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
CA7 Remands Asylum Case of Political Activist from Moldova
The court found that the IJ and BIA applied the wrong legal standard in determining whether the petitioner had shown past persecution for his political activities in Moldova, and remanded the case to the BIA. (Prodan v. Holder, 5/20/13)
CA4 Holds Conviction Is Not an Aggravated Felony, Reinstates Asylee Status
The court held that the conduct the petitioner admitted to and on which his conviction for second degree assault necessarily rests does not constitute a crime of violence, and thus that he is not removable as an aggravated felon. (Karimi v. Holder, 5/13/13)
CA9 Rejects Matter of Silva-Trevino
The court held that Matter of Silva-Trevino was wrongly decided, and that the IJ and the BIA improperly considered evidence beyond the record of conviction in holding that the petitioner was convicted of a CIMT. (Olivas-Motta v. Holder, 5/17/13)
Practice Alert: Procedures for Alerting ICE of a Stay of Removal Request
AILA ICE Liaison Committee practice pointer on how to use the ICE Community and Detainee Helpline to alert ICE that there is a stay of removal request pending for a detained respondent.
ICE Arrests Former Customs Inspector for Selling Fake Documents
ICE press release announcing the arrest of a former U.S. Customs inspector who was involved in selling counterfeit immigration documents, including employment authorization cards and B-1/B-2 non-immigrant visitor visas defrauding more than 50 people out of about $100,000.
CA2 Holds Petitioner Is Not Eligible for Cancellation of Removal
The court held that the petitioner’s encounters with CBP were “formal, documented” processes through which he was determined to be inadmissible, and that his “voluntary returns” to Mexico therefore severed his physical presence. (Rosario-Mijangos v. Holder, 5/16/13)
AILA Notes on Liaison Q&As with SCOPS (5/15/13)
AILA notes from a teleconference with SCOPS on 5/15/13. Topics include FY2014 H-1B cap update, DACA inquiries, I-290B processing times, asylum-based inquiries through NCSC, USCIS immigrant fee, the new G-28, and EOIR AOS filings at TSC.
Practice Pointer: The Role of Consular Officers in U Visa Adjudications
The AILA VAWA, U & T Committee reminds members of FAM updates for U visa applicants and offers guidance for U visa clients wishing to travel.
CA7 Seriously Critiques BIA Treatment of Asylum Cases Based on Forced Sterilization
The court wrote that the BIA brushed aside whether the petitioner faces a substantial risk of compulsory sterilization if she is removed to China, critiqued the BIA for its treatment of the evidence, and remanded the case. (Chen v. Holder, 5/9/13)
CA7 on False Claims to U.S. Citizenship
The court held that a baptismal certificate presented by the petitioner at the border is not sufficient evidence to constitute a representation of U.S. citizenship, noting that it did not list a country or state under “place of birth.” (Munoz-Avila v. Holder, 5/3/13)
CA9 Remands Asylum Case of Former Mexican Soldier
The court remanded the asylum case for the BIA to reconsider whether members of a Mexican drug cartel were responsible for the harm suffered by the petitioner, and to determine whether the government is able to control the cartel. (Tapia Madrigal v. Holder, 5/15/13)
Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure Amendments Implement Padilla Holding
Amendments to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court following its decision in Padilla v. Kentucky that require judges to inform non-U.S. citizen defendants that if convicted, they may be removed, denied citizenship, and denied future admission to the U.S.
EOIR Notice on Mandatory Electronic Registry for Attorneys and Representatives
EOIR notice on a mandatory electronic registry for attorneys and representatives who can begin registering on 6/10/13. After 12/10/13, they must be registered in order to practice and may be subject to administrative suspension for failure to register. (78 FR 28124, 5/14/13)
EOIR Launches Online Registration for Immigration Practitioners
EOIR press release announcing that effective June 10, 2013, it will rollout electronic registration for attorneys and fully accredited representatives who represent aliens in proceedings before EOIR’s immigration courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
CA6 Finds German Homeschoolers Are Not Eligible for Asylum
The court held that a German law requiring all children to attend school was not selectively applied to homeschoolers like the petitioners, and that the enforcement of the law did not amount to persecution against the petitioners. (Romeike v. Holder, 5/14/13) AILA Doc. No. 13052047.
BIA Grants Construed Motion to Reopen for Assyrian Christian
Unpublished BIA decision remanding after finding that the respondent’s motion, stating that conditions for Assyrian Christians have gotten worse since U.S. troops departed Iraq in December 2011, demonstrated prima facie eligibility for asylum and withholding. Courtesy of Robert DeKelaita.
AIM: The Human Impact of Immigration Policy
For May's AILA Interview of the Month (AIM), a young woman joins us to tell her personal story that highlights the human impact of immigration policy and the importance of sharing individual narratives to help create change.
CA9 Finds Petitioner Is Not Eligible for 212(c) Relief
The court held that the petitioner falls outside of the protective scope of §212(c) because he is an aggravated felon who filed for relief after 11/29/90, regardless of when he was initially admitted to the U.S. (Lawrence v. Holder, 5/21/13)
USCIS Q&As from Liaison Meeting with NBC (5/10/13)
USCIS Q&As from the AILA NBC Liaison Committee’s 5/10/13 meeting with the National Benefits Center, including processing times for I-290Bs, I-601A provisional waivers, stand-alone I-130 processing, interview waiver adjustment of status, and processing times.
AILA NBC Liaison Committee Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes from the AILA NBC Liaison Committee’s 5/10/13 meeting with the National Benefits Center, including information on new NBC initiatives and staffing updates, I-601A provisional waivers, stand-alone I-130 processing, interview waiver adjustment of status, and processing times.
USCIS Data on DACA Cases Received Through May 17, 2013
USCIS statistics on DACA cases from 8/15/12 to 4/30/13 which shows a total of 497,960 accepted DACA requests for processing, 483,907 biometric services appointments scheduled and 291,859 requests approved.
USCIS Data on DACA Cases Received Through March 31, 2013 (Corrected)
USCIS corrected statistics on DACA cases from 8/15/12 to 3/31/13 which was corrected on 5/9/13 to revise the number of cases under review in October 2012 from 134,858 to 106,752 cases.
USCIS Data on DACA Cases Received Through March 31, 2013
USCIS statistics on DACA cases from 8/15/12 to 3/31/13 which shows a total of 472,004 accepted DACA requests for processing, 456,843 biometric services appointments scheduled and 268,361 requests approved.
BIA Holds Child Cannot Rely on Parent’s Status and Residence to Establish Cancellation Eligibility
The Board held that a parent’s LPR status and residence in the U.S. cannot be imputed to an unemancipated minor for purposes of establishing the child’s eligibility for cancellation of removal. Matter of Montoya-Silva, 26 I&N Dec. 123 (BIA 2013)
CA9 on EAJA Fees
The court denied the motion for attorney’s fees, although one Circuit Judge wrote a concurring opinion noting that “EAJA does not work well when it compels a court to cut off compensation of careful and effective advocacy.” (Sargsyan v. Holder, 5/9/13)