IMPORTANT: This resource has not yet been updated in light of a June 22, 2026 Texas court order, in response to a joint motion filed the same day by the state of Texas and the DOJ, which purported to vacate the 2024 “Administrative Closure Rule.” That judgment is currently on appeal at the Fifth Circuit after the Texas judge denied a motion by several cities and a legal services provider to intervene.
Given the challenge to the Administrative Closure Rule, in motions for administrative closure and/or termination practitioners should cite authority for these docket management tools that predates the 2024 regulations such as Matter of Cruz-Valdez, 28 I&N Dec. 326 (A.G. 2021), and Matter of Avetisyan, 25 I&N Dec. 688 (BIA 2012), on administrative closure; Matter of Coronado Acevedo, 28 I&N Dec. 648 (A.G. 2022) on termination; and any relevant U.S. court of appeals precedent recognizing IJs’ authority to administratively close and/or terminate. See, e.g., Romero v. Barr, 937 F.3d 282 (4th Cir. 2019) (administrative closure); Meza Morales v. Barr, 973 F.3d 656 (7th Cir. 2020) (same); Arcos Sanchez v. Att’y Gen. U.S., 997 F.3d 113 (3d Cir. 2021) (same); Gonzalez v. Garland, 16 F.4th 131 (4th Cir. 2021) (termination). But see Hernandez Serrano v. Barr, 981 F.3d 459 (6th Cir. 2020).
Last Updated: June 22, 2026
This practice advisory provides strategies for practitioners to navigate removal proceedings for J.O.P. class members and other asylum seekers with prior unaccompanied child determinations in light of three recent legal developments: (1) the 2024 J.O.P. Settlement Agreement, which is now set to terminate on November 18, 2026, (2) final Executive Office for Immigration Review regulations issued in 2024, and (3) a 2025 USCIS memorandum implementing the Settlement Agreement.