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
CA4 Vacates Particularly Serious Crime Finding Where BIA and IJ Failed to Meaningfully Analyze Offense’s Elements Before Underlying Facts
The court held that the BIA and the IJ failed to apply the two-step test required by Matter of N–A–M– in determining that the petitioner’s Virginia conviction for assault and battery against a family member was a particularly serious crime. (Guevara Martinez v. Blanche, 7/7/26)
CA9 Holds That Unrebutted Matter of Y–L– Presumption for Drug Trafficking Aggravated Felonies Triggered Danger-to-Community Presumption
The court held that Matter of Y–L–’s unrebutted presumption that drug trafficking aggravated felonies are particularly serious triggered the regulatory presumption of danger to the community, and no separate dangerousness determination was required. (Sarr v. Blanche, 7/7/26)
CA8 Declines to Review Unexhausted Cancellation of Removal Arguments Raised for First Time in Petition for Review
The court declined to address unexhausted arguments that the agency relied on the wrong statute to declare the petitioner ineligible for cancellation of removal based on her Nebraska negligent child abuse conviction and overlooked the petty-offense exception. (Lopez-Lopez v. Blanche, 7/7/26)
CA7 Holds That Reinstatement Orders Are Reviewable Final Orders and 30-Day Petition for Review Deadline Is Subject to Equitable Tolling
The court held that reinstatement orders are reviewable final orders of removal and that INA §242(b)(1)’s 30-day petition for review deadline is subject to equitable tolling where petitioners relied on binding pre-Riley circuit precedent. (E.E.V. and M.C.C.-G. v. Blanche, 7/6/26)
Recommendations on Protecting Individuals Impacted by Recent Earthquakes in Venezuela
AILA urges the Administration to take immediate action to ensure the safety and security of all people impacted by the recent earthquakes in Venezuela and to take affirmative steps to ensure that individuals are not forced to return to danger during the aftermath of the natural disaster.
CA4 Holds That Nominal Appeal of Removal Order Preserves CAT Review and Finds BIA Misapplied Clear-Error Review
The court held that noncitizens challenging only the result of withholding-only proceedings may preserve review of their CAT claims by filing a nominal appeal of their removal orders, and that BIA misapplied the clear error standard by reweighing the IJ’s findings. (Riley v. Blanche, 7/2/26)
EOIR Notice of Revision of Form EOIR-59, Certification and Release of Records
EOIR 60-day notice of revision and extension of Form EOIR-59, Certification and Release of Records. EOIR will add a field to the form to collect the name of a parent or guardian. Comments are due 8/31/26. (91 FR 40032, 7/1/26)
BIA Holds Bond Redetermination Venue Is the Immigration Court over the Place of Detention, Not Where Removal Case Is Pending
The BIA held that, under 8 CFR §1003.19(c)(1), the proper venue for a respondent’s request for bond redetermination is the immigration court having jurisdiction over the respondent’s place of detention. Matter of Vizcaino Aybar, 29 I&N Dec. 736 (BIA 2026)
BIA Holds IJ May Not Find Respondents Credible Solely for Candor in Admitting They Previously Lied to Obtain Immigration Benefits
The BIA sustained DHS’s appeal and remanded, holding that an IJ may not determine that a respondent is credible solely because the respondent was candid in admitting they previously lied to obtain immigration benefits. Matter of T–D–E–, et al., 29 I&N Dec. 732 (BIA 2026)
Practice Pointer: A Reminder to Practitioners on Motions to Suppress
This practice pointer reminds AILA members to consider motions to suppress in removal proceedings, highlighting recent federal caselaw, immigration court practice trends, and practical tips on pleadings, declarations, corroboration, subpoenas, and appeal preservation.
Practice Alert: Impacts of the Supreme Court Decision in Blanche v. Lau
The CBP Committee provides a resource with strategies for practitioners following the June 23, 2026, US Supreme Court ruling that CBP officers do not need to meet the “clear and convincing” standard that an LPR has committed an inadmissible offense before deeming them an “applicant for admission.”
