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
USCIS and ICE Q&A on Procedures Implementing EOIR Regulations on Background and Security Checks
USCIS and ICE issued a Q&A regarding EOIR background check regulations for aliens seeking relief from removal.
USCIS and ICE Fact Sheet: Procedures Implementing EOIR Regulations on Background and Security Checks
USCIS/ICE fact sheet discussing procedures implemented on 4/1/05 in order to facilitate compliance with EOIR regulations prohibiting IJs and the BIA from granting relief from removal or protection benefits to an alien before DHS reports that the identity, background and security checks are complete.
CA2 Finds Jurisdiction to Stay BIA’s Order of Voluntary Departure
The court held that INA §242(a)(1) permits it to stay a BIA order of voluntary departure, and that a BIA order granting voluntary departure with an alternate order of removal is a final order subject to judicial review. (Thapa v. Gonzales, 8/16/06)
CA7 Holds “Grandfathered” Status under INA §245(i) Does Not Preclude Removal
The court held that “grandfathered” status under INA §245(i) did not preclude Petitioner from being removed when a visa number was unavailable. The court further held that INA §242(g) bars jurisdiction to review Petitioner’s equal protection challenge. (Hadayat v. Gonzales, 8/15/06)
CA1 Upholds IJ’s Finding of Changed Country Conditions in Albania
The court found that the IJ correctly afforded Petitioner a presumption of a well-founded fear based on past persecution, but that substantial evidence indicated that there had been a fundamental change in conditions in Albania. (Tota v. Gonzales, 8/14/06)
GAO Releases Study on EOIR’s Caseload Performance Reporting
The GAO study addresses the trend in immigration court caseloads, how cases are assigned and managed by the OCIJ, and how the EOIR/OCIJ evaluate the performance of immigration courts.
Attorney General Announces Measures Intended to Improve Immigration Courts and BIA
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales directs the implementation of 22 measures intended to improve the immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals, based on the recommendations of a review team assembled by the Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General.
Attorney General Gonzales Outlines Reforms for Immigration Courts and BIA
AG Alberto Gonzales announced that DOJ will implement new measures to improve the Immigration Courts and BIA. The measures include performance evaluations, an immigration law exam, a proposal for the authority to sanction, budget increases, technological improvements and streamlining practices.
DOJ Press Release on Reforms Intended to Improve Immigration Courts and BIA
Press release from DOJ announcing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' directive to implement 22 measures intended to improve the immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals.
CA10 Holds VWP Entrant Has No Right to Contest Removal Through Adjustment of Status
The court held that a VWP entrant who overstays and files for adjustment of status before issuance of a removal order has waived his right to contest the removal order. (Ferry v. Gonzales, 8/8/06)
CA2 Holds Issue Exhaustion Is Not Required by INA §242(d)(1)
The court held that INA §242(d)(1) does not make issue exhaustion a statutory jurisdictional requirement and that failure to exhaust specific issues may be waived by the Attorney General. (Zhong v. DOJ, 8/8/06)
CA2 Finds Violation of Asylum Applicant’s Right to Confidentiality
The court held that the government violated 8 CFR §208.6 and rejected its post hoc rationale for the breach. The court also held that the adverse credibility finding, based on a consular report, was not supported by substantial evidence. (Lin v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
CA1 on Burden of Showing Effect of Vacated Convictions
The court held that the BIA did not err in placing the burden on the petitioner to show that a conviction that was vacated after a final order of removal had been entered was vacated based on a procedural defect. (Rumierz v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
CA9 Discusses Retroactivity of Cancellation of Removal Under INA §240A
CA9 held that Congress clearly intended to limit the availability of cancellation of removal under INA §240A to those who had not previously been granted relief under former §212(c). The court also held that §240A did not have a retroactive effect. (Maldonado-Galindo v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
President Bush on Comprehensive Immigration Reform in Texas
In an address on comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush discussed increased funding for border security, the end of "catch and release", worksite enforcement, documentation for temporary workers, and deportation.
BIA Holds Domestic Battery Not a CIMT or “Crime of Domestic Violence”
The BIA held that a conviction for domestic battery under the California Penal Code does not qualify categorically as a conviction for a “crime involving moral turpitude” under INA or, in Ninth Circuit removal proceedings, as a “crime of violence”. Matter of Sanudo, 23 I&N Dec. 968 (BIA 2006)
Outline for CBP Officer Basic Training Law Course
CBP student outline of the Officer Basic Training Law Course dated 8/1/06. Information discussed includes the Fourth Amendment, border searches, border crimes and violations, the role of a CBP officer, and more. Guidance obtained through the CBP FOIA Library.
CA3 Remands for Further Proceedings After Reversing In Absentia Removal Order Resulting from Slight Lateness
The court granted the petition for review after finding there was no failure to appear after petitioner arrived 15-20 minutes late and the in absentia order was entered in violation of petitioner’s right to due process. (Cabrera-Perez v. Gonzales, 8/1/06)
CA3 Finds “Fundamental Defect” in Reinstatement Proceedings
The court held that the INS’s failure to inform Appellant of his right to appeal his reinstatement order, combined with misleading language in the reinstatement notice was a fundamental defect which, if prejudicial, rendered the proceeding fundamentally unfair. (U.S. v. Charleswell, 8/1/06)
TRAC Study on Immigration Judges and Requests for Asylum
Study from Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University focuses on the disparities between immigration judges, and between represented and unrepresented cases, in asylum decisionmaking.
CA9 Holds Accessory After the Fact is Crime Involving Moral Turpitude
CA9 held that a conviction under California Penal Code §32, accessory after the fact, is a crime involving moral turpitude. Conviction requires a knowing, affirmative act to conceal a felony with the specific intent to hinder prosecution. (Navarro-Lopez v. Gonzales, 7/31/06)
CA7 Remands Asylum Claim For Lack of Analysis of in BIA Decision
The court found that, where the BIA’s one-sentence opinion assumed that Petitioner was credible but found that he had not met his burden of proof, the opinion lacked sufficient analysis to support the conclusion that the IJ and BIA’s errors were harmless. (Pramatarov v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
CA2 Says Torture Does Not Include Deprivation of Property
The court reviewed the CAT regulations and found no indication that the definition of torture was intended to encompass destruction, thefts, expropriations, or other deprivations of property. (Jo v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
BIA to Grant Fewer and Shorter Extensions of Initial Briefing Deadlines
Beginning 8/14/06, the BIA will grant fewer and shorter extensions of initial briefing deadlines in detainee cases.
CA3 Finds “Criminal Deportees” to Haiti Not a Particular Social Group
The court held that the BIA properly denied CAT protection because Petitioner did not demonstrate the specific intent element for torture and joined other circuits in finding that criminal deportees are not a social group. (Toussaint v. Atty. Gen. of U.S., 7/26/06)