iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

⚖️ BIA sends a case back. The judge rules again without a new hearing. A remand hands the case back to the IJ, and the Board retains no jurisdiction. You got one full hearing. No second one owed. Matter of C-M-H-H-, 30 I&N Dec. 124 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

🚤 BIA: Family ties don't cancel danger. IJ sets $9,000 bond. BIA vacates. DWI conviction. Boating under the influence arrest. Domestic assault arrest weeks before the hearing. No bond. Matter of Morales Cuxun, 30 I&N Dec. 121 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

⚖️ BIA: AI hallucinations get no pass. Ninth Circuit suspended an immigration lawyer for 6 months for fake AI citations and lying about it. BIA imposes reciprocal discipline: 6 months before EOIR and DHS. Matter of Sethi, 30 I&N Dec. 112 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

SCOTUS just took the biggest immigration detention case in decades. The question: can the government use a border statute to lock up people who've lived here for years — no bond, no judge, no review? mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/10/01/cunha-v-freden-second-circuit-ewi-bond-hearings-1226/ ⚖️

mikebakerlaw.com

Second Circuit: Long-Term EWI Residents Are Not "Seeking Admission" — Bond Hearings Required | Cunha v. Freden - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

The Second Circuit ruled in Cunha v. Freden that § 1225(b)(2)(A) does not apply to long-term interior EWI residents. They get bond hearings under § 1226(a). Full analysis of the circuit split with the...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

⚖️ SCOTUS grants cert on ICE's no bond policy. The question: does 8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(A) mandate detention of every immigrant present without admission? 9 circuits say no. The 5th and 8th say yes. Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha, No. 26-104. www.scotusblog.com/cases/rhoney...

scotusblog.com

Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha (26-104)

Supreme Court case (26-104) — tracked on SCOTUSblog.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

⚖️ BIA: An Immigration Judge may pretermit asylum and withholding with no DHS motion on file. No prima facie claim, no hearing. The applicant carries the burden. Matter of G-R-B-, 30 I&N Dec. 102 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

⚖️ Mahmoud Khalil asked for a neutral immigration judge. The BIA sent back a media bias chart, a shot at the NYT, and a Rule 8.2 warning to his lawyer. Neutral courts rule. This one hit back. Matter of M-K-, 30 I&N Dec. 84 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

⚖️ BIA rejects M-K-'s bias claim. Recusals prove nothing. NYT story and former immigration judges' affidavits prove nothing. Board docks the Times for bias, flags Rule 8.2 for counsel. Reopening denied. Matter of M-K-, 30 I&N Dec. 84 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

⚖️ Illinois can seal your record. Immigration law still reads it. The Clean Slate Act opens new relief. Matter of Roldan, 22 I&N Dec. 512 (BIA 1999), still treats a rehabilitative expungement as a conviction. Get certified dispositions before you file. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/09...

mikebakerlaw.com

Your Old Arrest Can Finally Disappear: Illinois Expungement and Sealing in 2026 - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

Illinois expungement and sealing after the 2017 reforms and the 2026 Clean Slate Act: waiting periods, cannabis relief, exclusions, and immigration risks.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

⚖️ An aggravated felony can now cost the green card. Inadmissible under INA 212(a)(8)(A) as "ineligible to citizenship." A 212(h) waiver won't cure it. Pleas or verdicts after Sept 17, 2026. Kanga overruled. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1... [ID 4245] (PDF)

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

⚖️ In Matter of V-S-A-, 30 I&N Dec. 37, the BIA handed immigration judges a fraud check: hold an asylum seeker's declaration against redacted declarations from other cases and flag the copies. The Board vacated the asylum grant and remanded. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

⚖️ New BIA precedent. No conviction needed. Street racing, resisting arrest, contraband in jail — the arrests alone prove danger. The alien carries the burden, and he failed it. Held without bond. Matter of Kamalov, 30 I&N Dec. 34 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

⚖️ BIA to LGBTQ asylum claimants: assertion is not proof. It reverses CAT deferral for a Guinean man. Not credible on orientation. No corroboration. Conflicting labels. An immigration ruling on burden. Matter of S-K-E-, 30 I&N Dec. 27 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Make the effort. Choose your attitude. Tell the truth courageously but kindly. Be fair. Keep an open heart and an open mind.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

⚖️ BIA: Maduro's fall is a change in conditions in Venezuela. His removal does not end an asylum seeker's fear on its own. The Immigration Judge must weigh the particular risk on remand. Matter of A-E-V-M-, 30 I&N Dec. 20 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

