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
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)
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.
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Unpublished BIA decision remanding after finding that the respondent’s motion, stating that conditions for Assyrian Christians have gotten worse since U.S. troops departed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.
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)
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.
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)
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 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.
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)
Senators Advance Both Good and Bad Amendments on Bipartisan Bill
AILA released a press statement regarding the hundreds of amendments to S. 744 filed yesterday by Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
CA8 Denies Withholding of Removal to Evangelical Christians from Mexico
The court held that the petitioners did not show that the conditions in their town rose to the level of persecution, and that they could relocate to a different part of Mexico to avoid persecution as Evangelical Christians. (Alavez-Hernandez v. Holder, 5/8/13)
ICE Detainee Dies at Arizona Detention Facility
ICE press release on death of 40-year-old Guatemalan man of an apparent suicide at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona. He is the fifth detainee to die in ICE custody in FY2013.
CA7 Holds BIA Did Not Meaningfully Address Evidence in Asylum Case
The court held that the BIA failed to meaningfully to address documents bolstering the petitioner’s assertion that conditions in China have changed for the worse, and remanded the case to the BIA. (Ni v. Holder, 4/26/13)
TRAC Report on Removal Orders Granted by IJs
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report on removal orders granted by Immigration Judges. Chart is updated with new data as it is available.
BIA Remands Moldova Asylum Applicant for Entry of New Decision
Unpublished BIA decision remanding record as IJ didn’t adequately addressed respondent’s corroborative evidence in his conclusion that respondent did not establish past persecution and that the new entry must be based on applicable 9th Circuit and BIA precedents. Special thanks to Michael Alexei.
EOIR Swears in Five New Immigration Judges
EOIR press release announcing swearing-in of Timothy Everett (Los Angeles Immigration Court), J. Traci Hong (Los Angeles Immigration Court), Amy Lee (Los Angeles Immigration Court), Elizabeth McGrail (Los Angeles Immigration Court) and John Odell (Tacoma Immigration Court).
Asylum Division Officer Training Course One-Year Filing Deadline Lesson Plan
USCIS provided the ADOTC lesson plan on one-year filing deadline. This lesson describes the statutory bar to applying for asylum more than one year after an alien's date of last arrival.
BIA on the Effect of Dual Nationality on an Asylum Claim
The Board held that an individual who is a citizen or national of more than one country, but has no fear of persecution in one of the those countries, does not qualify as a refugee under INA §101(a)(42). Matter of B-R-, 26 I&N Dec. 119 (BIA 2013)
CA2 on Eligibility for Special Rule Cancellation of Removal
The court held that, as an unadmitted alien, the petitioner cannot be ineligible for NACARA relief because of a conviction that would make him deportable under INA §237, and that the BIA’s interpretation is inconsistent with the regulation. (Reyes v. Holder, 5/3/13)
CA5 on the Definition of Lawful Status
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioners were not in lawful status after their L-1A and L-2 visas expired, despite having an adjustment of status application pending, because adjustment of status was ultimately denied. (Dhuka v. Holder, 5/3/13)