Federal courts repeatedly rebuffed key pillars of President Donald Trump's immigration policy during the first half of the year, with district courts halting efforts to curtail birthright citizenship, restrict asylum at the southern border and deport noncitizens without notice. Law360 looks at some of the most significant immigration litigation developments nearly six months into Trump's second term.
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MONDAY, JULY 28, 2025 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Analysis

Top Immigration Cases Of 2025: Midyear Report

By Britain Eakin

Federal courts repeatedly rebuffed key pillars of President Donald Trump's immigration policy during the first half of the year, with district courts halting efforts to curtail birthright citizenship, restrict asylum at the southern border and deport noncitizens without notice. Law360 looks at some of the most significant immigration litigation developments nearly six months into Trump's second term.

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Judge Keeps Nationwide Block On Birthright Citizenship EO

By Rae Ann Varona

A Massachusetts federal judge Friday refused to narrow a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying any narrower alternative would not be enough to protect a group of states from their asserted harms.

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Trump Admin Loses Sanctuary Fight With Ill., For Now

By Hailey Konnath

An Illinois federal judge Friday threw out the Trump administration's first suit challenging local sanctuary policies, ruling that it's within Illinois', Cook County's and Chicago's rights to opt out of helping the federal government with immigration enforcement efforts.

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Abrego Garcia Says DHS Keeps On Tainting Jury Pool

By Britain Eakin

Mistakenly deported Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia told a Tennessee federal judge for the second time this week that Trump administration officials keep making "inflammatory" public statements that threaten his right to a fair trial for human trafficking charges.

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More NY Legal Services Unions End Strikes With Deals

By Andrea Keckley

Two more New York-based member shops of the Association of Legal Advocates and Attorneys have reached tentative agreements with their managers after almost a week on strike.

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LITIGATION

3rd Circ. Won't Revive Unraised Claims In Immigration Appeal

By Britain Eakin

The Third Circuit has rejected a Guatemalan mother and son's bid to overturn the Board of Immigration Appeals' denial of asylum and other removal protections, ruling that the board's summary affirmance of the underlying immigration judge's decision can't revive unexhausted claims.

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Feds Ordered To Renew Contract For Family Separation Deal

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge late Thursday ordered the federal government to re-enter a contract for behavioral health services and housing support for migrant families separated under the first Trump administration, saying the administration breached a settlement and had to comply with its obligations "now."

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Texas Farmer Not Owed For Border Wall Costs, 5th Circ. Says

By Catherine Marfin

A Texas farmer isn't owed compensation for a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border wall that the government built on her land in 2008, the Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday.

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Calif. Court Axes Deported Man's Drug Plea Over Atty Advice

By Benjamin Morse

A California appeals court has vacated the drug conviction of a Mexican national and U.S. resident and has told the lower court to set a trial on the charge, finding he wasn't properly told by his lawyer that pleading guilty would lead to deportation.

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PEOPLE

Veteran CFPB Enforcement Atty Heads For The Exit

By Jon Hill

A longtime Consumer Financial Protection Bureau litigator told a Virginia federal court on Friday that she is leaving after more than a decade at the agency, becoming the latest departure at the regulator as its future under the Trump administration remains in limbo.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Jackson Walker Settles Judge Romance Claims For $485K

By Emma Cueto

Jackson Walker LLP has reached a $485,000 settlement with two former bankruptcy clients to resolve a dispute related to the concealed romance of a former partner and former Texas bankruptcy judge David R. Jones, according to a motion filed Friday.

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Fed. Circ. Panel Calls For Extending Newman's Suspension

By Ryan Davis

A three-judge Federal Circuit panel recommended Monday that U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman remain suspended, saying her refusal to undergo medical tests by doctors chosen by the court is a "serious form of continuing misconduct" that is hindering an investigation into her health.

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Qui Tam Relator's Atty Admits Fake Citations In DC FCA Suit

By Emily Sawicki

An attorney representing the estate of a Washington, D.C.-based construction company's former director in a False Claims Act suit launched against the contractor has withdrawn from the suit due to "recent failure to provide adequate representation" after his co-counsel alleged that the attorney used AI to file a brief "riddled with citation errors."