⚖️ BIA overrules Matter of G-Y-R- after 25 years. An address you gave immigration years ago now supports an in absentia removal order, warnings or not. Matter of Diji, 30 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2026). mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/09...

mikebakerlaw.com

Matter of Diji: The Board Killed a 25-Year Notice Rule It Didn't Need To - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

The BIA overruled Matter of G-Y-R- in Matter of Diji. Mailed notice to an old address can now support an in absentia order, but the rule may not hold in the Seventh Circuit.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

⚖️ The BIA overruled Matter of G-Y-R-. DHS may serve a notice to appear by regular mail to the last address an immigrant gave, even one provided before the NTA was issued, and obtain an in absentia order. Matter of DIJI, 30 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

⚖️ BIA upholds a $3,000 immigration fine. The respondent won voluntary departure, then stayed. The statute needs no willful intent. Miss the deadline, owe the penalty. Appeal dismissed—matter of R-P-L-, 29 I&N Dec. 859 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

⚖️ BIA vacates an asylum grant. An Afghan feared the Taliban. The immigration judge found him credible and never addressed the inconsistencies. Clear error. The Board remands for new findings—matter of A-Q-R-K-, 29 I&N Dec. 865 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

He won his case. A judge ruled he couldn't be sent home; he'd be tortured. So ICE told him to get a passport for that exact country. Wait two years. No, next week. No, never mind. Third-country removal. Surreal and cruel. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/?p=6255...

mikebakerlaw.com

Protected From Deportation, Deported Anyway - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

Withholding and CAT bar removal to one country, not removal itself. How third-country removal targets immigrants who already won protection, and what counsel can do.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

⚖ BIA: once removal is final, an immigration judge loses jurisdiction over custody. Only a DHS referral reopens it. A Congolese woman won CAT protection, detained a year, got bond. BIA vacated. Matter of W-F-D-, 29 I&N Dec. 854 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

⚖️ DHS killed the asylum interview. USCIS can now send an immigrant to Court on the paper alone—no question about what they fled. No one hears the story. Immigration Equality v. Mullin, filed Aug. 19. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/08...

mikebakerlaw.com

USCIS Can Now Send Asylum Seekers to Immigration Court Without an Interview - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

An interim DHS rule lets USCIS refer affirmative asylum cases to immigration court with no interview. What the rule does, who it reaches, and the lawsuit challenging it.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

⚖️ Green card alert. On September 18, 2026, USCIS starts counting SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, and housing aid against your adjustment of status. File the I-485 before that date, and the old narrow public charge rule governs your case. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/08...

mikebakerlaw.com

The Public Charge Net Widens on September 18, 2026 - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

On September 18, 2026, USCIS starts weighing nearly any benefit a green card applicant uses. What changed, who it reaches, the new bonds, and what to do before the date.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

⚖️ USCIS overhauls public charge. From September 18, 2026, officers weigh any means-tested benefit- Medicaid, SNAP, housing- against immigrants adjusting status. The 2022 rule is gone. INA 212(a)(4). www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

⚖️ BIA: one motion to reopen. A Jordanian filed four. Three denied. His fourth rode a third wife's I-130 and a recycled ineffective counsel claim. No equitable tolling of the immigration number bar. Matter of M-M-L-J-, 29 I&N Dec. 843 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

The East Wing is rubble now. He wants an arch where it stood, and a ballroom. Seventy percent of his mind lives there, the Times says — not Iran, not the economy. The marble. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | How Trump Has Changed, With Maggie Haberman (Gift Article)

The New York Times correspondent says 70 percent of the president’s mind is dedicated to White House renovations.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

New BIA precedent, and it lands on detained people first. Matter of A-K-R- says the only hard time you get to find a lawyer is the 10 days before your first hearing. INA § 239(b)(1). After that, more time runs on good cause. Move fast on counsel. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/08...

mikebakerlaw.com

The Board Cuts the Right to Counsel Down to Ten Days - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

In Matter of A-K-R-, the BIA makes the ten-day floor the only firm time to find counsel and withdraws Matter of C-B-. What it means for detained pro se clients.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

⚖️ New BIA precedent on continuances. An immigration Court cannot set your first hearing sooner than 10 days after DHS serves the notice to appear. INA § 239(b)(1). More time runs on good cause. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.29. Matter of A-K-R-, 29 I&N Dec. 839 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29

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Volume 29

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

⚖️ BIA rejects a late Georgia sentence clarification. 12 months on probation counts as a 1 year term of imprisonment. Removable as an aggravated felon. A new judge 6 years later can't rewrite it for immigration purposes. Matter of Boye, 29 I&N Dec. 826. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

