Attorney General issued orders designating several Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decisions—originally issued in September 2025—as precedent.

[MKolken]

On December 8, 2025, the Attorney General issued orders designating several Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) decisions—originally issued in September 2025—as precedent. These designations led to their formal publication in Volume 29 of Administrative Decisions Under Immigration and Nationality Laws of the United States.

The specific cases elevated to precedent status on that date include:

• Matter of W-F-, 29 I&N Dec. 319 (BIA 2025) https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1420631/dl?inline
  (Original BIA decision dated September 15, 2025; designated via Order No. 6516-2025.)
• Matter of Jimenez-Ayala, 29 I&N Dec. 325 (BIA 2025) https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1420671/dl
  (Original BIA decision dated September 26, 2025; designated via Order No. 6520-2025.)

Additional cases in Volume 29 around these page ranges (likely part of the same or closely related batch of designations) include:

• Matter of J-C-A-G-, 29 I&N Dec. 331 (BIA 2025) https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1420746/dl?inline
• Matter of Dubon Miranda, 29 I&N Dec. 335 (BIA 2025) https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1420751/dl?inline
• Matter of B-S-H-, 29 I&N Dec. 313 (BIA 2025) https://www.justice.gov/eoir/media/1418881/dl?inline

These decisions address various immigration issues, such as bars to relief, discretionary factors, and procedural matters. No entirely new decisions were issued in December 2025; these were prior unpublished BIA rulings formalized as binding precedent by the Attorney General.

[Nolan Rappaport]

Attorney General's authority to do this.
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-V/subchapter-A/part-1003/subpart-A/section-1003.1#p-1003.1(g)

[Nolan Rappaport]

(h) Referral of cases to the Attorney General.

(1) The Board shall refer to the Attorney General for review of its decision all cases that:

(i) The Attorney General directs the Board to refer to him.

(ii) The Chief Appellate Immigration Judge or a majority of the Board believes should be referred to the Attorney General for review.

(iii) The Secretary of Homeland Security, or specific officials of the Department of Homeland Security designated by the Secretary with the concurrence of the Attorney General, refers to the Attorney General for review.

[Nolan Rappaport]

This may not be as polically biased as you think it is. The AG refers such cases to the Office of Legal counsel for a decision. https://www.justice.gov/olc