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
CA5 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Albanian Citizen Who Received Death Threats from Members of Socialist Party
The court upheld the denial of asylum to the Albanian petitioner, who had been threatened and attacked by members of his country’s Socialist Party, finding no error in the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner’s injuries did not amount to past persecution. (Gjetani v. Barr, 7/31/20)
CA8 Finds Petitioner Failed to Show He Would Likely Be Tortured in South Sudan Based on His Membership in an Ethnic Minority
The court held that the BIA had correctly found that petitioner, who was a member of an ethnic minority, must show more than a pattern of general ethnic violence in South Sudan to meet the likelihood of torture requirement under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Lasu v. Barr, 7/31/20)
CA8 Upholds Deferral of Removal Denial to Iraqi Petitioner with a Criminal Record
Upholding the BIA’s denial of deferral of removal, the court found that the Iraqi petitioner’s argument that he would likely be tortured upon return to Iraq because of his criminal convictions was based on a chain of assumptions and speculation. (Alzawed v. Barr, 7/31/20)
CA10 Finds Petitioner’s Colorado Drug Conviction Did Not Qualify as a Predicate for Removal
The court held that the Colorado statute under which the petitioner was convicted for possessing hydrocodone was broader than its federal counterpart, the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), and that no categorical match existed between the state statute and the CSA. (Johnson v. Barr, 7/31/20)
The Council and NILA Submit Supplemental Letter Brief on Fifth Circuit’s Jurisdiction to Hear Challenge to Denial of Adjustment of Status
The Council and the National Immigration Litigation Alliance (NILA) submitted a supplemental brief in Solorzano v. Nielson urging the fifth circuit to find that it has jurisdiction over a challenge to a denial of adjustment of status where applicant cannot be placed in removal proceedings.
ICE Final Rule on Changes Applicable to Surety Bond Companies
ICE final rule which requires surety companies seeking to overcome a bond breach determination to exhaust administrative remedies, and which sets forth “for cause” standards so that ICE may decline bonds from companies that do not cure their deficient performance. (85 FR 45968, 7/31/20)
BIA Finds IJ Improperly Drew Falsus in Uno Inference
Unpublished BIA decision finds IJ improperly drew falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus inference where sole false testimony related to whether respondent rather than his prior attorney signed his adjustment application. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Luwaga, 7/31/20)
BIA Finds Attorney Provided Ineffective Assistance by Missending Medical Examination
Unpublished BIA decision finds prior attorney provided ineffective assistance by mistakenly submitting medical examination to USCIS rather than immigration court. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Samuels-Foster, 7/30/20)
Attorney General Rules on Categorical Approach to Determining Aggravated Felonies
Ruling on the application of the categorical approach to determining aggravated felonies and that respondent’s conviction for grand larceny in the second degree in NY was an aggravated felony, the AG vacated BIA’s decision in Matter of Reyes. Matter of Reyes, 28 I&N Dec. 52 (A.G. 2020)
CA3 Holds IJ Failed to Reconsider Discretionary Denial of Asylum After Sri Lankan Petitioner Was Granted Withholding
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the IJ abused his discretion by failing to reconsider pursuant to 8 CFR §1208.16(e) his discretionary denial of asylum to the Sri Lankan petitioner, who was subsequently granted withholding of removal. (Sathanthrasa v. Att’y Gen., 7/30/20)
CA6 Says BIA Erred in Denying Iraqi Petitioner’s Motion to Remand to Consider New Evidence
The court held that the BIA erred in denying the Iraqi petitioner’s motion to remand, finding that his new evidence, particularly two 2017 DOS reports on human rights and religious freedom in Iraq, could be significant to his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim. (Marqus v. Barr, 7/30/20)
CBP Provides Summary of Medical Implementation Plan
CBP provided a summary of its plans for UFO and USBP to enhance their medical support efforts for individuals in CBP custody and to implement the Enhanced Medical Directive issued by CBP in December 2019. The Implementation Plans include a Concept of Operations and Standard Operating Procedures.
