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
Minutes of AILA USCIS Liaison Meeting March 23, 2006
USCIS discusses various liaison topics: H-1B eligibility, EB-2 and EB-3 educational equivalencies, I-90 biometrics, nunc pro tunc reinstatement for dependents, I-765 and I-131 extension, change of status (L-1B to L-1A), naturalization.
CA1 Finds Stop-Time Rule Applies Retroactively
The court found that the stop-time rule under INA §240A(d)(1)(B) applied retroactively to Petitioner’s 1995 marriage fraud conviction to end the accrual of continuous physical presence for suspension. (Peralta v. Gonzales, 3/23/06)
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Retroactivity of Reinstatement Statute
The Court heard arguments in the first immigration case to come before the newly-constituted Roberts’ Court. The issue in the case is whether the current reinstatement provision applies to a person who reentered the United States illegally before the effective date of IIRIRA, April 1, 1997.
EOIR Responses to AILA's Liaison Questions (3/22/06)
Liaison issues addressed with EOIR included unanswered motions, the 1-800 telephone system, absentia orders, unfiled NTAs, e-payment of fees, circuit court remands, biometrics, briefing schedules, consumer protection, case completion guidelines, and motions to terminate under the Howard memo.
CA9 Upholds IJ’s Finding of No Past Persecution But Reverses Finding of No Well-Founded Fear of Future Persecution
The court upheld the finding that Petitioner had not suffered past persecution but found that her fear of future harm, based on increasingly severe threats made in Peru by Shining Path during a seven-month period six years ago, was well-founded. (Canales-Vargas v. Gonzales, 3/21/06)
CA2 Says IJ Erred in Denying Asylum for Lack of Doctrinal Knowledge
The court held that the IJ erred in finding Petitioner lacked credibility due to his limited knowledge of Christian doctrine without assessing the genuineness of his Christian beliefs. (Rizal v. Gonzales, 3/21/06)
CIS Ombudsman’s Recommendation on NTA Issuance
CIS Ombudsman’s 3/20/06 recommendation that USCIS standardize its policy on issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) to provide that NTAs be issued and filed with the immigration court in all cases where, as a result of adjustment of status denial, the applicant is out of status.
CA9 Holds That Applicants for Admission, Including Asylum Seekers, Cannot Be Indefinitely Detained
The court held that the indefinite detention of applicants for admission “is unreasonable, unjustified, and in violation of federal law,” and granted Petitioner’s motion for immediate release under FRAP 23(b). (Nadarajah v. Gonzales, 3/17/06)
Section-by-Section Summary of S. 2454
A section-by-section summary of the Securing America’s Borders Act (S. 2454), introduced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) on March 16. The summary was prepared by Frist’s office.
CA2 Finds No Well-founded Fear of Persecution in China
The court denied asylum where Petitioner based his claim on the fear that he would be arrested and sent to a labor camp for twice distributing pro-democracy flyers when he was 16 years old. (Lin v. Gonzales, 3/17/06)
Text of the Securing America’s Borders Act
Text of the Securing America’s Borders Act (S. 2454), introduced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) on 3/16/06.
CA2 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Adjustment and §212(h) Waiver
The court held that INA §242(a)(2)(B)(i) barred review of the denial of an application for adjustment of status and §212(h) waiver because such denials are committed to the Attorney General’s discretion. (Bugayong v. INS, 3/15/06)
CA2 Rejects Adverse Credibility Determination in Russian Asylum Claim
The court found that six of the seven bases given by the IJ for his adverse credibility determination were erroneous, and noted that the IJ’s decision contained misstatements of Petitioner’s testimony and flawed reasoning. (Pavlova v. INS, 3/14/06)
CA9 Vacates Motion to Reopen Denial Issued Before the End of the 90-Day Filing Period (Updated 4/10/06)
The court struck down the BIA’s summary denial of a skeletal motion to reopen, in which counsel indicated an intention to file a brief and additional documentation, before the end of the 90-day filing window. (Yeghiazaryanv v. Gonzales, 3/10/06)
EOIR's Automated Telephone Case Status Information System
EOIR notice discusses how to access the automated telephone case status information system.
EOIR Attempts to Justify 2002 Restructuring
Release from the Executive Office for Immigration Review attempts to justify the the "streamlining" provisions implemented in 2002.
BIA Finds that Adjustment Can Not Be Based on a Previously Used Visa Petition
The BIA held that an application for adjustment of status cannot be based on an approved visa petition that has already been used by the beneficiary to obtain adjustment of status or admission as an immigrant. Matter of Villarreal-Zungia, 23 I&N Dec. 886 (BIA 2006)
EOIR Notice Regarding Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests
EOIR notice provides information about submitting Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests.
CA9 Says Statutory Rape is Not a Per Se Crime of Violence (Updated 4/10/06)
The court held that, where the minor consents, a conviction for statutory rape under California Penal Code §261.5(c) is not a crime of violence because it does not involve a substantial risk of violence in its commission. (Valencia v. Gonzales, 3/6/06)
CA9 Holds Voluntary Departure Must Be “Knowing and Voluntary” Before it Breaks Continuous Physical Presence
Voluntary departure only breaks continuous physical presence for cancellation purposes when there is substantial evidence of the order and the person has knowingly and voluntarily consented to, the terms of the VD agreement. (Ibarra-Flores v. Gonzales, 3/6/06)
Sign-On Letter to Senate Opposing Provisions in Chairman’s Mark That Would Harm Asylum Seekers
Letter signed by 84 organizations and 117 individuals and delivered to the Senate on 3/6/06, opposing provisions in the Chairman’s Mark that would harm “vulnerable populations, including asylum-seekers, children, trafficking victims, and others seeking protection in the United States.”
CA2 Says Women Sold into Marriage in China Is a Social Group
The court found that women who have been sold into marriage and who live in a part of China where forced marriages are considered valid and enforceable is a particular social group for purposes of asylum. (Gao v. Gonzales, 3/3/06)
CA8 Says Pre-IIRIRA Advance Parole Regulation is Not Ultra Vires to Suspension of Deportation Provision
The court rejected Petitioner’s claim that the advance parole regulation, which mandated placement in exclusion proceedings thus preventing him from seeking suspension of deportation, was ultra vires to the suspension provision.(Geach v. Chertoff, 3/3/06)
CA8 Upholds Decision that Catholic Indonesian Did Not Suffer Past Persecution and Does Not Have a Well-Founded Fear
The court held that past persecution does not normally include unfulfilled threats of physical injury. The court also found the IJ did not err with regard to his well-founded fear finding because the harm feared was not nationwide. (Setiadi v. Gonzales, 3/3/06)
CA7 Holds a Petition for Review That Only Impacts Duration of Inadmissibility Is Ripe and Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm Is Crime of Violence
Where Petitioner conceded removability for a firearms offense but disputed the offense was a crime of violence, the court concluded the case was ripe for judicial review because resolution would determine the length of Petitioner’s future inadmissibility. (Quezada-Luna v. Gonzales, 3/3/06)