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
AILA’s EOIR Liaison Committee Meets with EOIR (2/15/23)
The AILA EOIR Liaison Committee shared the minutes from its meeting with EOIR on February 15, 2023.
BIA Says Noncitizens Inadmissible Under INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i) Are Not Required to Live Outside U.S. During Waiting Period
The BIA held that noncitizens who are inadmissible for a specified waiting period pursuant to INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i) due to their previous unlawful presence and departure are not required to reside outside the United States during this time. Matter of Duarte-Gonzalez, 28 I&N Dec. 688 (BIA 2023)
CA4 Vacates BIA’s Denial of Equitable Tolling After Finding Petitioner Demonstrated Due Diligence
Reviewing the BIA’s decision de novo, the court vacated the BIA’s denial of equitable tolling based on the Board’s finding that the petitioner had been insufficiently diligent in discovering his rights. (Williams v. Garland, 2/9/23, amended 2/10/23)
Practice Pointer: Filing Administrative Stays of Removal Post-Enforcement Priorities Vacatur
This practice pointer summarizes developments related to filing stays of removal based on AILA’s ICE Liaison Committee engagements with ICE Headquarters. Special thanks to John Gihon and Sui Chung for their work on this practice pointer.
BIA Holds That Pereira and Niz-Chavez Are Inapplicable to Proceedings Initiated by Form I-122 and Other Pre-IIRAIRA Charging Docume
The BIA held that Pereira v. Sessions and Niz-Chavez v. Garland are inapplicable to proceedings initiated by the Form I-122 and other charging documents issued prior to the effective date of the IIRAIRA. Matter of J-L-L-, 28 I&N Dec. 684 (BIA 2023)
CA8 Rejects Honduran Petitioner’s Claim That Any Actual or Imputed Political Opinion Was a Central Reason for His Mistreatment
The court found that the BIA’s determination that the petitioner had never expressed any political opinion or anti-corruption sentiment and that the MS-13 gang had never imputed such a position to him when it threatened him was supported by the record. (Aguilar Montecinos v. Garland, 2/10/23)
Members of Congress Send Letter to OMB on CMPP Funding
Members of Congress sent a letter to OMB requesting that the President’s FY2024 budget proposal include robust funding of at least $20 million for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Case Management Pilot Program (CMPP) and DHS to prioritize establishing the program.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial to Honduran Petitioners Who Received Death Threats as Family Unit
Upholding the BIA’s denial of petitioners’ request for asylum, the court held that petitioners’ receipt of death threats in Honduras as a family unit did not convert the non-protected criminal motivation into persecution on the basis of family connections. (Barnica-Lopez v. Garland, 2/8/23)
CA1 Finds BIA Failed to Comply with Court’s Prior Remand Order by Not Considering Significant Documentary Evidence
The court concluded that, in rejecting the petitioner’s withholding of removal claim, the BIA on remand again failed to properly consider significant documentary evidence, and thus vacated the Board’s removal order and remanded for further proceedings. (Aguilar-Escoto v. Garland, 2/7/23)
CA8 Rejects Petitioner’s Argument That BIA Failed to Analyze All the Avetisyan Factors in Denying Motion to Reconsider
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner’s motion to reconsider the denial of an administrative closure of his removal proceedings, rejecting his claim that BIA did not analyze all the Matter of Avetisyan factors. (Islas-Saldana v. Garland, 2/7/23)
CA5 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Had Allegedly Been Arrested and Tortured by Cameroonian Government
The court rejected the Cameroonian petitioner’s argument that the BIA had ignored substantial record evidence, including country-conditions evidence that allegedly corroborated his claims for asylum and related relief. (Mohndamenang v. Garland, 2/6/23)
CA6 Finds That Petitioner with Two Drunk Driving Convictions Lacked Good Moral Character for Cancellation Purposes
The court held that the BIA properly found that petitioner’s history of alcohol abuse and his two convictions for drunk driving showed a lack of good moral character for purposes of cancellation of removal, and thus denied the petition for review on the merits. (Hernandez v. Garland, 2/6/23)
EOIR Announces 23 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the appointment of 23 immigration judges to courts in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Virginia.
SmartLINK: The ICE Electronic Monitoring Application on Your Client’s Phone
AILA provides members with a factsheet on the SmartLINK Phone application used by ICE within its Alternatives to Detention Program. The factsheet includes information on how it operates and its functionality.
CA1 Remands CAT Claim of Petitioner Who Was Hospitalized Following Police-Aided Assault in Guatemala
Where the petitioner had fled Guatemala after he had been hospitalized following an assault that appeared to be aided by the police, the court granted the petition for review as to the petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim and remanded. (Hernandez-Martinez v. Garland, 2/2/23)
CRS Legal Sidebar: The Effect of Private Immigration Legislation and Recent Policy Changes
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides a legal sidebar with a brief history of private immigration bills and ICE’s handling of individuals who are the subject of these bills.
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus on the Encouragement Provision
AILA and partners submit an amicus to the Supreme Court in United States v. Hansen arguing that the Encouragement Provision chills vast quantities of immigration advice from attorneys and others and is overbroad and invalid under the First Amendment.
EOIR Updates the Judicial Complaint Process
EOIR issued a document that describes its process for handling judicial complaints.
CA2 Says Petitioner’s Conviction for Sexual Abuse in New York Constituted Sexual Abuse of a Minor Under INA §101(a)(43)(A)
The court dismissed in part the petition for review, holding that petitioner’s conviction for second-degree sexual abuse under NY Penal Law §130.60(2) was a categorical match for sexual abuse of a minor under INA §101(a)(43)(A) and was thus an aggravated felony. (Debique v. Garland, 1/27/23)
CA9 Says BIA Erred in Finding Petitioner Who Was Perceived to Be a Lesbian in Guatemala Had Not Suffered Past Persecution
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that the harm suffered by the petitioner—who was verbally and physically harassed and received death threats because her community in Guatemala perceived her to be a lesbian—did not rise to the level of persecution. (Antonio v. Garland, 1/26/23)
CA2 Reverses Grant of Summary Judgment to ICE in FOIA Lawsuit
The court held that ICE was required to substitute Unique Identifying Numbers (Unique IDs) for deleted Alien Identification Numbers (A-Numbers) in producing the otherwise non-exempt records responsive to the plaintiff’s FOIA request. (ACLU Immigrants’ Rts. Project v. ICE, 1/26/23)
CA3 Finds BIA Erred in Denying Withholding and CAT Relief to Indigenous Petitioner from Guatemala Who Feared Persecution by Gang
Vacating the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief, the court held that the BIA erred in finding that the Guatemalan petitioner did not experience past persecution by a local gang due to his indigenous identity. (Saban-Cach v. Att’y Gen., 1/25/23)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Statutory Rape Offenses
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief in Negriel v. Garland arguing that Esquivel-Quintana establishes conclusively that a statutory rape offense can only be "sexual abuse of a minor" if the age of consent is 16 or lower.
CA7 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen After Finding Petitioner Lacked Good Moral Character
Where the Mexican petitioner had two convictions for driving while intoxicated, the court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner’s motion to reopen his cancellation of removal application based on a lack of good moral character. (Cruz-Velasco v. Garland, 1/24/23)
CA8 Finds That “Witnesses Who Cooperate with Law Enforcement” Is Not a PSG
The court held that the BIA and IJ did not err in finding that the Guatemalan petitioner had failed to demonstrate that “witnesses who cooperate with law enforcement” constituted a particular social group (PSG) for purposes of asylum eligibility. (Lemus-Coronado v. Garland, 1/23/23)