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2.0

Acting Director of EOIR issues Policy Memo limiting the Access EOIR Initiative

  1. Original Date Announced

    February 20, 2025

    The EOIR Acting Director issued PM 25-22, re-establishing “boundaries” for the Access to EOIR Initiative.  The original initiative was intended to centralize agency information and make it more accessible to the public.

    Characterizing disseminated memoranda of the Chief Immigration Judge and the BIA as “secret operational policies,” this PM contends both agency components required their staff to take prejudicial actions to benefit respondents (the term used to describe immigrants in removal proceedings) and to “falsely stamp documents as served.” Specifically, the memo alleges the immigration courts accepted respondents’ change of address forms without a proper zip code and allowed staff to look up and enter zip codes as a courtesy. The memo also faults the immigration courts for accepting filings (clearly by pro se respondents) and then serving them on DHS as a courtesy, calling the practice unethical and potentially criminal. The memo expressly rescinds the component policies, both named Evaluating the Use of Rejection Notices, under the umbrella of re-establishing proper limits on the Access to EOIR Initiative.

    Trump 2.0 [ID #1560]

    2025.02.20 Re-establish appropriate, ethical, and lawful boundaries for the Access EOIR Initiative
  2. Effective Date

    February 20, 2025

Current Status

None

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Final/Actual
Trump Administration Action: Agency Directive
Subject Matter: Hearings and Adjudications
Agencies Affected: EOIR

Pre Trump-Era Policies

Documents

Trump-Era Policy Documents

To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com

To provide information, corrections, or feedback, please email IPTP.feedback@gmail.com