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
Statement by DHS Assistant Press Secretary Keegan On Immigration Enforcement During Hurricane Ike
Statement by Department of Homeland Security Assistant Press Secretary Keegan announcing that there will be no DHS immigration enforcement operations associated with evacuations and sheltering during hurricane Ike.
AILA’s Comment to EOIR’s Practice Manual
AILA’s comment to EOIR’s Practice Manual, which went into effect on 7/1/08, stating that while AILA appreciates all the work that went into creating the Manual and EOIR's responsiveness, there are still concerns and suggestions for future updates and additions to the Manual.
AILA Commends House Judiciary Committee For “Mark-Up” Of Four Immigration-Related Bills
AILA commends Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee, for pressing forward in a toxic political environment to “mark up” four important immigration-related bills.
BIA Addresses Meaning of “to Reside Permanently” Under Former Section 321(a) of the INA
The BIA held that respondent did not satisfy former section 321(a) of the Act to obtain derivative citizenship because he did not acquire LPR status before he reached 18 years of age. Matter of Nwozuzu, 24 I&N Dec. 609 (BIA 2008)
IJ Grants Asylum to Children of a Particular Family Who Where Physically Abandoned
IJ finds that Honduran children merit a grant of asylum on humanitarian grounds with the social group defined as members of a particular family who were physically abandoned by their parents. Courtesy of David Sperling.
DOJ Progress Overview on EOIR Improvement Measures
On 8/28/08 DOJ released a fact sheet summarizing EOIR's progress implementing the 22 Measures to Improve the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals, which were outlined in 2006 by former Attorney General Gonzales.
CA9 Rejects Social Group Claim in Salvadoran Gang-Related Asylum Claim
The court upheld BIA’s finding that Petitioner’s fear based on family membership was not well-founded. It also upheld the BIA’s rejection of “young [men] in El Salvador resisting gang violence” as a social group due to lack of particularity and visibility. (Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 9/8/08)
TRAC Report on Implementation of Improvement Measures for BIA & Immigration Courts
TRAC released a report on the implementation status of former Attorney General Gonzales’s 22 Measures to Improve the Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals.
CA6 Reverses Adverse Credibility Finding for Relying on AO’s Assessment
The court held that the substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s adverse credibility finding because it was based on an Asylum Officer’s (AO’s) Assessment to Refer which lacked standard indicia of reliability. (Koulibaly v. Mukasey, 9/4/08)
BIA Finds Spouse of Cuban LPR Eligible for Relief
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that as the spouse of an LPR who adjusted under the Cuban Adjustment Act, the respondent was eligible to adjust. Courtesy of Sofia Zneimer.
CA2 Finds APA Jurisdiction to Review LPR Rescission Claims
The court found that Petitioner’s complaint alleging that she was granted LPR status which was subsequently rescinded without mandatory procedures, stated two APA claims upon which relief could be granted. (Sharkey v. Quarantillo, 9/3/08)
CA11 Finds Rehabilitative Vacaturs were Effective to Remove Non-Controlled Substance Convictions in 1997
Unpublished decision. The court granted petition for review and remanded for a factual determination as to whether "omnopon" is a controlled substance. (X v. Attorney General, 9/3/08)
CBP Memo on the Exercise of Discretionary Authority
CBP 9/3/08 memo on the use of discretionary measures for individuals who are inadmissible due to minor or technical violations, including the use of waivers and parole processes where appropriate. Memo includes discretionary authority checklist. Received through American Immigration Council FOIA.
CA7 Addresses Res Judicata Following Statutory Change in Law Regarding Aggravated Felonies
The court held that res judicata did not bar proceedings based on the same sexual abuse of a minor conviction for which the petitioner was previously found not deportable because it would be inconsistent with IIRAIRA. (Alvear-Velez v. Mukasey, 9/2/08)
Immigration Law Today-Sept/Oct 2008
The Sept/Oct 2008 issue of Immigration Law Today focuses on litigation, legislation, and regulations, including how one's vote impacts immigration, representing transgender clients, and inside the forensic document laboratory.
Immigration Law Advisor, August 2008 (Vol. 2, No. 8)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on motions for continuances and reopening requests, federal court activity for July 2008, BIA precedent decisions, a regulatory update, and an article on Prieto-Romero v. Clark and Casas-Castrillon v. DHS, and bond proceedings.
District Court Rules on Motions for Summary Judgment in FOIA Suit
Court granted in part and denied in part defendant federal agencies’ motions for summary judgment in case arising from FOIA requests by a foreign national placed in removal proceedings after his visa was administratively revoked. (El Badrawi v. DHS, 8/30/08)
BIA Addresses Release Under INA 236(c)(1)
The BIA held that “release” under INA 236(c)(1) includes release from a non-DHS custodial setting after the expiration of the TPCR, and does not support limiting the custodial setting to criminal custody related to the basis for detention. Matter of Saysana, 24 I&N Dec. 602 (BIA 2008)
CA2 Addresses Seizure and Exclusion of Evidence under Lopez-Mendoza
The court concluded that the petitioners were not seized within the meaning of the fourth amendment, so it need not consider what role race played in the stop or whether it was sufficiently egregious to justify suppression. (Pinto-Montoya v. Mukasey, 8/26/08)
Scialabba and Neufeld Memo on Inadmissibility Due to HIV Infection
On August 26, 2008, Lori Scialabba, Associate Director, Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations Directorate, and Donald Neufeld, Associate Director, Domestic Operations, USCIS, released a memo on inadmissibility due to HIV infection in light of the President's signing of H.R. 5501.
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Finding Firm Resettlement
The court remanded the case to the BIA to determine the significance of an expired residence stamp in Petitioner’s passport, and whether it constituted an offer of permanent residence in a third country. (Bonilla v. Mukasey, 8/25/08)
CA3 Remands for Ineffective Assistance and Claim Based on New International Treaty
The court found that Petitioner sufficiently addressed the steps under Lozada to proceed with his ineffective assistance claim and remanded for the BIA to consider how U.S. law complies with the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. (Rranci v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 8/22/08)
Big Surprise - Operation Scheduled Departure a Bust
To the surprise of no one, ICE announced today that, due to lack of interest, it would not be continuing its “Operation Scheduled Departure," which asked people who had been subject to a final order of deportation to turn themselves in for removal.
CA2 Refuses to Review Reinstatement Order
The court held that Garcia-Villeda forecloses a challenge to the reinstatement regulations and found that a collateral attack on a prior reinstatement order is statutorily barred. (Miller v. Mukasey, 8/21/08)
BIA Finds Parent’s Period of Residence Cannot be Imputed to Child
The BIA held that the period when the foreign national resided as an unemancipated minor child with his LPR father cannot be imputed in order to satisfy the seven-year residence requirement for cancellation of removal under INA §240A(a)(2). Matter of Ramirez-Vargas, 24 I&N Dec. 599 (BIA 2008)