CIMT. (Lima v. Holder, 7/8/14)
BIA Vacates Stipulated Removal Order
Unpublished BIA decision vacates stipulated removal order because IJ did not address whether waiver of hearing was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent, citing 8 CFR 1003.25(b). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Aquino, 7/8/14)
BIA Holds Florida Burglary Not a Categorical CIMT
Unpublished BIA grants motion to reconsider and holds burglary under Fla. Stat. 810.02(2)(a) is not categorical CIMT because certain subsections do not require the structure to be occupied at the time of the breaking. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Reyes, 7/8/14)
CBP Announces Immediate Deployment of 150 Border Patrol Agents to Rio Grande Valley
CBP press release announces the immediate deployment of approximately 150 additional Border Patrol agents to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, where the largest number of unaccompanied minors are arriving. Press release includes information on Dangers Awareness campaign.
National Sign-on Letter Opposing Family Detention
On 7/7/14 AILA joined over 100 other organizations in a sign-on letter to President Obama urging him to end plans to open new immigrant detention centers for families.
CA9 Retroactively Applies Terrorism Bar for Asylum Petitioner from Iran
The court held the statutory terrorism bar at INA §212(a)(3)(B) applied retroactively to petitioner’s material support of a Tier III organization, the Mojahedi-e Khalq (MEK), although his activities with MEK in the 1970s occurred before official designation. (Bojnoordi v. Holder, 7/7/14)
CA9 Blocks Arizona Driver’s License Ban for DACA Beneficiaries
The court held it could identify no legitimate state interest that was rationally related to defendants’ decision to treat DACA recipients disparately from other noncitizens who could use their EAD cards when applying for driver’s licenses. (Arizona Dream Act Coalition v. Brewer, 7/7/14)
BIA Sustains Appeal and Finds Respondent Eligible for Cancellation of Removal
Unpublished BIA decision sustaining the appeal and holding that the respondent was eligible for cancellation of removal, finding that the IJ erred in determining that respondent’s testimony was not credible regarding the dates of entry. Courtesy of Diana M. Bailey.
National Sign-On Letter on UACs
On 7/3/14, AILA joined over 190 other organizations in a sign-on letter to President Obama urging him to reconsider the plan to expedite the deportation of Central American children to the dangers they escaped in their home countries.
CRS Report on Potential Factors Contributing to Recent UAC Humanitarian Crisis
Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on potential factors, including conditions in Central America and factors within the U.S., that are contributing to the recent unaccompanied child humanitarian crisis.
BIA Says Respondent Can Apply for Adjustment Because Entry Was Procedurally Regular
Unpublished BIA decision sustaining appeal and remanding, citing Matter of Quilantan in finding that for purposes of adjustment of status eligibility, a noncitizen need only prove procedural regularity in her entry and not the precise date. Courtesy of Stephen Yale-Loehr.
BIA Holds California Statutory Rape Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds statutory rape under Cal. Penal Code 261.5(d) is not a CIMT because prosecutors need not show the perpetrator knew or should have known the victim was a minor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of C-A-E-L-, 7/3/14)
President Obama 6/30/14 Remarks on Border Security and Immigration Reform
Text of President Obama’s 6/30/14 remarks on border security and immigration reform. Remarks included plans to ask Congress for resources to address the humanitarian crisis involving unaccompanied alien children from Central America and plans for administrative action on deportation policies.