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
CA1 Declines to Exercise Jurisdiction Based on Voluntary Departure Regulation
The court dismissed the petition for review, declining to permit the petitioner to circumvent 8 CFR §1240.26(i) by allowing him to seek both voluntary departure and judicial review. (Hakim v. Holder, 7/9/10)
CA9 Interprets “Has Been” in the Cancellation of Removal Context
For purposes of INA §240A(a) cancellation, the term “has been” lawfully admitted for permanent residence means that the alien must currently possess LPR status. It does not include a person who held that status but has since lost it. (Padilla-Romero v. Holder, 7/9/10)
CA3 Finds IJ Failure to Advise on Free Legal Services Availability Invalidates Removal Order
The court vacated and remanded, holding that the IJ’s failure to advise respondent of the availability of free legal services, as required under 8 CFR §1240.10(a)(2)-(3) rendered the removal order invalid. (Leslie v. Att'y Gen. of the U.S., 7/9/10)
CA10 Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Credibility Determination
The court found that INA §242(a)(2)(B)(ii) and INA §216(c)(4) deprive it of jurisdiction to review the BIA’s credibility determination or its weighing of the evidence found to be credible in a conditional residence waiver case. (Iliev v. Holder, 7/19/10)
CA3 Finds BIA Ignored Majority of Petitioner’s Evidence in CAT Claim
The court reversed and granted withholding of removal under CAT, finding that the BIA ignored the majority of Petitioner's evidence and held that it is more likely than not that petitioner would be tortured if returned to China. (Kang v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/8/10)
CA1 on Disclosure of Prior Marriage in Adjustment Interview
The court found that the failure of the applicant to identify all children and a prior spouse in the adjustment of status interview was false testimony precluding a finding of good moral character for cancellation of removal. (Toribio-Chavez v. Holder, 7/8/10)
CA11 Discusses Post-Conclusion Voluntary Departure
An alien is not precluded from post-conclusion voluntary departure under INA §240B(b)(1), where the request is raised for the first time after IJ issuance of the removal order, but prior to the conclusion of the hearing. (Alvarado v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/8/10)
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial Based on Changed Circumstances in Albania
The court affirmed the BIA’s denial of asylum, finding that the 2006 Department of State Country Report and Asylum Profile demonstrated changed conditions in Albania. (Nako v. Holder, 7/7/10)
BIA on Delivery of a Simulated Controlled Substance Offense
The BIA held that an offense of delivery of a simulated controlled substance in violation of TX law is not an aggravated felony under INA, but is a violation of a law relating to a controlled substance under former § 241(a)(2)(B)(i). Matter of Sanchez-Cornejo, 25 I&N Dec. 273 (BIA 2010)
EOIR Releases CASE Court Administrator Course Lesson Plan
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, the purpose of this course is to train users of the Automated Nationwide System for Immigration Review (ANSIR) and Board of Appeals Processing (BIAP) to comprehend and properly use the new Case Access System for EOIR (CASE). Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
CA9 Finds No Judicial Admission of NTA Entry Date in NACARA Case
The government did not make a binding judicial admission about Petitioner’s entry date in the NTA for purposes of NACARA eligibility because it disputed the date during an evidentiary hearing and Petitioner never expressly objected. (Cortez-Pineda v. Holder, 7/2/10)
ICE Strategic Plan for FY2010 - FY2014
ICE issued its strategic plan for FY2010 through FY2014. This plan lays out how ICE will meet its responsibilities for criminal investigation and civil immigration enforcement over the next five years.
ICE Reports Number of Haitians in ICE Custody as of 6/24/10
On the ICE FOIA Reading Room, ICE reported a total of 400 Haitians in ICE Custody as of 6/24/10 including criminal and non-criminal detainees. ICE deferred to USCIS on question of the number of Haitians who have applied for asylum since the earthquake.
AILA Comments on ICE’s Proposed Extension of an Existing NSEERS Information Collection
On 06/2/10, AILA submitted a comment in connection with ICE’s proposed extension of an existing NSEERS information collection, published at 75 FR 24721, 5/05/10.
CA3 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review DHS Asylum Termination
The court held that the IJ and BIA did not err in determining that the immigration judge lacked jurisdiction to review DHS’s termination of Petitioner’s asylum status. (Bhargava v. Holder, 7/1/10)
CA7 Discusses “Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence”
The court held that Petitioner, who had a criminal conviction unknown to the government at the time his application for adjustment of status was approved, was never “lawfully admitted for permanent residence.” (Estrada-Ramos v. Holder, 7/1/10)
Immigration Law Advisor, June 2010 (Vol. 4, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor, a EOIR legal publication, with an article on recent developments in gang-related asylum claims, federal court activity for May 2010, an article on the bars to refugee protection, recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
ICE Civil Enforcement Priorities Memorandum
A 6/30/10 memo from ICE Assistant Secretary John Morton outlining the agency’s civil enforcement priorities.
BIA Overrules Saysana in Matter of Garcia-Arreola
AILA Amicus Committee alert on Matter of Garcia-Arreola and how this decision distinguishes from Saysana.
IJ Jurisdiction Over Bond Hearings Following ICE Transfer
AILA Amicus Committee alert on the practice of IJ’s refusing to conduct a bond hearing after a hearing is requested and scheduled but ICE moves the detainee. By guest writer Trina Realmuto at the National Immigration Project.
BIA Overrules Matter of Saysana Decision on Mandatory Detention
The BIA held that a post-TPCR release from non-DHS custody must be directly tied to basis for detention in INA §236(c)(1)(A)–(D) to implicate the mandatory detention provision. AILA filed an amicus brief in the case. Matter of Garcia Arreola, 25 I&N Dec. 267 (BIA 2010)
DHS Fact Sheet on Southwest Border Next Steps
DHS issued a fact sheet on department initiatives on the southwest border from the past year and a half and planned, new budget-neutral initiatives.
Sign-On Letter to ICE Expressing Views on Immigration Detainer Policy
On 6/23/10, AILA joined the ACLU and other immigrants’ rights and civil rights organizations in expressing concerns and views on the issuance of immigration detainers. This sign-on letter was presented to ICE as it works to develop guidance on detainer policy.
Sign-On Letter In Support of the HELP for Separated Children Act (S. 3522)
On 6/22/10, AILA joined a group of national and local immigrants’ rights, women’s rights, public health, medical, and religious organizations in voicing support for Senator Franken’s Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act (S. 3522).
Senators Franken, Kohl Introduce HELP Separated Children Act
On 6/22/10, Senators Al Franken (D-MN) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) introduced the Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections (HELP) for Separated Children Act (S. 3522).