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
BIA Finds Possession of Child Pornography is Particularly Serious Crime
The BIA held that the respondent’s conviction for possession of child pornography was a particularly serious crime based on the nature and specific facts of the offense, making him ineligible for withholding of removal. Matter of R-A-M-, 25 I&N Dec. 657 (BIA 2012)
District Court Grants Class Certification in Shackling Case
The court granted plaintiffs’ class certification motion and denied defendants’ motion to dismiss in a case challenging a policy that requires all civil immigration detainees to be shackled during appearances in immigration court. (Abadia-Peixoto v. DHS, 12/23/11)
AILA Consumer Advisory: What You Need to Know About Recent DHS Announcements (Updated 12/30/11 7pm)
AILA advisory explains the recent announcements regarding the DHS immigration case review process, prosecutorial discretion, and administrative closure. This is not amnesty, and does not create legal status. A Spanish version follows.
ICE Issues New Detainer Form
ICE press release issuing a new detainer form and announcing the launch of a hotline for detained individuals who believe they are U.S. citizens or victims of a crime, along with a copy of the new detainer form. AILA Doc. No. 11122965.
CA11 Upholds Denial of Chinese Asylum Claim
The court found that the BIA set forth specific, cogent reasons for making an adverse credibility finding against the petitioner, who had applied for asylum based on his wife’s forced sterilization. (Chen v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 12/27/11)
ICE Releases List of Detainee Deaths from October 2003 to October 2011
A list of detainee deaths from October 2003 through October 2011 posted in the ICE FOIA Reading Room. According to the list, 126 people died in ICE custody during that period.
ICE Releases ERO Facts and Statistics
ICE facts and statistics by fiscal year through November 30, 2011, posted on the ICE FOIA Reading Room and including information on the number of detainees by field office and by fiscal year, average length of stay, removals by country and by field office, and more.
CA11 on Res Judicata and Expanded Definition of Aggravated Felony
The court found that res judicata did not bar new removal proceedings where Congress had amended the INA to add a new ground of removability not available to the government during prior proceedings against the petitioner. (Maldonado v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 12/22/11)
Practice Alert: Baltimore Prosecutorial Discretion Pilot Program (Updated 3/5/12)
AILA DC Chapter practice alert on the implementation of the prosecutorial discretion pilot program in Baltimore, including scope of review, procedure, EADs, and more. Updated on 3/5/12 to include a revised, sample joint motion for administrative closure.
AILA/ICE Liaison Meeting Minutes (12/22/11)
AILA ICE Liaison Committee minutes from a meeting on 12/22/11 with ICE to discuss and clarify specific prosecutorial discretion issues, such as EADs and bond, in light of guidance from ICE. AILA Doc. No. 12011073.
Mexican National Dies While in ICE Custody
ICE press release on the death of a Mexican national while in the custody of ICE. Preliminary medical report indicates the cause of death was cardiac pulmonary arrest.
CA9 Holds Petitioner was Legitimated Under Salvadoran Law
The court found that the Petitioner, born out-of-wedlock, failed to establish a claim of derivative citizenship through his mother, because the subsequent marriage of his parents established his paternity by legitimation. (Romero-Mendoza v. Holder, 12/19/11)
AILA Shares Concern About Representation of Immigrants
AILA statement on a report from the New York Immigrant Representation Study that shows without a right to appointed counsel in immigration court, many immigrants represent themselves in removal proceedings with unsuccessful outcomes; others have inadequate representation.
Accessing Justice: The Availability and Adequacy of Counsel in Immigration Proceedings
A report from the New York Immigrant Representation Study that compares case outcomes based on key factors such as whether the immigrant was detained or non-detained, had representation, and whether or not the representation was considered adequate.
CA7 Upholds District Court’s Revocation of Citizenship
The court agreed with the district court’s finding that the defendant illegally procured his citizenship, noting he lacked the requisite good moral character due to two controlled substances violations committed during the relevant period. (U.S. v. Suarez, 12/16/11)
CA7 Holds Voluntary Departure Regulations Are Not Retroactive
The court held that current regulatory voluntary departure warnings do not apply retroactively and found no due process violation under the former rules where there was no penalty for failure to depart if the alien did not pay bond. (Bachynskyy v. Holder, 12/15/11)
ABA Commends DHS on Prosecutorial Discretion, Suggests Further Steps
Letter from the ABA to DHS commending the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to deportation and removal cases, and recommending additional steps to ensure fairness and consistency as the program is implemented.
Practice Alert: Denver Prosecutorial Discretion Pilot Program (Updated 12/14/11)
AILA Colorado Chapter practice alert outlining the implementation of the prosecutorial discretion pilot program in Denver, including scope of review, criteria, procedures, tips for presenting additional evidence, and rescheduling cases on the non-detained docket.
CA7 Finds Jurisdiction to Review Continuance Denial
The court found jurisdiction to review the IJ’s denial of a continuance, noting that such decisions do not implicate the merits of a final order but instead defer resolution of the merits so that the process can be completed with integrity. (Calma v. Holder, 12/13/11)
CA7 Finds Actual Reliance on §212(c), Remands for Hearing
The court refused to apply the repeal of INA §212(c) retroactively to Petitioner, where he demonstrated actual reliance on the availability of a §212(c) waiver by affirmatively abandoning his right to pursue a JRAD. (Khodja v. Holder, 12/12/11)
CA1 Remands on Equitable Tolling and Ten-Year Bar
The court found that the IJ inadequately explained her rationale for rejecting tolling and imposing the ten-year bar for overstaying voluntary departure and that her failure to engage with the petitioner’s arguments was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion. (Romer v. Holder, 12/12/11)
CA5 on Requiring Corroborating Evidence from Asylum Applicants
The court held that the BIA reasonably interpreted its own regulations in Matter of S-M-J- when ruling asylum applicants can be required to provide reasonably obtainable corroborating evidence even when their testimony is credible. (Yang v. Holder, 12/12/11)
Supreme Court Rejects §212(c) Comparable Grounds Rule
In a unanimous opinion, the Court held that the BIA’s comparable grounds rule, as applied to applications for §212(c) relief in deportation proceedings, is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. (Judulang v. Holder, 12/12/11)
It’s All About Enforcement
Enforcement. It is the current catch-word of the presidential race. I hear it every day. Governor Perry said it in last night's debate. “I believe in enforcement. We must enforce the laws as they are on the books.“ I agree with him. Bet you never thought you'd hear me say that. But yes, I agre
CA11 Vacates Denial of FGM Asylum Claim from Senegal
The court found that the BIA failed to give reasoned consideration to Petitioner’s claim when it found she could relocate within Senegal to avoid being beaten or killed for attempting to protect her U.S. citizen daughter from FGM. (Seck v. U.S. Att’y Gen, 12/8/11)