⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Real court arguments, crisp audio, with context.

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Costa Dondoni v Blanche — 1st Cir. (Sep 16, 2026)

No. 25-2103 Argued September 16, 2026 Published September 18, 2026

The First Circuit reviews the Board of Immigration Appeals' refusal to return Kayo Felipe Costa Dondoni's removal case to an immigration judge. An immigration judge denied the asylum application filed by Dondoni and his family. By then, immigration officials had approved Dondoni for Special Immigrant Juvenile classification and granted deferred action. That classification can lead to permanent residence, but Dondoni must wait for an immigrant visa to become available before applying. He asked the Board to separate his case from his family's and send it back so a judge could consider pausing or ending his removal proceedings while he waited. The Board denied both motions. The appeal asks whether the Board answered the wrong question by treating those temporary docket-management options as a request for immediate permanent residence.

Costa Dondoni v Blanche (No. 25-2103) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, argued September 16, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (public domain, 17 U.S.C. § 105):https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/oralargs/25-2103_20260916.mp3
Argument record — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit:https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/doar/results/2026-09
Oral-argument calendar — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit:https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/calendar.pdf?simple=True
Case background and procedural order — U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts via GovInfo:https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mad-1_25-cv-13438/pdf/USCOURTS-mad-1_25-cv-13438-0.pdf
Current appellate docket — Justia (PACER-derived):https://dockets.justia.com/docket/circuit-courts/ca1/25-2103
Form I-485 instructions — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-485instr.pdf
Immigration Court Practice Manual — U.S. Department of Justice:https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/988061/dl
Prima-facie standard — First Circuit opinion in Rivera-Medrano v. Garland:https://media.ca1.uscourts.gov/pdf.opinions/20-1667P-01A.pdf
Michael B. Kaplan — Brooks Law Firm:https://brookslawfirm.com/michael-b-kaplan/

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