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
CA3 Reinstates IJ’s Grant of CAT Relief to Guatemalan Petitioner Where BIA Exceeded Its Proper Scope of Review
Where the BIA had reversed the IJ’s decision granting the Guatemalan petitioner Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief, the court held that BIA erred by inserting itself into the factfinder role and disagreeing with the IJ’s weighing of the evidence. (Arreaga-Bravo v. Att’y Gen., 12/23/21)
Practice Alert: EOIR Provides Rotating IJ Schedules Through Regional Public Information Officers
EOIR has resumed providing rotating schedules for immigration judges through its regional public information officers.
CRS Provides Year-End Report on Apprehensions and Expulsions at the Southwest Border
CRS provided the FY2021 report on apprehensions and expulsions at the southwest border. The report includes current border enforcement policies, encounters by demographic category, encounters by country of citizenship, and more.
CA3 Finds Congolese Asylum Seeker’s Fear of Returning to the DRC Was Objectively Reasonable
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the record compelled a finding that the risks petitioner faced upon return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo were sufficient to give rise to an objectively reasonable fear of future persecution. (Nsimba v. Att’y Gen., 12/22/21)
CA9 Holds That “An Offense” in INA §240A(b)(1)(C) Includes “Multiple Criminal Convictions” Described in INA §212(a)(2)(B)
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the phrase “an offense” in the cancellation of removal statute at INA §240A(b)(1)(C) includes the “[m]ultiple criminal convictions” described in INA §212(a)(2)(B) that render a noncitizen inadmissible.(Ramirez-Medina v. Garland, 12/22/21)
CA9 Concludes That Petitioner’s Two Arizona Convictions for Marijuana-Related Offenses Were Not CIMTs
The court held that Arizona Revised Statutes §13-3405(A)(4) was overbroad and divisible and that petitioner’s convictions, which concerned categories in the statute involving the smallest quantity of marijuana, were not crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Walcott v. Garland, 12/22/21)
CA9 Finds That BIA Sufficiently Considered Petitioner’s CAT Claim and Provided Adequate Rationale for Its Rejection
The court held that the BIA had sufficiently considered the relevant record evidence regarding the petitioner’s claim for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and had provided an adequate rationale for rejecting that claim. (Rodriguez-Jimenez v. Garland, 12/21/21)
DHS Releases Statement on Seeking Support Regardless of Immigration Status After Severe Weather in the South and Midwest
DHS announced it is monitoring areas affected by the severe weather and tornadoes in Kentucky and throughout the South and Midwest, stating that sites that provide emergency response and relief are considered protected areas for purposes of ICE and CBP enforcement actions.
DHS Announces Use of Body Worn Cameras in New ICE Pilot Program
DHS announced that ICE law enforcement officers in select cities will begin wearing body worn cameras for pre-planned operations. The body worn camera will be mounted on an officer’s or agent’s outerwear. Footage may be used to assess police conduct and for non-investigative purposes.
CA3 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review BIA’s Decision Not to Waive Limitations Period for VAWA-Based Motion to Reopen
The court concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to review the petitioner’s Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)-based motion to reopen, finding that the BIA’s decision not to waive the one-year limitations period for filing the motion was a discretionary one. (Yasin v. Att’y Gen., 12/20/21)
EOIR Updates Number of Board Members in Part III of the Policy Manual
EOIR updated Part III, Chapter 1.3 of the EOIR Policy Manual to state that the board consists of 23 members, including a Chairman and up to two Vice Chairmen.
CA2 Remands for BIA to Clarify Effect of IJ’s Inadmissibility Finding Made in Proceeding in Which Application Was Withdrawn
The court remanded for the BIA to explain what, if any, preclusive effect the IJ’s finding of inadmissibility—seemingly affirmed by the BIA despite the withdrawal of the petitioner’s application for admission—would be given in subsequent immigration proceedings. (Juras v. Garland, 12/17/21)
CA5 Finds Adverse Credibility Determination Was Supported by Substantial Evidence Apart from Inter-Proceeding Evidence
Despite misgivings about the IJ’s reliance on inter-proceeding evidence under Matter of R-K-K-, the court held that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence, and that the petitioner’s due process claims lacked merit. (Singh v. Garland, 12/17/21)
CA8 Finds BIA Applied Correct Legal Standard in Conducting Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship Inquiry
Upholding the BIA’s denial of cancellation of removal, the court held that the BIA conducted an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship analysis that was future oriented, and did not focus solely on the current conditions of the petitioner’s daughter. (Garcia-Ortiz v. Garland, 12/17/21)
EOIR Announces 22 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the appointment of 22 new immigration judges (IJs) by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, including five Unit Chief Immigration Judges (UCIJs). Biographical information has been provided for each of them.
Congress Calls for Increased Oversight At CoreCivic Detention Facility In Torrance County
U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and U.S. Representatives Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM) are calling on DHS officials to increase oversight on CoreCivic’s management of the Torrance County Detention Facility.
EOIR Amends PM 21-18 on Filing Deadlines in Non-Detained Cases
EOIR amended policy memorandum 21-18 to state that in cases involving non-detained respondents, amendments to applications and other supplemental filings can be submitted up to 15 days before individual calendar hearings, unless the immigration judge specifies otherwise. Effective 12/16/21.
CA9 Holds That an Individual’s Inadmissible Status Renders Their Reentry Illegal Regardless of Its Manner
The en banc court held that the petitioner, an inadmissible and previously deported noncitizen who was mistakenly waved into the United States by a border official, had illegally reentered the country within the meaning of INA §241(a)(5). (Tomczyk v. Garland, 12/14/21)
CA9 Declines to Rehear Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland En Banc
The court issued an order denying rehearing en banc of Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland, in which the court held that the BIA erred by relying on a probation report to conclude that the petitioner had been convicted of a particularly serious crime. (Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland, 12/14/21)
CA1 Upholds CAT Denial to Petitioner Who Claimed He Would Be Subject to Torture While “Imprisoned” in Haiti as a Criminal Deportee
Upholding the denial of petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, the court found that expert testimony concerning treatment in Haiti of criminal deportees did not address whether petitioner was more likely than not to be held in prolonged detention. (Bonnet v. Garland, 12/13/21)
EOIR Final Rule Implementing Mandatory E-Filing
EOIR final rule implementing mandatory electronic filing (e-filing) for cases before the immigration courts and the BIA. The rule also makes changes to the regulations regarding law student filing and accompaniment procedures. The rule is effective 2/11/22. (86 FR 70708, 12/13/21)
EOIR 30-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-28
EOIR 30-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative Before the Immigration Court. Comments are due 1/10/22. (86 FR 70533, 12/10/21)
Resources on Lawsuit Challenging DHS’s One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Applications
Learn more about the Mendez Rojas v. Wolf final settlement. Following the district court’s approval of the settlement agreement, USCIS has begun sending notices to potential class members on how they can benefit from the injunction and on the 4/22/22 filing deadline.
AILA and Partners Send Letter to USCIS and ICE on Access to Client Records
AILA and partners sent a letter requesting that USCIS, ICE, and EOIR revise its regulations, policies, practices, and procedures for providing access to records of proceedings (ROPs) and digital audio recordings (DARs) and Alien Files (“A-Files”) in immigration court and USCIS proceedings.
Attorney General Refers Matter of B-Z-R- for Review
The AG referred case to himself and automatically stayed the decision for review, inviting amicus on whether mental health may be considered when determining if an individual was convicted of a “particularly serious crime.” Amicus due by 1/17/22. Matter of B-Z-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 424 (A.G. 2021)