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
CA9 Affirms District Court Jurisdiction Over Bivens Suits; Finds 4th Amendment Violation (Updated 4/10/06)
CA9 held: (1) INA §242 did not preclude a Bivens action for monetary damages; (2) where INS officer had no legal basis to detain Plaintiff pursuant to the expedited removal statute, the officer violated a Fourth Amendment right to be free from unlawful detention. (Sissoko v. USA, 3/16/05)
ICE Liaison Minutes (3/16/05)
The liaison minutes record the discussions with ICE regarding such topics as stipulated removal orders, automatic stay provisions, the new EOIR security clearance regulations, Operation Compliance, file sharing, alternatives to detention, among other issues.
CA5 Reverses In Absentia Order Resulting from Petitioner’s Late Arrival
The court held that “it was legal error, and therefore an abuse of discretion, to hold that Petitioner's twenty-minute tardiness constituted a failure to appear.” (Alarcon-Chavez v. Gonzales, 3/14/05)
CA3 Finds Deliberate Imposition of Severe Economic Disadvantage Is Persecution
The court held that the economic restrictions faced by Petitioner, which included a 1200 yuan fine, blacklisting from government employment, and confiscation of personal property, were severe and amounted to persecution in the aggregate. (Li v. Atty. Gen. of U.S., 3/10/05)
BIA Reaffirms Gabryelsky, Despite Changes to 212(c)
The BIA held that a respondent may seek a 212(c) waiver in conjunction with an application for adjustment of status despite regulatory changes relating to the availability of section 212(c) relief. (Matter of Azurin, 3/9/05)
AILA Issue Packet on Unaccompanied Children
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the 109th Congress would provide guidelines for the detention, care, and placement of unaccompanied children. This packet will help you advocate for the Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2005 (S. 119).
AILA Issue Packet on REAL ID Act
Many of the troubling anti-immigrant provisions that were stripped from the intelligence reform bill have resurfaced as part of the REAL ID Act (H.R. 418). This packet will assist you in opposing the REAL ID Act.
CA6 Holds that Illinois Sex Abuse Conviction is an Aggravated Felony
The court concluded that Petitioner’s sexual abuse conviction constitutes a crime of violence and, therefore, an aggravated felony. (Patel v. Ashcroft, 3/8/05)
CA3 Says IJ’s Frivolousness Finding Violated Due Process
Noting that a finding of frivolousness is extreme because it permanently bars individuals from any immigration benefit, the court held that the IJ violated Petitioner's due process rights by failing to comply with legal requirements to make such a finding. (Muhanna v. Gonzales, 3/3/05)
CA7 Finds that INA §242(f) Not Applicable to Stay Requests
The court rejected the government’s position that INA §242(f) governs stay requests and instead held that, in permanent rule cases, INA §242(b)(3)(B) authorizes it to issue stays of removal if traditional equitable standards merit it.(Hor v. Gonzales, 3/2/05).
CA9 Reverses Removability Finding Based on Voter Fraud
The court held that Petitioner was not removable for having voted in violation of Hawaii law because she did not “knowingly” commit voter fraud and, thus, lacked the requisite mental state for violating the Hawaiian statute at issue. (McDonald v. Gonzales, 3/2/05)
CA3 Says Voluntary Departure Overstay Bar Does Not Apply to MTRs Filed Before Departure Date In Pre-IIRIRA Cases
The court reasoned that the failure to act on a motion to reopen filed prior to the expiration of the voluntary departure period is an “exceptional circumstance,” rejecting the BIA’s contrary holding in Matter of Shaar. (Barrios v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 2/25/05)
Summary and Analysis of House Version of REAL ID Act (H.R. 418)
Summary and selected analysis of provisions of the REAL ID Act of 2005 (H.R. 418), as passed by the House on 2/10/05.
CA7 Finds Illinois Obstruction of Justice Conviction is CMT
The court acknowledged that an Illinois statute lacks the specific element of fraud, but still found that Petitioner’s crime "sufficient to support a finding of moral turpitude, namely, making false statements and concealing criminal activity.” (Padilla v. Gonzales, 2/22/05)
Cerda Memo: Guidance on ICE Release Gratuity Program for Release Following Long-Term Immigration Detention
This ICE memo from February 18, 2005, provides guidance on implementation of the release gratuity program for qualified non-citizens eligible for release following long-term immigration detention.
CA1 Denies Asylum Based on Single Incident of Harm and Changed Conditions
The court found that Petitioner failed to show past persecution or a well-founded fear based on a single incident of harm to his father, the lack of harm to family members still in Guatemala, and changed conditions. (Rodriguez-Ramirez v. Ashcroft, 2/17/05)
EOIR Posts Notice Regarding Rejection of Motions Filed on EOIR-26 Forms
The Executive Office for Immigration Review advises that, commencing 2/7/05, it will reject motions filed on EOIR-26 notice of appeal forms.
MTRs under Barahona-Gomez v. Ashcroft Due by 3/20/05
The Executive Office for Immigration Review notice advises that 3/20/05 is the deadline for eligible class members to file Motions to Reopen under Barahona-Gomez v. Ashcroft (addressing certain suspension cases barred from approval due to the 4,000 annual cap concerns).
CA5 Finds No Constitutional Interest in §212(c) Relief; Does Not Consider Statutory Interest
The court reasoned that the erroneous denial of §212(c) relief did not render the deportation proceeding unfair because there is no constitutionally protected due process right to such relief. The court did not consider whether Petitioner had a statutory right. (Nguyen v. Gonzales, 2/9/05)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum for Coptic Christian from Egypt
The court upheld the IJ’s determination that Petitioner lacked a subjective fear of persecution because he returned to Egypt on three separate occasions, and failed to corroborate his claim of past persecution. (Diab v. Ashcroft, 2/8/05)
Refugee Protection—Upholding an American Tradition
AILA welcomes the USCIRF findings in a study mandated by Congress on asylum seekers in expedited removal. H.R. 418 goes against the Commission’s recommendations and our traditions, and ignores the reforms that have been undertaken in the asylum system.
DHS Releases FY2006 Budget Request
The DHS's FY2006 budget proposal requests $1,854 billion (an increase of $79 million from FY2005), including $80 million in discretionary funding, and $1,774 billon in mandatory funding generated from fee revenues.
CA6 Holds Ohio Simple Possession Conviction Not an Aggravated Felony
CA6 concluded that an Ohio conviction for simple possession of heroin was not a "drug trafficking crime" and, thus, not an "aggravated felony", because the maximum possible sentence did not exceed one year. (Chi Jing Liao v. Rabbett, 2/7/05)
CA3 Says Racial Slurs Not Proof of Ethnic Persecution
The court found that use of racial slurs by Petitioners’ attackers was not adequate proof that the attackers were motivated by ethnicity, and that two robberies did not amount to persecution because they resulted in only theft of property and minor injuries. (Lie v. Ashcroft, 2/7/05)
CA1 Affirms LPR Abandonment Finding
The court held that substantial evidence supported the IJ’s order of exclusion against Petitioner for having abandoned his permanent resident status in the U.S. in favor of residence in Canada. (Katebi v. Ashcroft, 2/3/05)