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
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In an unpublished decision, the BIA remanded for entry of a new decision, calling for further factual development and arguments specific to the gender-based asylum claim,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A 6/21/11 letter from Kelly Ryan, DHS Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, stating that until DOMA is repealed or struck down, DHS will continue to exercise its discretion in individual cases, but will not grant blanket relief or hold DOMA cases in abeyance.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)
TRAC Report Shows Unlawful Re-Entry as Most Common Lead Charge
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report finds that 18,552 new unlawful re-entry prosecutions were reported during the first half of FY2011, based on data from DOJ, making unlawful re-entry under 8 U.S.C. §1326 the most commonly recorded lead charge.
ICE Exercises Prosecutorial Discretion in Case Involving Same-Sex Spouse of USC
In a 6/10/11 joint motion, ICE Chief Counsel exercised its prosecutorial discretion by moving to administratively close proceedings against the same-sex spouse of a U.S. citizen with a pending I-130. The IJ granted the motion on 6/13/11. Courtesy of Lavi S. Soloway.
AILA Amicus Brief Urges BIA to Reconsider Administrative Closure Policy
AILA amicus brief urging the BIA to reconsider and modify its previous decisions requiring no opposition by either party before the immigration judge or BIA can administratively close a case.
BIA Addresses Whistleblowing as a Basis for Asylum
The BIA held that retaliation for opposition to state corruption may form the basis for a claim based on political opinion if, post-REAL ID, the actual or imputed anti-corruption belief was one central reason for the harm. Matter of N-M-, 25 I&N Dec. 526 (BIA 2011)
USCIS Asylum Division Memo on Notifying Certain Asylum Applicants How To Seek Release From Detention
USCIS Asylum Division memo dated 6/9/11 regarding updated information notification of ICE's parole guidelines to arriving aliens found to have a credible fear of persecution or torture, including copies of the updated information notification.
AILA Summary of Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2011 (H.R. 1932)
AILA summary of the Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2011 (H.R. 1932), a bill that would expand the use of immigration detention.