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
DHS OIG FY2011 Annual Performance Plan
DHS OIG FY2011 Annual Performance Plan outlining new projects for the fiscal year. The plan includes projects related to I-130 and I-129 adjudications, SEVP, the T and U visa process, detention, and ICE policies on the use of race in enforcement actions.
BIA Finds CSPA "Sought to Acquire" Requirement Not Equivalent to Filing an Application
Unpublished BIA decision, where the BIA held that the INA § 203(h)(1) requirement that an applicant have “sought to acquire” LPR status within one year of visa availability does not require the filing of an application, rejecting USCIS and DOS policy.
USCIS Provides Executive Summary from Field Operations Stakeholder Meeting (10/6/10)
USCIS provided the executive summary from the 10/6/10 field operations stakeholder engagement. USCIS provided updates and answers to stakeholder questions. Present during the meeting were headquarters, regional, and district leadership from the FOD.
CA9 Finds Alaska Coercion Conviction Is Not Categorically a Crime of Violence
The court held that a conviction for coercion under Alaska Statute §11.41.530(a)(1) is not categorically an aggravated felony crime of violence as defined under INA §101(a)(43)(F). (Cortez-Guillen v. Holder, 10/5/10)
CA10 Adopts BIA Interpretation of “One Central Reason”
The court adopted the BIA’s interpretation of “one central reason” set forth in Matter of J-B-N- and S-M-, that the protected ground cannot be incidental, tangential, superficial, or subordinate to another reason for harm. (Dallakoti v. Holder, 10/5/10)
Federal Law Enforcement in Virgin Islands Standardize Procedures Related to Undocumented Immigrants
CBP press release on the standardization of procedures for federal law enforcement agencies in the Virgin Islands dealing with the interdiction, investigation, and prosecution of undocumented immigrants.
EOIR Announces Expansion of LOP Initiatives
EOIR press release on expansion of its Legal Orientation and Pro Bono Program (LOP) including extending the LOP to serve detainees in proceedings before the Varick Street Immigration Court, a pilot program in Miami and a LOP for custodians of unaccompanied alien children.
ICE Secure Communities Statistics for September 2010
ICE Secure Communities Monthly IDENT/IAFIS Interoperability statistics through 09/30/10 released on the ICE FOIA electronic reading room.
ICE Releases October 2010 “Mandatory Memo” on Secure Communities
An October 2010 ICE memo from ICE Deputy Legal Advisor Riah Ramlogan to ICE Assistant Deputy Director Beth Gibson presenting ICE’s legal arguments for making Secure Communities mandatory. The memo was made public only after several NGOs fought an extended legal battle.
DOJ OIL September 2010 Litigation Bulletin
DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation September 2010 Bulletin includes an update on asylum cases defining "other resistance" to China's coercive population control policies, an article about employment authorization and lawful status, and other litigation highlights.
Immigration Law Advisor, September 2010 (Vol. 4, No. 8)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on evaluating the authenticity of foreign documents in removal proceedings, federal court activity for August 2010, the Ninth Circuit’s revisiting of the “unable or unwilling to control” standard, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
AILA Files Amicus Brief in Second Circuit Case, Ragbir v. Holder
AILA amicus brief filed in support of panel rehearing and rehearing en banc, arguing that the court improperly applied the futility doctrine in refusing to remand, and rendered its decision based on a standard and evidence not considered by the BIA post-Nijhawan.
SSA POMS Requirements With Respect to Status Changes
SSA’s RM 10211.510 provides guidance on actions and evidence required when an individual changes status, which may include the issuance of an original or replacement SSN card.
ICE Announces Results of Repatriation Program
ICE press release on the 2010 results from the Mexican Interior Repatriation Program. During 2010, 23,384 Mexican citizens were found unlawfully in the Sonora Arizona desert region and voluntarily returned to hometowns in Mexico.
CA5 Distinguishes Employment Authorization and Lawful Immigration Status
An automatic 240-day extension of employment authorization that accompanies an extension of nonimmigrant status under 8 CFR §274a.12(b)(20) does not provide lawful immigration status for purposes of INA §§245(c)(2) and 245(k)(2)(A). (Bokhari v. Holder, 9/29/10)
ICE Announces the Arrest of 78 Individuals in Colorado
ICE announcement that in the largest operation throughout Colorado this year, 78 individuals were arrested during a Fugitive Operations Program initiative. Those individuals who are not being criminally prosecuted will be processed administratively for removal.
DHS: It’s Time to Act
“Representative [Lamar] Smith … called for the Immigration and Naturalization Service to exercise prosecutorial discretion in hardship cases. That is, immigration officials would simply decline to proceed with a deportation case… Second, Mr. Smith proposed that the attorney general use a
New York Pardon Panel Procedure and Q&As
New York State Pardon Panel information page on the procedure for seeking a pardon to relieve deportation consequences and Q&As on the Pardon Panel. All pardon requests must be submitted by 10/1/10.
CA11 Remands Sexual Orientation Asylum Claim Where IJ Engaged in Stereotyping
The court vacated and remanded a Serbian sexual orientation claim, finding that the IJ’s decision was impermissibly based on homosexual stereotypes, which precluded the court from engaging in meaningful appellate review. (Todorovic v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/27/10)
BIA on Interpretation of “Admitted” under INA §101(a)(13)(A)
In an unpublished decision, the BIA remanded to the IJ to determine whether the respondent was properly admitted to the United States under Matter of Quilantan following his entry through the Canadian border. Courtesy of Danny Garmo.
IJ Grants Asylum Due to Gang Recruitment Efforts
In an unpublished decision, the IJ found the respondent qualified for asylum based on membership in the particular social group, “male siblings of those murdered by gangs who resist active recruitment efforts by the same gang.” Courtesy of Joanna Ritcey-Donohue.
CA9 Proceeds on Merits of Derivative Asylum Claim Despite Death of Principal (Withdrawn 5/5/11)
Over dissent, the court dismissed the principal asylum applicant’s claim as moot due to his death, but declined to dismiss the derivative’s claim in light of the possible collateral consequences of such action. (Saval v. Holder, 9/23/10)
Grand Jury Indicts Michigan Dairy Farm on Harboring Charges
Federal grand jury indictment of Aquila Farms, LLC and two supervisors for conspiring to harbor undocumented workers after receiving notification from SSA that the named individuals were not authorized to work. (U.S. v. Verhaar, 9/22/10)
Ex-Armenian Consular Employee Pleads Guilty to Immigration Fraud
A former employee of the Armenian consulate in Los Angeles pleaded guilty to selling “letters of refusal,” for as much as $37,000. The letters are issued by embassies and consulates and state that a country will not issue a travel document for a particular individual.
EOIR Memorandum on 1-800 Number and Privacy Enhancements
EOIR 09/21/10 memo from Brian M. O’Leary, Chief Immigration Judge, on a recent EOIR decision on privacy enhancements and public use of the Alien-Number (A-Number). The memo directs courts to implement two operational safeguards to avoid public disclosure of the A-Number.