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
DHS/DOJ Announce Plan to Restart MPP Hearings “As Expeditiously As Possible”
DHS and DOJ provide the criteria they will use to determine when they will resume MPP hearings. Once the criteria is met, they will provide public notification at least 15 calendar days prior to resumption of hearings with location-specific details
EOIR Announces 46 New Immigration Judges
EOIR announced the investiture of 46 new immigration judges, including three assistant chief immigration judges. Per EOIR, this brings the immigration judge corps to 509, which is the highest total ever. Notice includes the judges’ biographical information and courts of appointment.
AILA and Partners Urge DHS and ICE to Release Detained Families Together
AILA and other organizations sent a letter to DHS and ICE urging the immediate release of all families—parents together with their children—held at ICE family detention centers and to not use the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to deploy its family separation policy again.
AILA Submits Amicus Brief On What Crimes Should Be Considered a CIMT Assault Offense in Oregon
AILA submitted an amicus brief in Guzman-Pena v. Barr requesting the court to uphold Matter of Wu’s definition of what crimes are a generic CIMT assault offense and hold that ORS 163.185, which does not criminalize any injury to another, is overbroad to the generic crime of assault.
CA2 Finds Petitioners’ New York Firearms Convictions Were Not Removable Offenses
Applying the categorical approach, the court held that the BIA erred in finding the petitioners removable for having been convicted of a firearms offense under the INA, because their New York convictions criminalized conduct that the INA does not. (Jack v. Barr, 7/16/20)
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Arlington Immigration Court
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving relatively small numbers of respondents at the Arlington Immigration Court on July 20, 2020. The option to file by email at the court will end on September 20, 2020.
DHS Inspector General Testifies on Children in CBP Custody
DHS IG Joseph V. Cuffari testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security on children in CBP custody. The testimony includes a discussion of conditions on the southwest border, investigations of deaths of children while in CBP custody, medical care procedures, and improper spending.
AILA, the Council, and the Justice Campaign Submit Comments Opposing Proposed Asylum Rule
AILA, the Council, and the Justice Campaign submitted joint comments opposing an EOIR/USCIS proposed rule on Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal; Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Review. The rule will return vulnerable individuals who deserve protection to danger and potential death.
Attorney General Vacates BIA’s Decision in Matter of O-F-A-S-
Clarifying the proper approach for determining “official capacity” for the purpose of deciding CAT protection, the AG vacated the BIA’s decision in Matter of O-F-A-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 709 (BIA 2019), and remanded the case for review. Matter of O-F-A-S-, 28 I&N Dec. 35 (A.G. 2020)
GAO Says CBP Needs to Increase Oversight of Funds, Medical Care, and Reporting of Deaths
GAO found that CBP has consistently overlooked health screening policies for detainees and that it violated the law by using emergency funds to enhance detainees' medical care for other items. GAO also found that CBP lacks reliable data on deaths and did not report this data to Congress as directed.
Senators Urge DHS to Reopen DACA for New Applicants
On July 14, 2020, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) led a letter from 33 senators urging DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to reopen DACA applications for new applicants following the Supreme Court’s rejection of the administration’s rescission of DACA.
BIA Rules On DHS’s Authority to Return Individuals to a Contiguous Foreign Territory Under MPP
BIA ruled that under INA §235(b)2(c), an individual who is arriving on land from a contiguous foreign territory may be returned by DHS to that country pursuant to MPP, regardless of whether the individual arrives at or between a designated POE. Matter of M-D-C-V-, 28 I&N Dec. 18 (BIA 2020)
CA11 Says BIA’s Application of Stop-Time Rule to Petitioner’s 1995 Conviction Was Impermissibly Retroactive
The court held that the BIA erred in retroactively applying the stop-time rule to the petitioner’s pre-Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA) conviction, and thus that he was eligible for cancellation of removal. (Rendon v. Att’y Gen., 7/14/20)
AILA and Partners Urge Senate Leaders to Extend Work Authorizations to Dreamers
AILA joined 182 national and local partners in urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to include automatic extensions of employment authorization for DACA, TPS, and other work-authorized immigrants in the fourth COVID-19 legislative package.
CA2 Finds BIA Erred in Denying Petitioner’s Motion to Suppress Evidence of Her Alienage Without an Evidentiary Hearing
Applying the standard set in Cotzojay v. Holder to petitioner’s motion to suppress evidence, the court concluded that the petitioner had submitted sufficient evidence of an egregious Fourth Amendment violation to warrant an evidentiary hearing. (Millan-Hernandez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
The Roundtable of Former Immigration Judges Submits Comment on Proposed Plans to End Asylum
The Roundtable of Former Immigration Judges sent a letter to EOIR and USCIS opposing the proposed rule that would make multiple changes to regulations governing asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protection. The Roundtable urge the departments to withdraw all sections of the proposed rule.
Class Action Lawsuit in Minnesota Challenges Matter of Castro-Tum
Plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of certain individuals in Minnesota who are ineligible to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver because their removal proceedings are not administratively closed. (Lopez, et al. v. Barr, et al., 7/13/20)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Feared Life as an Openly Gay Woman in Mexico
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum to the Mexican petitioner, who sought relief based on threats of physical violence she had received because of her gay sexual orientation, concluding that substantial evidence supported the agency’s decision. (Escobedo Marquez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
CA4 Says Convictions for Leaving an Accident and Using False Identification in Virginia Are Not CIMTs
The court held that the petitioner’s convictions for leaving an accident in violation of Va. Code Ann. §46.2–894 and for using false identification in violation of Va. Code Ann. §18.2–186.3(B1) were not categorically crimes involving moral turpitude (CIMTs). (Nunez-Vasquez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
CA2 Holds That Changed Circumstances Under INA §208(a)(2)(D) Need Not Arise Prior to the Filing of an Asylum Application
Granting the petition for review, the court held that pursuant to INA §208(a)(2)(D), changed circumstances presenting an exception to the one-year deadline for filing an asylum application need not arise prior to the filing of the application. (Ordonez Azmen v. Barr, 7/13/20)
TRAC Finds More Immigration Judges Are Leaving the Bench
TRAC found that turnover among immigration judges is the highest in over two decades. During FY2019, 35 judges left the bench. TRAC also found more cases are being heard by judges with limited experience and that court backlog is nearly three times the level since the Trump administration began.
Practice Pointer: EOIR’s Decision to Resume Select Non-Detained Immigration Court Dockets
AILA’s EOIR/ICE Joint Liaison Committee provides a practice pointer on EOIR’s decision to resume select non-detained immigration court cases. Special thanks to chair of the committee, Sui Chung.
AILA Urges President Trump to Leave the DACA Program in Place
On July 11, 2020, the Coalition for the American Dream, which includes AILA, sent a letter to President Trump urging him to leave the DACA program in place and refrain from taking any additional administrative actions that would negatively impact the program.
Practice Alert: Spreadsheet Detailing Local ICE ERO Check-In Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This practice alert contains a spreadsheet with information regarding local ICE ERO check-in procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The information included is updated by local ICE liaisons.
Government Accountability Project Sends Letter to Congressional Leaders on Whistleblower Disclosures Regarding Mismanagement of ICE Detention Faciliti
The Government Accountability Project (GAP) sent a letter to congressional leaders summarizing information from whistleblowers that addresses the mismanagement of COVID-19 issues by Lasalle Corrections. The disclosures highlight ongoing and imminent dangers to workers, immigrants, and public safety.