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
CA9 Finds IJ Erred by Considering Her Bond Hearing Notes during Removal Hearing
CA9 granted petition and remanded asylum case, finding that IJ, who presides over the same petitioner’s bond hearing and removal hearing, may not use her notes from the unrecorded bond hearing in reaching her removal hearing decision. (Joseph v. Holder, 4/14/10)
CA3 Upholds BIA Interpretation of 8 CFR §1239.2(f) on Prima Facie Naturalization Eligibility
The court deferred to the BIA's interpretation that 8 CFR §1239.2(f) requires DHS to present an affirmative communication on prima facie naturalization eligibility before termination of removal proceedings. (Zegrean v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 4/13/10)
Detention Officer Sentenced for Repeated Sexual Abuse of Detainees
DOJ announced that U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller sentenced Robert Luis Loya, a former guard at the Port Isabel Detention Center, to three years in prison and five years of supervised release for violating the civil rights and the sexual abuse of females in his custody.
CA9 Upholds BIA Finding that “Drug Trafficking Crime” Does Not Require Firearm Use
CA9 denied petition, holding that the use of a firearm is not a necessary element of a “drug trafficking crime” for the purpose of determining whether an alien has been convicted of an “aggravated felony.” (Lopez-Jacuine v. Holder, 4/12/10)
CA2 on Fraudulent VWP Applicants and Removal
The court found that since Petitioner attempted entry using a fake passport from a Visa Waiver Program nation, his removal was properly administered under that program. (Shabaj v. Holder, 4/12/10)
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment on ICE Online Detainee Locator System
DHS issued a Privacy Impact Assessment for the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (ODLS), a public web-based system scheduled to launch on 6/2/10. ODLS allows the public to conduct online queries to locate persons detained by ICE for civil INA violations.
CA9 Remands Withholding of Removal Claim for Past Persecution Decision
CA9 remanded in part, finding that the IJ and BIA did not decide whether petitioner’s testimony, if believed, established past persecution. The court held that the IJ erred in making a finding of changed circumstances. (Mutuku v. Holder, 4/9/10)
CA9 Finds California Grand Theft Is an Aggravated Felony
The court found that Petitioner’s conviction for grand theft under California Penal Code §487(a) qualified as an aggravated felony under the modified categorical approach. (Ramirez-Villalpando v. Holder, 4/9/10; amended 7/1/11)
CA3 Remands, Finding BIA Erred in Review of CAT Decision
The court remanded, holding that the BIA erred in reviewing the finding of a probability of torture de novo and not under a “clearly erroneous” standard. (Kaplun v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 4/9/10)
Padilla v. Kentucky – Implications of SCOTUS Insights for Ill-advised Immigrants
AILA Amicus Committee alert on the immigration implications from the Supreme Court decision Padilla v. Kentucky, where the Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel requires that non-citizen defendants receive competent immigration advice regarding the deportation risks of a plea.
CA5 on Application of the Departure Bar
CA5 held that the departure bar applies an alien who departs the US after receiving notice of his deportation proceeding, but before the proceeding is completed and the IJ enters the deportation order. (Toora v. Holder, 4/8/10)
CA2 Finds Limited Jurisdiction to Review Moral Character Determinations
The court found jurisdiction to review a moral character determination made pursuant to INA §101(f)'s catchall provision where a "constitutional claim or question of law" is raised. (Sumbundu v. Holder, 4/7/10)
CA8 on Eligibility for Relief of Adjustment of Status
CA8 denied petitioner, upholding finding that petitioner is ineligible for relief in the form of adjustment of status based on conviction for crime of moral turpitude. (Lui v. Holder, 4/6/10)
CA7 on Requirements of Cancellation of Removal as a Battered Spouse
CA7 denied petition finding petitioner deportable under §1227(a)(2)(A)(i) and ineligible for cancellation of removal as a battered spouse because he could not meet all five requirements. (Benaouicha v. Holder, 4/6/10)
Immigration Law Advisor, March 2010 (Vol. 4, No. 3)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on removability for smuggling under sections 212(a)(6)(E) and 237(a)(1)(E) of the INA, federal court activity for February 2010, an article on “crime of violence” standards in the wake of Johnson v. U.S., and recent BIA precedent decisions.
SCOTUS Affirms That Immigrants are People Too!
The Supreme Court yesterday issued what can only be considered a seminal decision as it applies to the constitutional rights of all immigrants. In Padilla v. Kentucky, 555 U. S. ___ (2010), the court expressed, at least in summary, its dismay at the increasing difficulties caused by today's immigrat
Emergency Request for Hearing and Memorandum of Law in Support of Habeas Petition
Sample emergency request for hearing on petition for writ of habeas corpus and memorandum of law supporting issuance of writ of habeas corpus to remedy unlawful detention (April 2010). (Complaint, Amendment, Other Pleading)
Supreme Court Reverses Padilla Finding Counsel Must Inform on Plea’s Deportation Risk
Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that criminal defense counsel must inform noncitizen clients whether the plea carries a risk of deportation. (Padilla v. Kentucky, 3/31/10)
Immigration Detention Gone Rogue
Just when you thought it couldn't get much worse. Now we are told that ICE agents grab mentally ill immigrants right from mental hospitals, ship them off to a Texas detention center without word to family or counsel, and deport them. Could ICE's behavior be any more horrific? The latest ICE outrage
CRS Report on U.S. Immigration Policy for Haitian Migrants
On 3/31/10, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) issued a report on U.S. policy on Haitian migrants including immigration trends, policy evolution, temporary protected status, federal assistance, and options for the 111th Congress.
CA9 Finds CA Health & Safety Code § 11361(b) Conviction a Removable Offense
The court dismissed petition, holding that petitioner’s state conviction under CA Health and Safety Code § 11361(b) qualifies as a controlled substance offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). (Guerrero-Silva v. Holder, 3/31/10)
Round Up on Silva Trevino
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Matter of Silva Trevino, and its new rule for moral turpitude determinations. Guest blogging by Jenny Pelaez, from the Immigration Justice Clinic at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.
Internal Conflict at ICE Threatens to Stall Enforcement and Detention Reforms
On 3/27/10, internal ICE memos were released revealing deep dissension at the highest levels of ICE leadership that seriously risk derailing the Obama Administration’s reforms to our nation’s troubled immigration enforcement and detention system.
ICE Issues Letter on February 22, 2010 Memo on Removal Goals
ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton issued a letter stating that the February 22, 2010 memo does not capture ICE priorities in the last 10 months and ICE will not impose quotas that propel field officers to identify and arrest any particular number of noncriminal aliens.