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
EOIR Notice on Correction to Professional Conduct for Practitioners
EOIR published a correction to 8 CFR part 1003.108, on confidentiality, where the following words are added to the end of the second sentence in paragraph (a): “before the filing of a Notice of Intent to Discipline.” (78 FR 42863, 7/18/13)
EOIR Notice of Revision to Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal
EOIR notice of revision of 8 CFR part 1208.13, paragraph (c)(2)(ii) is moved after paragraph (c)(2)(i)(F). (78 FR 42863, 7/18/13)
DHS Notice of Revision to Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal
DHS notice of revision of 8 CFR section 208.13, paragraph (c)(2)(ii) is moved after paragraph (c)(2)(i)(F). (78 FR 42863, 7/18/13)
BIA on Motions to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions
The Board held that a noncitizen with an in absentia order doesn’t need to rescind the order before seeking a motion to reopen to apply for asylum based on changed country conditions, and that such motions are not subject to numerical limitations. Matter of J-G-, 26 I&N Dec. 161 (BIA 2013)
House Testimony on Border Efforts While Upholding Refugee Protection Obligations
Written testimony by USCIS RAIO Associate Director Joseph Langlois for House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform for a 7/17/13 subcommittee hearing on National Security, titled “Border Security Oversight, Part III: Examining Asylum Requests.”
CA1 Denies MTR Asylum Proceedings of Guatemalan Petitioner
The court upheld the denial of the petitioner’s motion to reopen his 1999 removal proceedings, finding that the BIA did not abuse its discretion when it held that the petitioner failed to establish a material change in country conditions in Guatemala. (Jutus v. Holder, 7/17/13)
CA1 Denies MTR Based on Changed Conditions in Mexico
The court upheld the denial of the petitioner’s motion to reopen based on changed country conditions and found that the petitioner’s fear of personal retaliation due to his role in another man’s incarceration was not on account a protected ground. (Lopez v. Holder, 7/15/13)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Abandoned Applications for Relief
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner abandoned her petition to remove conditions on residency and her application for cancellation of removal because she filed the applications for relief over six months after a court-ordered deadline. (Moreta v. Holder, 7/15/13)
CA7 Finds Petitioner Did Not Show Changed Country Conditions for Chinese Christians
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner, who filed an untimely motion to reopen his asylum case because he had converted to Christianity, did not show that the persecution of Chinese Christians has worsened in recent years. (Gao v. Holder, 7/12/13)
CA10 Finds Colorado Conviction of Child Abuse Does Not Fit Federal Definition
The court reversed the decision of the BIA, found the CO conviction was not a “crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment,” under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i) and remanded to the IJ to reconsider the application for discretionary cancellation of removal. (Ibarra v. Holder, 7/12/13)
U.S. and Mexico Resume Interior Repatriation Initiative
ICE press release announcing that the U.S. and Mexico have resumed the Interior Repatriation Initiative, a joint agreement between the two governments, to return Mexican nationals to the interior of Mexico.
CA7 Remands Asylum Claim on Forced Sterilization for Chinese Woman with USC Children
The court vacated the BIA decision and remanded the case in light of two recent seventh circuit decisions that cast doubt on the claim that Fujian authorities do not count children born outside of China for purposes of the one-child policy. (Zheng v. Holder, 7/11/13)
Supreme Court on Modified Categorical Approach
The Court held that sentencing courts may not apply the modified categorical approach to a federal defendant when the crime of which the defendant was previously convicted has a single, indivisible set of elements. (Descamps v. U.S, 6/20/13)
AILA Amicus Brief on Standard of Review in Citizenship Cases
AILA amicus brief urging CA9 to grant en banc rehearing of Mondaca-Vega v. Holder, and arguing the Supreme Court requires a de novo review of the record in nationality cases and that its previous decision ignored precedent providing that citizenship claims are subject to elevated scrutiny.
USCIS Data on DACA Cases Received Through June 30, 2013
USCIS statistics on DACA cases through 6/30/13, showing a total of 537,662 DACA requests accepted for processing, 524,153 biometric appointments scheduled, 400,562 requests approved, and 5,383 requests denied. 17,506 applications were accepted and 1,591 applications were denied in June 2013.
CA1 Denies Asylum to Chinese Christian Petitioner from Indonesia
The court denied the petitioner's applications for asylum and withholding, finding the mistreatment he suffered in Indonesia on account of his Chinese ethnicity and Christian religious beliefs did not rise to the level of persecution. (Ang v. Holder, 7/10/13)
EOIR eRegistry Has 5,000 Registered Users in First Month
EOIR launched eRegistry on 6/10/13, and approximately 5,000 practitioners have completed both steps of the two-step registration process as of 7/10/13. EOIR has received approximately 200 electronically filed forms as of 7/10/13.
CA1 Finds Petitioner Failed to Show Exceptions to MTR Time Limit
The court held that the petitioner’s joining the China Democracy Party after being ordered removed cannot be the basis of a motion to reopen because it is a change in personal circumstances, and that China’s targeting of pro-democracy activists has not worsened. (Chen v. Holder, 7/9/13)
CA1 Holds CT Larceny Is an Aggravated Felony
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusions that a Connecticut conviction for taking property from the person of another is categorically a theft offense and thus an aggravated felony, and that the petitioner was validly convicted as an adult for immigration purposes. (Lecky v. Holder, 7/9/13)
CA2 Holds That NY Criminal Sale of Controlled Substance Is an Aggravated Felony
The court held that the petitioner is not eligible for cancellation of removal because his conviction under NY Penal Law §220.39(1) for third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance is an aggravated felony. (Pascual v. Holder, 7/9/13)
BIA Remands Adjustment Case In Light of Garfias-Rodriguez
In this unpublished decision, the BIA remanded the respondent’s case to the IJ to consider whether he relied on Acosta when he applied for adjustment of status and whether Matter of Briones should apply retroactively to him. Courtesy of Daniel Shanfield.
CA9 Upholds BIA Finding that CSPA Does Not Apply to NACARA
The court denied the application for special rule of cancellation, finding the Petitioner, who applied for NACARA as a derivative before he was 21 years old but was over 21 when his father was granted relief, failed to demonstrate that the CSPA applies to NACARA. (Tista v. Holder, 7/8/13)
BIA Remands Denial of I-130 Filed By Same-Sex Couple, Holds DOMA Is Not an Impediment
The Board held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is no longer an impediment to the recognition of lawful same-sex marriages and spouses under the INA if the marriage is valid under the laws of the State where it was celebrated. Matter of Zeleniak, 26 I&N Dec. 158 (BIA 2013)
District Court Orders Vaughn Index in FOIA Case Over Asylum Officer Notes
The court found credible plaintiff's argument that asylum officer interview notes are not deliberative and ordered USCIS to produce a Vaughn index of withheld documents. (Martins v. USCIS, 7/3/13)
CA10 Holds §212(h) Hardship Determination Is Unreviewable Discretionary Decision
The court held that it did not have jurisdiction to review the hardship determination required for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA §212(h)(1)(B) because it is an unreviewable discretionary decision. (Munis v. Holder, 7/2/13)