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
BIA Finds Respondent Not Credible and Without Sufficient Corroboration of Sexual Orientation for Purposes of CAT Eligibility
The BIA held that the respondent showed no prejudice from electronic service or the IJ's evidentiary rulings, and that where he was not credible and did not corroborate his sexual orientation, he did not establish eligibility for CAT protection. Matter of S–K–E–, 30 I&N Dec. 27 (BIA 2026)
BIA Holds That Flight Risk Includes Likelihood of Compliance with Future Orders and Speculative Relief Eligibility Does Not Diminish It
The BIA held that flight risk encompasses not only whether the noncitizen will appear at future hearings but also whether they will comply with future orders, and that speculative eligibility for relief does not materially diminish flight risk. Matter of A–L–S–, 29 I&N Dec. 794 (BIA 2026)
The Hill: New Rule Could Speed Deportation of Asylum Seekers
The Hill reports a new USCIS rule will allow asylum officers to refer certain asylum applications to immigration court without conducting an asylum interview. AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson said, “This is one more nail the Administration has hammered into the coffin of the U.S. asylum system.”
New York Times: ICE Arrests Surge at Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive
The New York Times reports on ICE arresting people at airports during domestic travel, including those with pending immigration applications. AILA Chicago Chapter Vice Chair Shannon Shepherd said she and other lawyers are now revising longstanding advice for clients about domestic air travel.
Practice Alert: Reports of Arrests at USCIS Asylum Office Interviews
AILA has received recent reports of DHS enforcement actions at USCIS asylum offices. In some cases, clients had criminal convictions or other past criminal issues, but in others there were no apparent criminal issues or other factors indicating why the person was targeted for arrest.
CA9 Holds That Age-Based PSGs Are Immutable as a Matter of Law and BIA Must Review Nexus Determinations De Novo
The court held that age-based particular social groups are immutable as a matter of law because asylum applicants cannot alter their age to escape persecution, and that the BIA erred in reviewing the IJ’s nexus finding for clear error rather than de novo. (Garcia Demetrio v. Blanche, 7/20/26)
USCIS Announces IFR Allowing Officers to Refer Asylum Applicants to EOIR Without Interview
USCIS announced an upcoming interim final rule (IFR), to be published in the Federal Register on 7/28/26, allowing asylum officers to refer applicants to immigration court without first interviewing them. The rule will be in effect as of publication. An advance copy is available.
Practice Alert: Reports of Increased Detention at U.S. Airports for Individuals Traveling Domestically
AILA has received a number of reports over the past few days of individuals without lawful status, including those in a period of authorized stay based on pending applications, being detained at airports across the country while traveling domestically.
BIA Holds That Failure to Pay Annual Asylum Fee Is Fatal to Asylum Application but Does Not Extend to Withholding or CAT Protection
The BIA held that an asylum application should be pretermitted or deemed abandoned for failure to pay the annual asylum fee by the prescribed deadline, but that the fee and consequences for nonpayment do not extend to withholding or CAT protection. Matter of L–F–R–, 29 I&N Dec. 787 (BIA 2026)
BIA Holds That IJ May Draw Adverse Inferences from Fifth Amendment Invocation and Unlawful Voting Is a Significant Adverse Factor
The BIA held that an IJ may draw reasonable adverse inferences from a respondent's invocation of the Fifth Amendment on questions material to discretionary relief, and that unlawful voting is a significant adverse factor. Matter of Lopez Rico, 29 I&N Dec. 780 (BIA 2026)
CA1 Finds Record Compelled Finding of Indicia of Incompetency Requiring IJ to Conduct Competency Inquiry
The court held that the record compelled a finding of indicia of incompetency requiring further inquiry under Matter of M–A–M–, where the petitioner had head trauma and a psychologist reported his ability to assist his attorney and the court was compromised. (Rana v. Blanche, 7/23/26)
CA9 Holds That Oregon Felony Fourth-Degree Assault Witnessed by Minor Child Is a Crime of Child Abuse, Neglect, or Abandonment
The court held that the petitioner’s Oregon conviction for felony fourth-degree assault for battering his wife in front of their minor children was a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i). (Diaz-Boyzo v. Blanche, 7/23/26)
CA9 Holds That Child Who Turns 21 During BIA Appeal Is No Longer a Qualifying Relative for Cancellation of Removal
The court held that INA §240A(b)(1)(D) requires assessing qualifying relatives as of the agency’s final adjudication, and found that a child who turned 21 during petitioner’s BIA appeal could no longer support their eligibility for cancellation of removal. (Torres-Casas v. Blanche, 7/22/26)
EOIR Announces Regional Deputy Chief IJ, Administrative IJ, 37 IJs, and 4 Temporary IJs
EOIR announced the swearing in of a regional deputy chief immigration judge within the Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, an administrative law judge within the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, 37 immigration judges, and 4 temporary immigration judges.
