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
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Immigration Judges’ Authority to Administratively Close Removal Proceedings
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Gonzalez-Penaloza v. Barr arguing that the AG’s decision in Matter of Castro-Tum stripping IJs and the BIA of their authority to administratively close removal proceedings is unreasonable and creates unjust, inefficient, and unworkable results.
TRAC Issues Report on the Pandemic and ICE Use of Detainers in FY2020
TRAC reported that the pandemic appears to have caused only a temporary and modest drop in detainer usage by ICE. Average weekday detainer usage, overall trending downward, fell in mid-March below 400 per weekday, but started climbing back up mid-April, and by mid-May had recovered completely.
DHS Releases Fact Sheet on Measures on the Border to Limit the Further Spread of Coronavirus
On October 19, 2020, DHS updated its fact sheet on measures to limit non-essential travel across the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders and to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The measures have been extended until November 21, 2020.
South Florida EOIR Miami Court Rotation (Phase 1)
EOIR Miami Immigration Judge Court Rotation for Phase 1, beginning on October 19 and October 26, 2020.
USCIS 30-Day Extension of Comment Period on Proposed Revisions to Form I-191
USCIS 30-day extension of a comment period previously announced at 85 FR 41061 on proposed revisions to Form I-191, Application for Relief under Former Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Comments are now due 11/16/20. (85 FR 65858, 10/16/20)
DOJ and DHS Release Report on Incarceration and Immigration Status
DHS and DOJ released the FY2019 Alien Incarceration Report, providing data on the immigration status of known or suspected immigrants incarcerated under the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service, and in state prisons and local detention centers throughout the U.S.
CA9 Says Oregon’s Former Marijuana Delivery Statute Is Not an “Illicit Trafficking of a Controlled Substance” Offense
The court held that Oregon’s former marijuana delivery statute, Or. Rev. Stat. §475.860, was not an “illicit trafficking of a controlled substance” offense, and thus found that the petitioner’s conviction did not make him removable as an aggravated felon. (Cortes-Maldonado v. Barr, 10/15/20)
EOIR Releases Statistics on Immigration Judge Hiring for FY2020
EOIR released statistics on total immigration judges (IJs) hired and total IJs on board. In FY2020, EOIR hired 100 IJs and had 520 IJs on board.
CA3 Finds Petitioner’s Conviction Under New Jersey’s Terroristic-Threats Statute Was Not a CIMT
Granting the petition for review, the court held that, under the modified categorical approach, the petitioner’s conviction under New Jersey’s terroristic-threats statute was not a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Larios v. Att’y Gen., 10/14/20)
CA4 Grants Asylum to Salvadoran Petitioner Targeted by Gang Because Her Parents Failed to Comply with Extortive Threats
The court held that the IJ and the BIA had failed to adequately address unrebutted evidence in the record that compelled the conclusion that the petitioner’s membership in her family was at least one central reason for her persecution. (Hernandez-Cartagena v. Barr, 10/14/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Imperial and Miami Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small numbers of respondents at the Imperial and Miami immigration courts on 10/19/20. The option to file by email at these courts will end on 12/18/20.
ICE Notice of Modification of Bond Management Information System of Records
ICE notice of modification of the “Department of Homeland Security/U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-004 Bond Management Information System” system of records. Comments are due 11/12/20. (85 FR 64515, 10/13/20)
CA9 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination as to Petitioner from the DRC Based on Inconsistencies in the Record
Where there were inconsistencies, an omission, and implausibilities in the record, the court held that substantial evidence supported the denial of asylum to the petitioner, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on adverse credibility grounds. (Mukulumbutu v. Barr, 10/13/20)
CA11 Says There Is No Duress or De Minimis Exception to the Material Support Bar
The court held that its precedent established that no duress exception exists to the material support bar, and that the statutory text showed that any provision of funds to a terrorist organization categorically qualifies as material support. (Hincapie-Zapata v. Att’y Gen., 10/13/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Atlanta Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small numbers of respondents at the Atlanta W. Peachtree Street and Ted Turner Drive immigration courts on 10/13/20. The option to file by email at these courts will end on 12/12/20.
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Seattle Immigration Court
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving small numbers of respondents at the Seattle immigration court on October 13, 2020. The option to file by email at this court will end on December 12, 2020.
EOIR Announces 20 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 20 new immigration judges, including three assistant chief immigration judges. Per the notice, EOIR’s immigration judge corps has increased nearly 70 percent since January 2017. Notice includes the judges’ biographical information and courts of appointment.
CRS Releases Legal Sidebar on Recent Legal Developments Concerning Immigration Detainers
CRS updated its legal sidebar on immigration detainers following the Ninth Circuit’s reversal of the injunction in Gerardo Gonzalez v. ICE. ICE can now continue its detainer policy, but must provide “prompt probable cause determination” of removability to individuals subject to a detainer.
BIA Rules That Cancellation of Removal Despite Criminal Conviction Precludes a Later Finding of Deportability Based on the Same Conviction
The BIA ruled that if a criminal conviction was charged as a ground of removability when cancellation of removal was granted, that conviction cannot serve as the sole factual predicate for a charge of removability in subsequent removal proceedings. Matter of Voss, 28 I&N Dec. 107 (BIA 2020)
AILA and Partners Request EOIR to Extend Comment Period for Proposed Rule on Asylum and Withholding of Removal Procedures
Nearly 90 organizations, including AILA, sent a letter to EOIR and OMB urging the agencies to extend the public comment period on EOIR's proposed rule on asylum and withholding of removal procedures from 30 days to a minimum of 60 days.
CA7 Says BIA Erred in Finding IJ Need Not Warn Petitioner of Possible Eligibility for Asylum and Related Relief
Where the petitioner had told the IJ that he feared persecution at the hands of gangs in Honduras because of his relationship to his mother, the court held that the IJ should have advised him that he might be eligible for asylum or withholding of removal. (Jimenez-Aguilar v. Barr, 10/6/20)
Department of the Treasury Notice on Immigration Bond Interest Rates
Department of the Treasury notice that for the period beginning 10/1/20 and ending 12/31/20, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bond interest rate is 0.11 per centum per annum. (85 FR 63162, 10/6/20)
ERO Miami Contact List (October 2020)
Contact information for ERO Miami updated as of October 2020.
Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual (10/5/20)
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) provided an updated Practice Manual (last revised on October 5, 2020). This manual describes procedures, requirements, and recommendations for practice before the BIA.
H. Res. 1153: Condemning Unwanted, Unnecessary Medical Procedures on Individuals Without Their Full, Informed Consent
The House of Representatives passed House Res. 1153 by a vote of 232–156, with 7 Republicans joining 225 Democrats. The bipartisan resolution condemns unwanted, unnecessary medical procedures on individuals in immigration detention without their full, informed consent. AILA endorsed the resolution.