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Analysis

Merger Settlements Return As Enforcers Keep Busy

By Matthew Perlman

The first half of 2025 saw a string of settlements by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice allowing mergers to move forward, a marked shift from the prior administration.

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Texas Judge 'Perplexed' By 5th Circ. Sanction Reversal

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge said he was "perplexed" by a Fifth Circuit panel's decision to reverse his sanction order against an attorney, saying in a Monday opinion that the attorney seemingly flouted the case governing litigation conduct by opposing a bid for an extension to reply.

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J&J Loses Bid To Probe Beasley Allen Talc Litigation Funding

By Jake Maher

A special master found Monday there is no reason to believe third-party funders are influencing Beasley Allen Law Firm's decisions in a massive talc litigation in New Jersey, defeating a subpoena from Johnson & Johnson digging into alleged third-party litigation funding.

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Firms Rip Ford's 'Retaliatory' RICO Suit Over Lemon Law Bills

By Dorothy Atkins

Knight Law Group LLP and other firms urged a California federal judge Friday to toss The Ford Motor Co.'s allegations they conspired to overcharge clients and defraud automakers by inflating billing, arguing that the racketeering claims are "retaliatory," insufficient and time-barred, and the firms are shielded under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine.

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Biotech GC Says She Was Ousted Amid 'Systemic' Bias

By Chris Villani

A former general counsel at Massachusetts life sciences firm Repligen has filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that a pervasive culture of gender bias led to her and other women being treated differently and paid less.

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Analysis

Trump Wants Ex-Death Row Inmates In 'Supermax' ADX

By Rachel Rippetoe

Advocates argue that President Donald Trump's effort to send the inmates whom President Joe Biden saved from federal death row to the country's most restrictive federal "supermax" prison is testing the limits of the justice system.

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State Justices' Financial Disclosures 'Didn't Get Worse' In '24

By Jack Karp

Several states are making information about their Supreme Court justices' finances and potential financial conflicts somewhat more accessible, according to a new report.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Appellate Advocates

Axinn Veltrop

Baker & Hostetler

Baron & Budd

Beasley Allen

City of Chicago Department of Law

Debevoise & Plimpton

Executive Law Partners PLLC

Faegre Drinker

Hecker Fink

Hedin LLP

Holland & Hart

Holland & Knight

Jackson Walker LLP

Jones Galligan

K&L Gates

Kasowitz Benson

Klinedinst PC

Knight Law Group

Konare Law

Milbank LLP

Norton Rose

O'Melveny & Myers

Pillsbury Winthrop

Riverside Law

Rusty Hardin

Seila Law

Sherrard Roe

Troutman

Walls Landry

Williams & Connolly

Wirtz Law APC

Zalkind Duncan

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ANSYS, Inc.

Activision Blizzard Inc.

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

Alphabet Inc.

Amedisys Inc.

American Civil Liberties Union

American Express Global Business Travel

American Immigration Lawyers Association

Boston University

Brennan Center for Justice

Center for Appellate Litigation

Center for Justice

Collins Aerospace Inc.

Dell Technologies Inc.

Fifth Third Bancorp

Ford Motor Co.

Giant Eagle Inc.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

Instagram Inc.

Johnson & Johnson

Juniper Networks Inc.

Keysight Technologies Inc.

LinkedIn Corp.

Meta Platforms Inc.

Microsoft Corp.

Migration Policy Institute

New Civil Liberties Alliance

Nintendo Co. Ltd.

Omnicom Group Inc.

Refugee & Immigrant Center for Education & Legal Services

Repligen Corporation

Seadrill Limited

Seneca Family of Agencies

Spirent Communications PLC

Tempur Sealy International Inc.

The Bronx Defenders

The Interpublic Group of Cos. Inc.

The New York Times Co.

U.S. Anesthesia Partners

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Prisons

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Trade Commission

Illinois Attorney General's Office

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination

New Jersey Attorney General's Office

New York Attorney General's Office

Small Business Administration

Superior Court of Massachusetts

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Supreme Court