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
CA2 Finds Petitioner’s Statement Should Have Been Suppressed
The court remanded, finding error in the determination that Petitioner was removable in reliance on an unsupported credibility determination and that Petitioner's statement should have been suppressed. (Singh v. Mukasey, 1/21/09)
CA9 Clarifies the One-Year Deadline for Asylum Application
The court held that the first day of the one-year period for filing an asylum application is the day after the applicant arrived in the U.S. For example, if applicant arrived on April 9, the deadline for application is April 9 of the following year, not April 8. (Minasyan v. Mukasey, 1/20/09)
CA9 Interprets Social Group “Membership”
The court held that social group is largely based on “immutable” characteristics or characteristics “fundamental” to group’s identity. Specifically, the court reviewed claim of police persecution for being a supporter of the Roma ethnic minority in Bulgaria. (Donchev v. Mukasey, 1/16/09)
CA6 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination Based on Inconsistencies
The court held the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence, and denial of withholding of removal was warranted where credibility of applicant had not been established. (Shan Sheng Zhao v. Mukasey, 1/16/09)
Average Bond Amounts at ICE Offices
This document is a list of average bond amounts at ICE offices. Information provided by ICE Community Outreach Program. A
ICE Terminates Agreement to House Detainees at Detention Facility in Rhode Island
On 1/15/09 ICE announced that it notified the Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation of the agency's intention to terminate the agreement to house detainees at the Donald Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island. Following a death, ICE relocated facility’s 153 detainees in 12/08.
CA5 on VWP Overstay and Defenses to Removal
The court held that, since petitioner remained after expiration of her 90-day VWP stay, she was not entitled to contest her removal based on her marriage-based adjustment of status application (McCarthy v. Attorney General of the United States, 1/15/09)
EOIR Fact Sheet on Asylum, Withholding of Removal and CAT
A 1/15/09 EOIR fact sheet provides basic information on asylum and withholding of removal relief, as well as Convention Against Torture (CAT) protections.
Report on Repatriation of Unaccompanied Children
The Center for Public Policy Priorities released a report entitled "A Child Alone and Without Papers" on the return and repatriation of unaccompanied children by the U.S.
CA2 Remands Asylum Based on Persecution by Local Authorities
The court held that the IJ erred as to the timeliness of the petitioner’s application for asylum and in finding that the petitioner had not testified credibly in support of his claims, and remanded the case for further review (Zheng v. Mukasey, 1/13/09)
Court Finds Pretrial Diversion Agreement Does Not Constitute Conviction for Aggravated Felony
Court grants de novo review of naturalization denial, concluding that a Pretrial Diversion Agreement does not constitute a conviction for an aggravated felony, as the petitioner's guilt was not established by trial, plea or admission. Courtesy of Alex I. Craciunescu. (X v. Bryson, 1/13/09)
BIA Denies Motion to Set Aside Attorney Suspension Order
The BIA denied an attorney’s motion to set aside a suspension order for failure to show good cause. Motion was based on claimed good standing before the California State Bar. Matter of Rosenberg, 24 I&N Dec. 744 (BIA 2009)
CA1 Finds No Well-Founded Fear in Haitian Asylum Claim
The court found that past threats and violence did not rise to the level of persecution, and considered several return trips to Haiti, the continued safety of family, and changed political conditions in finding no well-founded fear. (Ravix v. Mukasey, 1/12/09)
TRAC Report on Immigration Prosecutions
A Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report reveals that an unusually large surge in immigration prosecutions in the last months of FY2008 resulted in the annual count of such filings more than quadrupling during the Bush Administration.
DHS OIG Report on Removal of Parents of U.S. Citizen Children
On 2/13/09 the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report that addresses the number of instances over the past 10 years in which a foreign national parent of a U.S. citizen child was removed from the country.
ICE Report of Investigation into the Death of Detainee
On 01/12/09, the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility issued a report of investigation surrounding the death of DRO detainee Hui Lui Ng during his detention at the Donald Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Fall, Rhode Island.
AILF Responds to Attorney General's Decision in Matter of Compean
AILF condems the Attorney General's decision in Matter of Compean-Bangaly & J-E-C, which declared that, immigrants, asylum seekers, and all others in removal proceedings do not have the right to representation by a lawyer before they can be ordered deported.
USCIS Releases Supplemental Q & As on Religious Worker Final Rule
On 1/5/09 USCIS released supplemental Q & As on the special immigrant and nonimmigrant religious worker visa categories final rule published 11/26/08 (73 FR 72298).
EOIR Correction to Final Rule on Professional Conduct for Practitioners
EOIR published a correction to a final rule (73 FR 76914, 12/18/08) on professional conduct for practitioners who appear before EOIR. (74 FR 201, 1/5/09)
Immigration Law Advisor, December 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 12)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on new developments on TRIG exemptions, federal court activity for November 2008, article on the top 20 federal immigration decisions of 2008, and legislative and regulatory updates.
Motion to Dismiss Indictment and Suppress Evidence of Prior Removal
Sample motion to dismiss the indictment for reentry following removal under INA §276 on grounds that the order was fundamentally unfair, Defendant was denied meaningful judicial review, and Defendant exhausted his administrative remedies. (January 2009)
Reforming Our Immigration Detention System and Promoting Access to Counsel
This report from the Constitution Project examines expedited removal, mandatory pre-removal detention, and post-removal detention and suggests much-needed agency-level and congressional reforms.
BIA Reopens Proceedings for Ethiopian Asylum Seeker
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that material evidence of changed country conditions demonstrated prima facie eligibility for relief for Ethiopian asylum applicant. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman.
Congress Passes Trafficking Victims Protection and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 7311)
On 12/11/08, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) which includes provisions to protect trafficking survivors, and new standards for how immigrant children will be treated in custody.
ICE Publishes Information Collection on Obligor Change of Address Form
ICE published an information collection on form I-333, Obligor Change of Address. Comments are due 1/22/09. (73 FR 78820, 12/23/08)