Updated: March 13, 2025
The first Trump administration published myriad regulations seeking to restrict access to asylum and related protections. Some of these regulations were enjoined through litigation, including Pangea Legal Servs.I v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 501 F. Supp. 3d 792, 827 (N.D. Cal. 2020), a case on which NIPNLG is co-counsel. Most of these lawsuits were held in abeyance during the Biden administration, which stated it was going to undertake rulemaking which, largely, it did not do. Meanwhile, as the regulations remain enjoined (at least for now) government websites continue to post the published rules-even for regulations that never took effect. The government posts regulations on its official website, once they are published as final rules on an annual basis, and it does not remove regulations based on injunctions. The posting of regulations that are not in effect has caused significant confusion for practitioners who consult the regulations when conducting research or writing briefs.
The Department of Justice attorneys has been including a chart one of its attorneys created that includes links to frequently used Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) asylum regulations that are currently in effect with the joint status reports it files in Centro de la Raza v. EOIR. The most recent Joint Status Report was filed in April 2024 and explains the confusion as to which regulations are in effect. The most recent chart of EOIR regulations in effect was filed with the court in August 2024 and is available here.
In May 2023, DOJ also created a chart that included analogous 208 series Department of Homeland Security regulations. The latest version of the chart containing DHS regulations can be found here. Practitioners should still do their own research to ensure that the version of the regulation they are referencing is current, but the chart is a helpful starting place.