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
ICE’s Union “On The Water Front”
The ICE union's reaction to ICE Director John Morton's prosecutorial discretion memorandum shows that the union leadership, apparently out of touch with its own members, is hell bent on maintaining the status quo-indiscriminate arrest, detention, prosecution, and deportation of immigrants-without th
BIA Addresses K-2 Age Out Eligibility for Adjustment of Status
The BIA held that the derivative child of a fiancée visa holder is not ineligible for adjustment of status simply by virtue of having turned 21 after admission to the U.S. on a K-2 visa. Matter of Le, 25 I&N Dec. 541 (BIA 2011)
ICE Union Leaders Speak Out Against Prosecutorial Discretion Memo
A 6/23/11 press release of the National ICE Council calls the 6/17/11 Morton memorandum on prosecutorial discretion a “law enforcement nightmare” and “just one of many new ICE policies in queue aimed at stopping the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.”
Jose Antonio Vargas Takes His Seat
The success of a civil rights movement depends on people who are willing to take extraordinary personal risk. Yesterday Jose Antonio Vargas, the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, did just that by outing himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times, the nation's leading newspaper of r
CA9 Finds California Concealed Weapon Conviction Is a Firearms Offense
The court held that a conviction for carrying a concealed weapon under California Penal Code §12025(a) is categorically a removable firearms offense under INA §237(a)(2)(C). (Gil v. Holder, 6/22/11)
CA10 Says Constitutionality of Plea Is Not an Element of Proving “Conviction”
The court rejected Petitioner’s argument that in light of Padilla v. Kentucky, the government must prove in immigration proceedings that the alien received constitutionally adequate advice about the consequences of his criminal plea. (Waugh v. Holder, 6/22/11)
CA11 Rejects Ineffective Assistance Claim Where Counsel Conceded Removability
The court held that substantial evidence supports the BIA’s finding that counsel made a reasonable strategic decision in conceding removability for Petitioner’s misrepresentation where Petitioner was eligible for §237(a)(1)(H) waiver. (Ali v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 6/22/11)
EOIR Releases Flyer to Help in the Fight against UPIL
EOIR press release announcing a new flyer to help in the fight against the unauthorized practice of immigration law (UPIL), which will be distributed by all 59 immigration courts to respondents in removal proceedings. A copy of the flyer is attached to the announcement.
ICE Announces the Arrest of More Than 2,400 Undocumented Individuals in Cross Check Operation
ICE press release announcing that more than 2,400 undocumented individuals with prior criminal convictions were arrested in May 2011 as a result of a targeted Cross Check operation which was carried out across all 50 states over a seven-day period.
BIA Remands for Further Fact Finding in Domestic Violence Asylum Case
In an unpublished decision, the BIA remanded for entry of a new decision, calling for further factual development and arguments specific to the gender-based asylum claim, consistent with the Attorney General’s directive in Matter of R-A-. Courtesy of Aleksander Milch.
DHS Responds to AILA Regarding Treatment of Cases Impacted by DOMA
A 6/21/11 letter from Kelly Ryan, DHS Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, stating that until DOMA is repealed or struck down, DHS will continue to exercise its discretion in individual cases, but will not grant blanket relief or hold DOMA cases in abeyance.
CA9 Says Corroboration Not Required When Determining Timeliness of Asylum Claim
The en banc court found that the BIA improperly imported the corroboration requirement of INA §208(b)(1)(B)(ii), governing the merits of asylum, into §208(a)(2)(B), requiring applications to be filed within one year of arrival in the U.S. (Singh v. Holder, 6/17/11)
ICE Memo on Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion Consistent with the Civil Immigration Enforcement Priorities
ICE 6/17/11 memorandum by Director John Morton issuing guidance to ICE personnel on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion. The memo also sets forth which agency employees may exercise prosecutorial discretion and what factors should be considered.
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) Complaint Form
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) Complaint Form in English for individuals or organizations who believe civil rights violations connected to Secure Communities have occurred. The form is also available in eight other languages on the DHS website.
ICE Memo on Prosecutorial Discretion Regarding Certain Victims, Witnesses, and Plaintiffs
ICE 6/17/11 memo from Director John Morton setting policy on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in removal cases involving victims and witnesses of crime, including domestic violence, and individuals involved in non-frivolous efforts related to civil rights protection.
ICE Revised Immigration Detainer Form I-247 (6/11) (Updated 9/6/11)
ICE revised immigration detainer Form I-247, issued in June 2011. The form instructs that state and local authorities are not to detain an individual for more than 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, and requires local law enforcement to provide a copy to detainees.
DHS Plan for State and Local Law Enforcement Secure Communities Trainings
The DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and ICE outline of the plan for a series of training /awareness briefings on the Secure Communities program designed for use by state and local law enforcement agency personnel during daily briefings.
CRCL/ICE Overview of Quarterly Statistical Monitoring of Secure Communities
CRCL/ICE overview of the plan to analyze Secure Communities data on a quarterly basis beginning in June 2011, to identify law enforcement agencies that might be engaged in improper police practices.
AILA Comments on DHS Promise to Reform Enforcement with New Policies
AILA statement on DHS 6/17/11 written policies directing ICE officers, agents, and attorneys to use prosecutorial discretion to implement its priorities for immigration enforcement as well as reforms to the Secure Communities program.
CA3 Directs BIA to Grant Withholding to Uzbek Nationals
The court directed the BIA to grant withholding of removal without remand finding that despite two opportunities, the BIA failed to support its conclusion that Petitioners are a danger to the U.S. with substantial evidence. (Yusupov v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 6/16/11)
CA8 on False Claims to U.S. Citizenship by Unaccompanied Minors
Over dissent, the court vacated the removal order and remanded to the BIA to clarify the standard it uses in applying the inadmissibility provision for a false claim to U.S. citizenship, INA §212(a)(6)(C)(ii), to unaccompanied minors. (Sandoval v. Holder, 6/14/11)
HRW Report on Transfers of Detained Immigrants
Human Rights Watch report entitled “A Costly Move,” analyzes 12 years of data and finds that transfers separate detained immigrants, including LPRs, refugees, and undocumented people from the attorneys, witnesses, and evidence they need to defend against deportation.
DHS Memo on Secure Communities Complaints Protocol
DHS 6/14/11 memorandum by Margo Schlanger of the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and Gary Mead of ICE, setting out how CRCL and ICE will address civil rights complaints involving state and local law enforcement and ICE's Secure Communities program.
CA8 Rejects §245(i) Claim for K-1 Entrant Who Did Not Marry Petitioner
The court held that 8 CFR §245.1(c)(6)(i) is a permissible construction of INA §245 and bars a K-1 visa holder from adjusting status on any basis other than marriage to the U.S. citizen petitioner notwithstanding §245(i). (Birdsong v. Holder, 6/13/11)
BIA on Derivative Eligibility for Late Initial TPS Registration
The BIA held that an applicant for late initial TPS registration filing as the child of a TPS-eligible alien need only establish that he or she qualified as a child at the time of the initial registration period. Matter of N-C-M-, 25 I&N Dec. 535 (BIA 2011)