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
EOIR Relocates Portland Immigration Court
As of 8/23/10, the EOIR Portland Immigration Court will be located at 1001 SW 5th Avenue, Suite 400, Portland, Oregon 97204. The court’s phone and fax numbers remain the same. This announcement includes hours of operation.
BIA Reverses IJ Denial Cancellation of Removal Based on Discretion
In an unpublished decision, the BIA reversed the IJ discretionary denial of cancellation of removal, finding significant social and humane considerations including close and extensive family ties to U.S. citizens. Courtesy of Robert Carpenter.
EOIR Announces Phased Roll Out for New Case Information System
An EOIR announcement on a new two-phase implementation schedule for the case information system launch that EOIR announced on 8/16/10.
CA7 Finds IJ’s Metaphor on Illegal Immigration Did Not Indicate Bias
The court held that an IJ's metaphor on illegal immigration did not deny petitioner due process. The IJ said that once DHS locates an alien and “they pick him out of the stream, they don’t throw him back into the stream.” (Gutierrez-Berdin v. Holder, 8/19/10)
CA6 Finds Military “Discharge on the Basis of Alienage” Bars Expedited Naturalization
The court found that because petitioner accepted military "discharge on the basis of alienage," he was barred from naturalization under INA § 315(a) and was, therefore, ineligible for expedited naturalization under INA § 329(a). (Sakarapanee v. DHS, 8/19/10)
ICE Replies to Sign-on Letter Expressing Concern with ICE Response to Utah “Blacklist”
Letter from ICE Director John Morton to National Immigrant Justice Center in response to 7/27/10 letter signed by AILA and other organizations to DHS on potential immigration enforcement actions related to a list of purported undocumented residents in Utah.
Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2009: Tables on Immigration Enforcement
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics Yearbook of Immigration Statistics 2009 tables on Enforcement. The document includes Tables 33, 34, 35, 36, and 38 on DHS removal and return of foreign nationals.
AILA Requests EOIR to Suspend New Automated Case Information System
An 8/18/10 letter from AILA to EOIR Director Snow, requesting the agency to suspend implementation of the new automated case information system requiring both the charging document date and A# and to meet with AILA and other stakeholders before any changes.
CA6 Finds Government Bears Burden of Proof on Vacatur of Convictions
The court granted petition for review, finding that the BIA improperly put the burden on petitioner to prove that the state court’s vacatur of his conviction was not for rehabilitative or immigration reasons. (Barakat v. Holder, 8/18/10)
CA9 Sets Aside Finding that Asylum Claim Was Frivolous
In a Nepalese asylum case, the court found that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence, but that the finding of frivolousness was procedurally unsound and not supported by a preponderance of the evidence. (Khadka v. Holder, 8/18/10)
Reporting Questions or Concerns on the New EOIR 1-800 Number
Deputy Chief Immigration Judge Michael McGoings states in an e-mail that callers wanting to report a question or concern regarding the new EOIR 1-800 number system should contact the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs.
ICE Secure Communities Interoperability Statistics
ICE Secure Communities report on nationwide interoperability by conviction, which covers the period of 10/27/08 through 7/31/10. The report was released on the ICE FOIA website.
CA7 Finds Jurisdiction to Review CAT Deferral of Removal Claims
Over dissent, the court found that neither INA §242(a)(2)(B) nor §242(a)(2)(C) bar jurisdiction to review claims regarding the denial of deferral of removal under CAT. (Issaq v. Holder, 8/17/10)
ICE Arrests 63 Individuals in Arizona Cross Check Operation
ICE press release on the arrest of 63 foreign nationals with prior criminal convictions and immigration fugitives in a three-day enforcement operation in Arizona. The release includes information on the removal process for individuals arrested.
CA3 Defines the Aggravated Felony of "Sexual Abuse of a Minor"
The court held that a conviction under N.J. State Ann. §2C:14-3(a) constituted the aggravated felony of “sexual abuse of a minor” under INA §101(a)(43). (Restrepo v. Atty’ Gen. of the U.S., 8/16/10)
How to Find Charging Document Dates
EOIR page illustrating how to find the charging document date located on forms that start immigration proceedings. The charging document date is required to access case status information through the EOIR automated telephone system.
EOIR Announces Changes to Toll-Free Number for Case Information
Effective 8/23/10, EOIR will launch a new automated case status information system. The toll-free number, 1-800-898-7180, will not change, but a new local number, 240-314-1500, will be in service. Callers will need to enter the A number and date of the charging document.
IACHR Finds U.S. Removal Proceedings Violated International Law
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that the U.S. violated Petitioners' rights under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man by failing to consider humanitarian defenses to removal. (Smith and Armendariz v. U.S., 7/12/10). AILA Doc. No. 10081363.
BIA Companion Case to Cortez on Conviction for Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The BIA held that a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude does not render petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal if crime is punishable by imprisonment for less than one year and falls under the petty offense exception. Matter of Pedroza, 25 I&N Dec. 312 (BIA 2010)
BIA Clarifies Almanza on Conviction for Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
The BIA held that a conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude for which a sentence of a year or longer may be imposed renders petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal, regardless of eligibility for petty offense exception. Matter of Cortez, 25 I&N Dec. 301 (BIA 2010)
CA2 on BIA Jurisdiction to Reopen Under the Departure Bar
The court held that the BIA did not err in concluding that the departure bar under 8 CFR §1003.2(d) divested it of jurisdiction to consider a sua sponte motion to reopen where the petitioner had already been removed. (Zhang v. Holder, 8/12/10)
CA6 Says Petitioner’s Series of Job Losses in Kyrgyzstan Did Not Amount to Persecution
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s asylum claim, finding that her series of job losses, which were a result of her opposition to the corruption of the wife of the former president of Kyrgyzstan, did not rise to the level of persecution. (Japarkulova v. Holder, 8/11/10)
CA7 Finds CIMT Charge Does Not Impact Aggravated Felony Bar to Relief
CA7 held that a petitioner was ineligible for a §212(c) waiver, finding that if he was removable on an aggravated felony charge, it was irrelevant whether he might be eligible for a waiver based on his separate charge for a CIMT. (Mancillas-Ruiz v. Holder, 8/11/10)
BIA Finds Extreme Hardship to Teenage Daughter with Special Education Needs
Unpublished BIA decision finding respondent eligible for cancellation, as he established that his teenage daughter with special education needs and a young child would experience exceptional and extremely unusual hardship if he were removed. Courtesy of Diana M. Bailey.
CA7 Reverses Denial of Colombian Asylum Claim
The court granted the petition for review and reversed the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s asylum claim, holding that the petitioner was persecuted in the past on account of her anti-FARC political opinion. (Martinez-Buendia v. Holder, 8/10/10)