This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

107044 

Vol. 89, No. 250 

Tuesday, December 31, 2024 

1Of note, an earlier entry on EOIR’s Unified 

Agenda under RIN 1125–AA74 was merged with 

RIN 1125–AB01 in the Spring 2020 Unified Agenda. 

RIN 1125–AA74 was developed partly as a response 

to a 2012 petition for rulemaking regarding the 

departure bar provision. In response to the petition 

for rulemaking, EOIR agreed to initiate rulemaking 

to amend the departure bar regulatory provisions at 

8 CFR 1003.2(d) and 1003.23(b)(1). EOIR asserted 

that it was not, however, committing to any 

particular outcome for that entry. See Off. of 

Immigr. & Regul. Affs., Immigration Courts and the 

Board of Immigration Appeals: Motions to Reopen 

and Reconsider; Effect of Departure or Removal 

(Spring 2020), https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202004&RIN=1125-AA74 

(describing RIN 1125–AA74). As described above, 

EOIR continues to assess issues implicated by RIN 

1125–AB01 and, hence, RIN 1125–AA74. 

2 Dates and schedules on the Unified Agenda are 

subject to change. See Introduction to the Unified 

Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory 

Actions—Spring 2024, 89 FR 66764, 66765 (Aug. 

16, 2024). Agencies may withdraw regulations 

listed on their Unified Agenda, and they may issue 

or propose other regulations not included in their 

agendas. Id. Agency actions in the rulemaking 

process may occur before or after the dates listed 

in their Unified Agenda. Id. The Unified Agenda 

does not create a legal obligation on agencies to 

adhere to schedules in their Unified Agenda or to 

confine their regulatory activities to those 

regulations that appear on it. Id. 

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 

Executive Office for Immigration 

Review 

8 CFR Parts 1001, 1003 and 1240 

[EOIR Docket Nos. 18–0503, 19–0410; AG 

Order No. 6120–2024] 

RINS 1125–AB01, 1125–AB03 

Withdrawal of Notices of Proposed 

Rulemaking 

AGENCY: Executive Office for 

Immigration Review; Department of 

Justice. 

ACTION: Notice of withdrawal of 

proposed rules. 

SUMMARY: The Executive Office for 

Immigration Review (‘‘EOIR’’) is 

withdrawing two of its Notices of 

Proposed Rulemaking (‘‘NPRMs’’): (1) 

Motions To Reopen and Reconsider; 

Effect of Departure; Stay of Removal, 

and (2) Good Cause for a Continuance 

in Immigration Proceedings, both 

published on November 27, 2020, and is 

providing this notice of withdrawal. 

EOIR is withdrawing these NPRMs 

because of ongoing assessments of 

agency needs, priorities, and objectives. 

EOIR will not take any further action on 

these NPRMs. 

DATES: As of December 31, 2024, the 

NPRMs published on November 27, 

2020, titled ‘‘Motions To Reopen and 

Reconsider; Effect of Departure; Stay of 

Removal,’’ 85 FR 75942, and ‘‘Good 

Cause for a Continuance in Immigration 

Proceedings,’’ 85 FR 75925, are 

withdrawn. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Flinn, Acting Assistant Director 

for Policy, Office of Policy, Executive 

Office for Immigration Review, 5107 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041; 

telephone: (703) 305–0289 (not a tollfree call). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

November 27, 2020, the Department of 

Justice (‘‘Department’’) proposed 

amendments to its regulations through 

publication of two NPRMs. See 85 FR 

75925, 75942 (corresponding to 

Regulation Identifier Numbers (‘‘RINs’’) 

1125–AB03 and 1125–AB01, 

respectively). Specifically, the NPRM 

titled ‘‘Motions To Reopen and 

Reconsider; Effect of Departure; Stay of 

Removal’’ proposed to amend EOIR’s 

regulations at 8 CFR parts 1001 and 

1003 governing the filing and 

adjudication of motions to reopen and 

reconsider—including those motions 

following a noncitizen’s departure from 

the United States, commonly known as 

the ‘‘departure bar’’—and to add 

regulations governing requests for 

discretionary stays of removal. See id. at 

75942, 75945 (RIN 1125–AB01). The 

NPRM titled ‘‘Good Cause for a 

Continuance in Immigration 

Proceedings’’ proposed to amend EOIR’s 

regulations at 8 CFR parts 1003 and 

1240 to define ‘‘good cause’’ in the 

context of continuances, adjournments, 

and postponements of immigration 

proceedings. See id. at 75925 (RIN 

1125–AB03). 

The Department is withdrawing these 

NPRMs because further rulemaking 

action with respect to these NPRMs 

does not align with agency needs, 

priorities, and objectives. The 

Department continues to consider the 

best means of addressing some or all of 

the issues covered by these NPRMs and 

the scope of any agency actions the 

Department concludes may be necessary 

to address these issues.1

Moreover, the comments received on 

these NPRMs raised a number of issues 

that warrant further attention and 

suggest that the Department should 

further assess the best regulatory 

approach, if any, for addressing the 

issues in the NPRMs. Thus, the 

Department is withdrawing these 

NPRMs because, even if the Department 

were to determine in the future that 

rulemaking on these issues is 

appropriate, the Department believes 

that it would benefit from seeking 

comments on any new proposal that 

might account for the specific issues 

raised in the comments received on 

these NPRMs. 

In addition, all agencies participate in 

the semi-annual Unified Agenda of 

Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 

(‘‘Unified Agenda’’), which provides a 

summary description of the regulatory 

actions that each agency is considering 

or reviewing.2 Agencies’ agendas are 

posted on the public website of the 

Office of Information and Regulatory 

Affairs, and portions are published in 

the Federal Register in the spring and 

fall of each year. The Unified Agenda is 

often used as a tool to solicit interest 

and participation from stakeholders. 

Withdrawal of these NPRMs will allow 

EOIR to better align its entries on the 

Department’s Unified Agenda with the 

agency’s needs, priorities, and 

objectives. 

Accordingly, for all of these 

independently sufficient reasons, the 

Department is withdrawing the NPRMs 

associated with RINs 1125–AB01 and 

1125–AB03. By withdrawing the 

NPRMs, the Department is indicating 

that it no longer considers these NPRMs 

to be pending. The status quo regarding 

motions and continuances before EOIR 

will continue unaffected by these 

rulemakings for the time being. Should 

the Department decide at a future date 

to initiate the same or similar 

rulemakings, the Department will issue 

new NPRM(s) under new RIN(s). 

Dated: December 19, 2024. 

Merrick B. Garland, 

Attorney General. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30754 Filed 12–30–24; 8:45 am] 

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