⚖️ BIA overrules Arrabally and Yerrabelly. Advance parole travel is a departure under INA 212(a)(9)(B). It can trigger unlawful presence bars. DACA immigration clients lose the workaround. New trips only. Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830. www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Chicago reads in hard ethnic blocks. Two forces drew that map: wave after wave of immigrants, and the law that placed them—covenants, redlining, quotas, deportation drives—still being drawn. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/08...

mikebakerlaw.com

Chicago Is a City of Neighborhoods. The Law Drew the Lines - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

Chicago reads in sharp ethnic blocks because two forces drew it: a century of immigration and the law that placed each wave. A Chicago lawyer reads the map.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

The New York Times maps America as it actually lives: not a melting pot, but a battlefield of memory. Native nations, enslaved Africans, old borderlands, immigrant routes, and nearly 200 overlapping identities. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

nytimes.com

How a Nation of Immigrants Traces Its Roots (Gift Article)

Melting pot, tapestry, mosaic, kaleidoscope, salad bowl. Every cliché is true.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

⚖️ BIA vacates an asylum grant. The Immigration Judge’s credibility finding ducked the inconsistencies. The man lived years elsewhere in Nicaragua without harm, cutting against future persecution. Matter of H-I-A-H-, 29 I&N Dec. 823 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

⚖️ BIA hands DHS an authentication win. A G-24 signed by a District Records Manager authenticates the I-213 and I-94, proving alienage. IJ excluded them and terminated. New immigration precedent. Matter of Momplaisir, 29 I&N Dec. 820 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

⚖️ BIA: being a minor does not turn harm into persecution. Age is a factor, not a trigger. This immigration respondent, 17 and near 18, took 2 blows from police. Not enough. Withholding grant reversed—matter of I-U-V-, 29 I&N Dec. 816 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

⚖️ BIA: identity is the threshold to asylum. This immigrant could not prove his. Shifting names. 3 nationalities. A genuine Kenyan passport, a fake name. Asylum, withholding, CAT all denied—matter of I-S-M-, 29 I&N Dec. 811 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The national Mexican-born population is shrinking. In Chicago, it grew 9% in 2024, then became the target of the biggest immigration crackdown the city has seen in a generation. Numbers up, raids up. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/08...

mikebakerlaw.com

Chicago's Mexican-Born Population Grew in 2024. Then Came the Raids. - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

National figures show the Mexican-born population shrinking. Chicago's grew in 2024 — then met Operation Midway Blitz. What that means for settled families and DACA.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Pending green card or asylum case? ICE is now pulling applicants off domestic flights and out of security lines nationwide, even with valid work permits. Do not fly until you speak with your attorney. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/u...

nytimes.com

ICE Arrests Surge at Airports, Opening New Front in Deportation Drive (Gift Article)

Federal agents are arresting spouses of Americans, tech workers and others whose visas have expired, including many who have active applications to stay in the country.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

⚖️ BIA: a father who paid a smuggler to bring his own son here loses cancellation of removal. Assisting a try to enter triggers the good moral character bar. The family reason doesn't save him—matter of L-L-R-, 29 I&N Dec. 799 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

⚖️ BIA: no bond cures a flight risk built on inconsistent statements to immigration officials and silence on possible human rights abuses. Relief goes highly speculative. Equities don't save it—matter of A-W-M-K-, 29 I&N Dec. 805 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1...

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

⚖️ BIA raises the bar on immigration bond. Flight risk means more than showing up. It means obeying the removal order too. Speculative relief you might file someday does not cut it. IJ reversed. Matter of A-L-S-, 29 I&N Dec. 794 (BIA 2026). www.justice.gov/eoir/volume-29

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Volume 29

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

EOIR now admits the target: 100+ people per room, drawn from those with no lawyer. Less process than traffic Court. Most are ordered deported without ever being heard. Austin Kocher has the internal numbers. mikebakerlaw.com/blog/2026/07...

mikebakerlaw.com

One Judge, One Hundred Respondents, One Morning: Inside DOJ's "Mega Master" Hearings - Law Offices of Michael D. Baker

DOJ "mega master" hearings stack 100+ into one setting to speed deportations. The notice and counsel law that fights back, plus a ready-to-file motion.

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Michael D. Baker @mikebakerlaw.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

🔍 Who owns the cages? Detention Reports now names the owner and operator behind every ICE detention facility. Non-partisan, validated from ICE's own spreadsheets, built by Relevant Research. Search it. Cite it. Use it. detentionreports.com

detentionreports.com

ICE Detention Facilities - Directory

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