BIA Holds That “Brazilian Children” and “Abandoned Brazilian Children” Lack Particularity and Reverses Humanitarian Asylum Grant
The BIA held that “Brazilian children” and “abandoned Brazilian children” lack sufficient particularity and that respondent, who did not show Brazil was unable or unwilling to control perpetrators, was ineligible for humanitarian asylum. Matter of A–G–O–F–, et al., 29 I&N Dec. 772 (BIA 2026)
BIA Denies Reopening Where Respondent Did Not Show Hardship for §212(h) Waiver or Warrant a Favorable Exercise of Discretion
The BIA held that the respondent did not show the extreme hardship required for a §212(h) waiver, let alone exceptional and extremely unusual hardship, and that his equities were outweighed by adverse factors, including sexual crime convictions. Matter of Y–S–P–T–, 29 I&N Dec. 776 (BIA 2026)
CA6 Holds That Photocopies of Drafted Letters and Bar Complaint Did Not Satisfy Lozada for Ineffective Assistance Claim
The court held that photocopies of a bar complaint and letters, without proof they were sent or filed, did not satisfy Matter of Lozada’s requirement of an actually filed complaint and notice to counsel, and upheld the BIA’s denial of the motion to reopen. (Morris v. Blanche, 6/25/26)
CA9 Finds Crime of Child Abuse under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i) Covers Criminally Negligent Child Endangerment by Parents and Nonparents Alike
The court held that the best reading of the INA crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment covers child endangerment, requires at least criminal negligence, and reaches nonparents, and denied the consolidated petitions for review. (Leon-Briviesca v. Blanche, 6/25/26)
EOIR Releases Updated Fact Sheet on Observing Court Hearings
EOIR released an updated fact sheet on observing court hearings. Notably, this version permits people to observe web-only hearings over Webex. It explicitly states that observers will not be permitted to attend via Webex if the judge, respondent, or counsel is appearing in a physical courtroom.
BIA Upholds No-Bond Flight Risk Determination and Finds USCIS Adjustment Denial Admissible as Probative of Flight Risk
The BIA held that the IJ properly determined that the respondent posed a flight risk that could not be mitigated by a bond, and concluded that evidence USCIS denied his adjustment application was properly admitted as probative of flight risk. Matter of A–W–M–K–, 29 I&N Dec. 805 (BIA 2026)
Call for Plaintiffs: Clients Arrested During Kavanaugh Stops
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and ACLU are asking for help identifying potential plaintiffs for a lawsuit challenging ICE/CBP’s use of facial recognition during roving immigration stops (i.e., Kavanaugh stops). Plaintiffs should come from the 1st, 4th, or 9th Circuits.
CA9 Holds That Motion Premised on Evidence Not Before BIA Must Be Treated as Motion to Reopen, Making It Timely under 90-Day Deadline
The court held that a motion captioned as a motion to reopen and premised on evidence not before the BIA when it dismissed an untimely appeal must be treated as such, making it timely, and remanded for the BIA to apply the motion-to-reopen standard. (Garcia Corrales v. Blanche, 6/24/26)
A Better Way on Immigration: Principles for America’s Future
Informed by the experience of the more than 18,000 immigration attorneys who are members of AILA, this document outlines five core principles to restore trust, strengthen the rule of law, and build a system that is fairer, more secure, and better aligned with the country America aspires to be.
Practice Pointer: Habeas Corpus for People Originally Detained Near the Border Then Released
AILA’s Benefits Litigation Committee provides this practice pointer on Habeas Corpus for individuals detained near the border, then released, including on recognizance or parole under INA § 212(d)(5), and due process violations in ROR revocations and revocation of parole under § 212(d)(5).
Federal Judge Bars ICE from Conducting Most Courthouse Arrests and Exceeding 12-Hour Holding Cell Limit
A federal judge vacated ICE Directive 11072.3 and EOIR PM 25-06, which permitted civil arrests in courthouses, and ICE’s 6/24/25 “Nationwide Hold Room Waiver” memo, which allowed ICE to hold people in holding facilities for up to 72 hours. (Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, 6/23/26)
BIA Finds Potential Eligibility for Collateral Relief Was Not a Basis to Deny DHS’s Motion to Pretermit Asylum
The BIA held that the IJ erred in denying DHS’s motion to pretermit the respondents’ asylum applications based on their potential eligibility for collateral relief, finding that was not a proper factor in ruling on such a motion. Matter of T–A–G–, et al., 29 I&N Dec. 715 (BIA 2026)
BIA Holds That Grant of Withholding Is an Important Consideration in Discretionary Denial of Asylum
The BIA held that a grant of withholding of removal under the INA is an important consideration in whether asylum may be denied as a matter of discretion, given the mitigating impact withholding has on the risk of future persecution. Matter of P–A–C–, 29 I&N Dec. 708 (BIA 2026)
CA11 Holds Court Lacks Jurisdiction over Petition for Review of CAT Denial Unless It Also Challenges a Final Removal Order
The court held that judicial review of a Convention Against Torture (CAT) denial is available only when the petition also challenges a final removal order, and dismissed the petition for review aimed solely at the BIA’s CAT decision for lack of jurisdiction. (Hayles v. Att’y Gen., 6/22/26)