EOIR Announces Closure of Batavia Immigration Court on 7/24/26
EOIR announced it will close the Batavia Immigration Court at close of business on 7/24/26. Pending cases will transfer to the Buffalo Immigration Court and will be heard via teleconference. Pleadings, motions, and correspondence should be filed with the Buffalo Court beginning 7/27/26.
D.C. Circuit Allows Expansion of Expedited Removal
The D.C. Circuit granted the government's renewed motion in Make the Road New York v. Mullin to have the expanded expedited removal policy take effect immediately. The expansion designation is now unblocked and in effect. (Make the Road New York v. Mullin, 7/17/16)
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Gang’s Generalized Aim of More Members and More Money Did Not Supply the Required Nexus
The court held that substantial evidence supported findings that MS-13 targeted the petitioner to extort money and expand its ranks, not because of his youth or resistance to recruitment, and that any future harm would not occur with official acquiescence. (Flores-Turcios v. Blanche, 7/16/26)
BIA Holds That Leaving U.S. Citizen Child Without Parental Care Does Not Alone Create Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship
The BIA held that a parent’s decision to leave a U.S. citizen child in the United States without parental care does not, on its own, create exceptional and extremely unusual hardship, and that parental care is not the only sufficient care. Matter of Lopez-Davila, 29 I&N Dec. 763 (BIA 2026)
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Public Access to EOIR Hearings
EOIR Director Daren Margolin issued a Policy Memorandum (PM 26-06) on public access to EOIR hearings. The memo outlines policy for providing public access to EOIR spaces, when immigration hearings may be closed, guidance for observing hearings, and reporting procedures for public access violations.
BIA Holds That Motion to Reopen Based on Ineffective Assistance Must Include Bar Complaint and Proof of Filing or Explain Why None Was Filed
The BIA held that a motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel must include a copy of the bar complaint filed with disciplinary authorities and proof of the filing, or an explanation why a bar complaint was not filed. Matter of L–R–M–C– & V–A–M–M–, 29 I&N Dec. 757 (BIA 2026)
DHS Notice of Rescission of 2011 Limited English Proficiency Guidance
DHS notice of the recission, effective 7/14/26, of its 2011 guidance to Federal financial assistance recipients regarding the Title VI prohibition against national origin discrimination affecting limited English proficient persons, consistent with E.O. 14224. (91 FR 43108, 7/14/26)
CA4 Finds Immigration Court Violated Due Process by Preventing Timely Filing of VAWA Motion to Reopen and Denying It as Untimely
The court held that petitioner was denied due process where the immigration court’s electronic filing system and a court clerk prevented him from timely filing his Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) motion to reopen and the agency then denied the motion as untimely. (Burey v. Blanche, 7/14/26)
Featured Issue: Demanding an End to ICE and Border Patrol Killings, Violence, and Unlawful Actions
The Administration has ramped up immigration enforcement efforts, including arresting people attending hearings at immigration courts and appointments at USCIS and ICE field offices. Far from keeping us safe, indiscriminate enforcement harms our families, communities, and our nation as a whole.
Practice Alert: Federal Court Vacates Immigration Administrative Closure Rule through Expedited Consent Judgment
On 6/22/26, a federal district court in Texas issued an order in State of Texas v. Department of Justice declaring that no statute authorizes immigration judges to indefinitely pause removal proceedings. The EOIR Committee provides this practice alert with more details and practice implications.
BIA Finds DHS’s Oral Motion to Pretermit Provided Sufficient Notice of Intent to Remove Respondents to Ecuador under ACA
The BIA held that DHS’s oral motion to pretermit respondents’ applications for asylum and related protection provided sufficient notice of its intent to remove them to a third country pursuant to an asylum cooperative agreement (ACA). Matter of E–A–R–M–, et al., 29 I&N Dec. 746 (BIA 2026)