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 Interprets Reach of SAW Confidentiality Provision
The court held that the SAW confidentiality provision, INA §210(b)(6)(A), applies exclusively to the application and that there is no violation when the challenged information is obtained via questioning at an inspection checkpoint. (Soriano-Vino v. Holder, 8/10/11)
CA9 Overrules Matsuk; Finds Jurisdiction to Review Particularly Serious Crime Determination
The court found jurisdiction to review the decision that a conviction is a particularly serious crime and remanded to the BIA for a clear explanation of its finding that Petitioner’s DUI conviction barred him from relief. (Delgado v. Holder, 8/19/11)
CA10 Says Colorado Felony Menacing Is an Aggravated Felony
The court held a conviction for felony menacing under Colo. Rev. Stat. §18-3-206(a) or (b) necessarily involves the threatened use of physical force and is therefore, an aggravated felony crime of violence under 18 USC §16(a). (Damaso-Mendoza v. Holder, 8/9/11)
AILA Files Amicus Brief in Case Involving the Application of §212(a)(9)(C) to Minors
AILA amicus brief urging the BIA to find that INA §212(a)(9)(C) does not apply to minors under the best reading of the statute because minors are treated differently than adults under the immigration laws and should not be held culpable in the same way as adults.
CA10 Dismisses, Says Petitioner Failed to Raise Substantial Constitutional Issue
In a nonprecedential decision, the court held that Petitioner’s due process and equal protection arguments failed to demonstrate that he received a unfair hearing or was treated differently and that he failed to present a substantial constitutional issue. (Pizano-Zeferino v. Holder, 8/8/11)
CA5 on the Fugitive Disentitlement Doctrine
The court dismissed the petition, finding that that Petitioner became a fugitive when he did not surrender for removal despite the fact that his address was known to authorities and DHS made no attempt to locate or arrest him. (Bright v. Holder, 8/8/11)
BIA on Production of TPS Application in Proceedings
The BIA held that when an application for TPS that has been denied by USCIS is renewed in removal proceedings, the IJ may, in the appropriate circumstances, require DHS to provide the application that the applicant filed with USCIS. Matter of Rivera, 25 I&N Dec. 575 (BIA 2011)
EOIR Memo on Salt Lake City Immigration Court Relocation
An 8/5/11 memo from Jon Hill, EOIR Court Administrator to the AILA Utah Chapter on the relocation of the Salt Lake City Immigration Court. The memo includes information regarding filing, hearings, and contacting the court during the move, and more.
ICE Terminates Secure Communities MOAs, Reaffirms Nationwide Rollout by 2013
On August 5, 2011, DHS announced that a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between ICE and a state is not required to activate or operate Secure Communities in any jurisdiction and as a result, terminated all existing Secure Communities MOAs.
Four Individuals in Removal Proceedings Admit to Bribing ICE Official
ICE press release announcing that four undocumented individuals who were subject to removal due to previous criminal convictions pleaded guilty in federal court to bribing an ICE Enforcement and Removal Assistant to alter their reporting requirements and criminal histories.
Opening Brief of Petitioner, Petition for Review
Sample opening brief arguing that Petitioner’s conviction is not a CIMT, that Silva-Trevino is not entitled to Chevron deference, and that its application is contrary to Fourth Circuit precedent and would have an impermissible retroactive effect. (April 2011) AILA Doc. No. 11080433.
CA3 Rejects Departure Bar at 8 CFR §1003.2(d)
The court held that the departure bar under 8 CFR §1003.2(d) is inconsistent with INA §§240(c)(6)(A) and (7)(A) which permits an alien to file one motion to reopen and one motion to reconsider without geographic limitation. (Espinal v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 8/3/11)
CA10 Grants Rehearing En Banc in “Departure Bar” Case
The court granted rehearing en banc to revisit its prior holding that 8 CFR §1003.2(d) precludes consideration of a removed alien’s motion to reopen when filed within the 90 day time limit. AILA and AIC appear as amici. (Contreras-Bocanegra v. Holder, 8/2/11)
CA8 Rejects Social Group Claim in MS-13 Case
The court agreed with the BIA that “persons resistant to gang violence” are too diffuse to be recognized as a social group and that Petitioner’s family was no different from any other Salvadoran family that has experienced gang violence. (Constanza v. Holder, 8/1/11)
DOJ OIL July 2011 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) July 2011 Litigation Bulletin covers calculating the costs of immigration, the overturning of Lujan-Armendariz, summaries of recent federal court decisions, and more.
Immigration Law Advisor, July 2011 (Vol. 5, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on REAL ID credibility standards and the parameters of plausibility findings, circuit court decisions for June 2011, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
ICE Removal Statistics: FY2007-2011 (Updated 11/15/11)
ICE removal statistics for fiscal years 2007 through July 31, 2011, including total removals, non-criminal removals, convicted criminal removals, average length of stay, and average daily population in ICE custody.
French Citizen Passes Away While in ICE Custody
ICE press release announcing the death of 29-year-old Irene Bamenga, a French citizen and Angolan national who was being detained at the Albany County Jail in New York pending her removal to France. Bamenga was the ninth individual to pass away in ICE custody during FY2011.
CA8 Rejects Claim, Says Petitioner Failed to Raise Question of Law
The court found jurisdiction to review nondiscretionary determinations underlying a denial of cancellation of removal, but declined to review Petitioner’s claim that the BIA improperly weighed the factors in its hardship determination. (Solis v. Holder, 7/28/11)
Two Individuals Sentenced For Their Roles in a Fraudulent Document Ring
ICE press release announcing that two men received 42 and 43 months in prison for their roles in a fraudulent document trafficking organization based in Mexico, which operated 19 cells in 11 states and produced false identification cards for undocumented individuals.
CA7 on the Effective Date of the Child Status Protection Act
Refusing to apply Chevron deference to the BIA’s decision, the court held that the CSPA applies to beneficiaries of previously approved visa petitions, but not those with applications adjudicated prior to CSPA’s enactment. (Arobelidze v. Holder, 7/27/11)
CA7 Upholds Removal of DEA Informer
The court found that reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence presented on remand established a “serious reason to believe” that Petitioner is or has been a trafficker of heroin, thus barring her from relief from removal. (Pronsivakulchai v. Holder, 7/25/11)
CA3 Says No Exception for Extended Absence from U.S. for Cancellation of Removal
The court found no humanitarian exception to the stop-time rule and upheld the denial of Petitioners’ cancellation applications despite the fact that they did not intend to stay outside the U.S. for more than 90 days. (Flores-Nova v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 7/25/11)
White House Memo on Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations
A 7/25/11 White House memorandum from President Obama to Congress, reporting a new Executive Order to declare a national emergency with respect to the threat that significant transnational criminal organizations pose to the U.S., and block the property of such groups.
White House Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime Fact Sheet
White House fact sheet on President Obama’s Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, which seeks to reduce transnational organized crime from a national security threat to a manageable public safety problem.