Fearless Lawyering Video Roundtables
Hosted by the Immigration Justice Campaign, these roundtables featured discussions about litigation skills for immigration attorneys. Watch the recordings.
CA9 Holds That a Conviction for Criminal Stalking in California Is Categorically a CIMT
Denying the petition for review, the court held that the BIA did not err in concluding that the petitioner’s conviction under California Penal Code §646.9(a) for criminal stalking was categorically a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Orellana v. Barr, 7/28/20)
CA2 Finds Chinese Asylum Seeker Failed to Sufficiently Explain Inconsistencies in His Testimony
The court upheld the BIA’s asylum denial, finding that petitioner, who feared religious persecution in China, had failed to sufficiently explain inconsistencies in his testimony, and that the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence. (Gao v. Barr, 7/28/20)
DHS Will Reject Initial Requests for DACA, Limit Renewals to One Year
DHS Acting Secretary Wolf issued a memo rescinding the 2017 and 2018 memoranda that rescinded DACA. Pending reconsideration of the DACA policy, DHS will reject all initial DACA requests, reject new and pending requests for advanced parole, and limit the period of renewed deferred action to one year.
AILA: Trump’s Wind-Down of DACA Once Again Throws Dreamers’ Lives into Turmoil
AILA President Jennifer Minear and AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson respond to the Trump administration announcement that it will begin to wind down legal protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients while it conducts a review of the program.
BIA Grants Interlocutory Appeal Challenging Denial of Unopposed Motion to Change Venue
Unpublished BIA decision grants interlocutory appeal and remands for further consideration of unopposed motion to change venue from Atlanta to Seattle. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Miranda-Rodriguez, 7/28/20)
CA5 Finds Petitioner Failed to Demonstrate Materially Changed Country Conditions in India Based on Persecution of His Caste
The court held that the petitioner, who claimed that violence against his Dalit caste in India had worsened since his removal order was issued, had failed to establish the materially changed country conditions necessary to succeed on a successive motion to reopen. (Deep v. Barr, 7/27/20)
CA3 Says BIA Misapplied Court’s Precedent When It Determined That Honduran Asylum Seeker Did Not Establish Persecution
The court held that the BIA and IJ had misstated the court’s precedent in three ways in determining that the harm the Honduran petitioner had suffered did not rise to the level of past persecution, including by requiring him to show severe physical harm. (Blanco v. Att’y Gen., 7/24/20)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Deferral of Removal to Venezuelan Petitioner Who Feared Retaliation by Drug Traffickers
The court held that, based on the administrative record, the Venezuelan petitioner, who had been convicted of heroin trafficking and found removable under INA §101(a)(43)(B), was ineligible for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture. (Sanabria Morales v. Barr, 7/24/20)
BIA Finds Plea Vacated Due to Misunderstanding of Immigration Consequences Not a Conviction
Unpublished BIA decision holds that a defendant’s failure to understand the immigration consequences of a guilty plea is a substantive and/or procedural defect that vitiates a conviction for immigration purposes. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Jaimes, 7/24/20)
CA2 Rejects Petitioner’s Argument That Former INA §321(a)(3) Violated His Right to Equal Protection
Upholding the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s motion to reopen, the court held that it was bound by its precedent in Pierre v. Holder to reject the petitioner’s argument that former INA §321(a)(3) unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of sex. (Dale v. Barr, 7/23/20)
BIA Says §13-3407 of the Arizona Revised Statues is Divisible with Regard to the Specific Drug Involved in Violation
The BIA issued a decision stating that §13-3407 of the Arizona Revised Statues, which criminalizes possession of a dangerous drug, is divisible with regard to the specific “dangerous drug” involved in a violation of that statute. Matter of P-B-B-, 28 I&N Dec. 43 (BIA 2020)
DHS Reissues Privacy Impact Assessment for CBP and ICE DNA Collection
DHS updated a previously issued PIA to provide notice to the public of biometric DNA collection from individuals detained by ICE and CBP and the associated privacy risks. DHS reissued the PIA to note that CBP Office of Field Operations is expanding the minimum age for DNA collection from 18 to 14.