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
HIV/AIDS Service for Immigrants in Detention
A Human Rights Watch report investigates the quality of HIV/AIDS medical care for immigrants detained in the U.S. Report includes recommendations to agencies and Congress.
Immigration Law Advisor, November 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 11)
Immigration Law Advisor, an EOIR legal publication, with an article on the circuit courts’ views of administrative notice, federal court activity for October 2007, an article on CIMT categorical approach and evolving moral standards, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
EOIR Proposes Rule to Amend Regulations on Voluntary Departure
EOIR proposed a rule to require that a motion to reopen or reconsider filed before the expiration of a voluntary departure period automatically terminate the VD grant. On 12/3/07 briefs are due in the Supreme Court case on the same issue, Dada v. Keisler. (72 FR 67674, 11/30/07)
CA2 Says No Jurisdiction to Review Timeliness of Asylum
The court reversed its previous decision and held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the IJ’s determination on the timeliness of Petitioner’s asylum application. (Liu v. INS, 11/30/07)
CA9 Vacates Preliminary Injunction in I-212, Perez-Gonzalez Class Action
CA9 ruled in favor of the gov't and vacated the preliminary injunction in a class action challenging DHS' willful refusal to follow Perez-Gonzalez v. Ashcroft. The court held that the rule in that case is no longer the law of the circuit. (Duran Gonzalez v. DHS, 11/30/07)
CA6 Discusses “Admission” for Purposes of Removal Under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i)
The court held that for purposes of INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i), there is only one “lawful admission,” based on physical, legal entry into the U.S., not the subsequent adjustment of status. (Zhang v. Mukasey, 11/29/07)
CA1 Finds Family Planning Persecution Claim Speculative
The court upheld the denial of asylum, finding the BIA justifiably relied on a DOS report indicating that fees levied on unwed mothers were merely for social compensation, and in some cases the fees had abolished or relaxed. (Wang v. Mukasey, 11/29/07)
CA9 Reverses District Court, Finds Plaintiff Eligible for Benefits Under ABC Settlement Agreement
The court held that Plaintiff’s asylum application, filed on 1/31/91, indicated his intent to receive benefits of the ABC agreement, notwithstanding the fact that the application did not explicitly reference the agreement. (Chaly-Garcia v. United States, 11/29/07)
BIA Rules Individuals Unlawfully Present Who Later Depart the Country Are Inadmissible
The BIA held that an individual who is unlawfully present for a period of one year, departs the country, and then seeks admission within ten years of the date of his departure, is inadmissible. Matter of Lemus-Losa, 24 I&N Dec. 373 (BIA 2007)
BIA Rules Recidivist Immigration Violators are Inadmissible
The BIA held that recidivist immigration violators are inadmissible and that adjustment of status under section 245(i) of the Act is not available to an individual who is inadmissible. Matter of Briones, 24 I&N Dec. 355 (BIA 2007)
ICE Posts Information for Families of El Salvadoran Detainees
ICE posted guidance on its website for attorneys and family members of El Salvadorans in custody.
CA2 Remands Asylum Claim of Colombian Kidnapped by FARC
The court remanded the case because of the BIA’s flawed reasoning that kidnapping could not amount to persecution. (Delgado v. Mukasey, 11/28/07)
CA2 Refuses to Waive Exhaustion Requirement Under INA §242(d)(1)
The court held that the exhaustion requirement under INA §242(d)(1) is jurisdictional and Petitioner’s failure to exhaust his administrative remedies cannot be excused on grounds of futility or manifest injustice. (Valenzuela Grullon v. Mukasey, 11/27/07)
CA1 Upholds Dismissal of Claims Arising From New Bedford, MA Raid
The court held that INA §242(b)(9) barred jurisdiction over Petitioners’ right to counsel and procedural due process claims, finding the claims “arose from” removal because they are part of the fabric of removal proceedings. (Aguilar v. ICE, 11/27/07)
CA9 Finds Asylum Applicant May Authenticate Documents by Own Testimony
The court held that an asylum applicant may seek to authenticate public documents by any established means – including through an applicant’s own testimony if consistent with the Federal Rules of Evidence. (Vatyan v. Mukasey, 11/27/07).
CA2 Says Affluent Guatemalans Are Not a Particular Social Group
The court held that the BIA’s rulings that social groups require a certain degree of “social visibility” and that the definition of social group must have particular and well-defined boundaries were “sufficient and affirmable.” (Ucelo-Gomez v. Mukasey, 11/21/07)
CA9 Finds AZ Solicitation to Possess 4 Pounds of Marijuana for Sale is a CIMT
The court held that a conviction for solicitation to possess at least four pounds of marijuana for sale, in violation of Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-1002(A) and (B)(2), and §13-3405(A)(2) and (B)(6) is a crime involving moral turpitude. (Barragan-Lopez v. Mukasey, 11/21/07)
CA2 Remands on Issue of “Pattern or Practice” of Persecution of Christians
The court remanded where the BIA considered only whether Petitioner had been singled out for persecution and did not consider his claim that there was a pattern or practice of persecution of Christians in Indonesia. (Mufied v. Mukasey, 11/20/07)
CA10 Upholds Validity of Reinstatement Regulation at 8 CFR §241.8(a)
The court upheld the reinstatement regulation at 8 CFR §241.8(a) as a valid interpretation of the INA. It also held that it lacked jurisdiction to review constitutional claims or questions of law relating to a reinstated expedited removal order. (Lorenzo v. Mukasey, 11/20/07)
CBP Muster on Delegation of Authority for Enforcement Actions
An 11/19/07 CBP muster informing CBP officers that forms concerning removable aliens are delegated to second-line supervisory officers. If an alien intends to depart, CBP should consider voluntary return. Muster obtained through FOIA 2011F03343 filed by AILA.
CA2 Says BIA Abused Discretion in Denying MTR in Chinese Family Planning Case
The court found that the documents submitted in support of the motion to reopen were strikingly similar to the documents in Shou Yung Guo, and that the BIA did not indicate that it “paid any attention to the documents at all.” (Gao v. Mukasey, 11/19/07)
CA6 Finds No Abuse of Discretion in Denial of Continuance Pending I-130 Motion to Reopen
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in upholding the denial of a continuance pending adjudication of Petitioner’s I-130 motion to reopen, where Petitioner had failed in 7 months to submit any evidence in support of the continuance request. (Ilic-Lee v. Mukasey, 11/19/07)
CA8 Upholds Adverse Credibility; Finds Changed Conditions in Sierra Leone
The court upheld the IJ’s adverse credibility finding noting an ID card that appeared altered to match information on a false birth certificate. The court upheld the BIA’s holding that changed conditions precluded a clear probability of persecution finding. (Diallo v. Mukasey, 11/19/07)
CA9 Finds BIA Abused Discretion in Denying MTR Based on Ineffective Counsel
CA9 held that Petitioner had been deprived of meaningful review due to the ineffective assistance of counsel and was entitled to a presumption of prejudice. It found that she failed to establish past persecution in Armenia, but remanded re future persecution. (Grigoryan v. Keisler, 11/19/07)
AILF and AILA Amicus Brief Filed in the Supreme Court in Dada v. Gonzales
The LAC filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in the case Dada v. Gonzales, arguing that the filing of a motion to reopen tolls the running of the voluntary departure.