Featured Issue: Asylum Under Trump 2.0
On the first day of his second term, President Trump suspended all entries at the U.S. Southern Border for asylum seekers. Since then, the Administration has implemented sweeping restrictions that shut America’s doors to people fleeing persecution. These policies violate federal law, erode constitutionally protected due process, exacerbate the asylum backlog, and give those seeking safety an increasingly narrow path to protection.
Left unchecked by Congress, these policies will have dire consequences for both asylum seekers and the integrity of our legal system. Asylum seekers—especially those without access to counsel—are at grave risk of being returned to harm.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The Administration can maintain order at U.S. borders and effectively manage migration without sacrificing fairness and adherence to the law. With more trained asylum officers, a streamlined legal process, legal representation for asylum seekers, and more effective coordination between relevant agencies, the U.S. can establish a safe, orderly, and humane asylum system.
Browse the Featured Issue: Asylum Under Trump 2.0 collection
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim for Reassessment of Credibility Ground as to Chinese Petitioner Allegedly Subjected to Forced Abortion
The court concluded that the agency’s credibility determination may have been affected by a misstatement of Chinese law that was a centerpiece of the government’s cross-examination of the petitioner at her removal hearing, and thus granted the petition for review. (Shen v. Garland, 7/24/24)
CA9 Concludes That Petitioner Born in Mexico Was Not Eligible for Derivative Citizenship Based on INA §321(a)
The court determined that the petitioner was not eligible for derivative citizenship based on INA §321(a), and found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. (Colin-Villavicencio v. Garland, 7/23/24)
CA1 Finds Petitioner Who Experienced Harassment from Gang Members in El Salvador Failed to Show Membership in Valid PSG
The court concluded that the petitioner’s claimed particular social groups (PSGs)— “young person who has been beaten and threatened by gangs” and “young individual in the country who’s been targeted for gang recruitment” —were not cognizable. (Ramos-Gutierrez v. Garland, 7/18/24)
Think Immigration: USCIS Policy Changes Open New Opportunities for Immigration Lawyers to Support Stateless People
In this blog post, AILA members Betsy Fisher and Samantha Sitterley describe a recently developed USCIS process to determine whether a person is stateless; an upcoming AILA Roundtable will delve further into how AILA members can support stateless clients.
CA1 Remands Withholding of Removal Claim of Petitioner Who Fled Liberia as a Child During Civil War
The court held that the BIA and IJ had failed to address whether the petitioner’s childhood escape from Liberia because of systematic ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Krahn people during the Liberian civil war constituted past persecution. (Paye v. Garland, 7/17/24)
CA2 Upholds Asylum Denial to Nepalese Petitioner Who Received Death Threats from Maiost Partisans
The court held that death threats are not per se indicative of past persecution, and found that the death threats directed at the petitioner were not sufficiently imminent, concrete, or menacing so as to constitute past persecution under the case-by-case approach. (KC v. Garland, 7/17/24)
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Petitioner Claimed Past Persecution Based on Her Daughter’s Medical Treatment in Guatemala
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner had not established past persecution, where she alleged that she was persecuted by hospital staff at a government-run hospital in Guatemala where she would take her daughter, who had a genetic disorder. (Calvo-Tino v. Garland, 7/12/24)
CA11 Upholds Denial of Yemeni Petitioner’s Request for Administrative Closure or Continuance
The court found that it lacked jurisdiction over the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s motion to remand, and concluded that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying his request for an administrative closure or a continuance. (Alkotof v. Att’y Gen., 7/12/24)
CA9 Finds That Petitioner’s Nevada Conviction for Attempted Lewdness with Child under 14 Constitutes Attempted Aggravated Felony
The court held that the offense of attempted lewdness with a child under the age of 14, in violation of Nev. Rev. Stat. §§193.330 and 201.230(2), constitutes an attempted sexual abuse of a minor aggravated felony that rendered the petitioner removable. (Leon Perez v. Garland, 6/28/24)
CA11 Finds That Petitioner Was Properly Ordered Removed in Absentia Where She Provided an Erroneous Address and Failed to Correct It
The court held that because the petitioner had provided the government with an inaccurate address at which she could be reached and failed to correct it, immigration officials were excused from providing her notice of her removal hearing. (Rosales-Mendez v. Att’y Gen., 6/20/24)
CA2 Finds Petitioner’s Ground of Removal Was Insufficiently Related to His Marriage Fraud to Support INA §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that petitioner could not invoke INA §237(a)(1)(H)’s fraud waiver to waive his charge of removability, because his conditional permanent resident status terminated automatically due to his failure to submit a joint petition. (Bador v. Garland, 7/11/24)
Alternatives to Immigration Detention: An Overview
The American Immigration Council examines alternatives to U.S. immigration detention, advocating for community-based, case management models over surveillance-heavy programs to improve compliance and reduce detention costs.
CA3 Holds That Time Spent in Pretrial Detention Is Confinement as a Result of Conviction under the INA
The court held that pre-conviction detention credited toward a defendant’s sentence is confinement “as a result of conviction” under INA §101(f)(7), thus precluding a finding of good moral character under the cancellation of removal statute. (Aguilar v. Att’y Gen., 7/10/24)
Think Immigration: Protecting Afghan Asylum Seekers Who are Not Considered “Allies”
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Law Student Scholarship recipient Sanaa Talwasa describes why she believes USCIS should regard all Afghan asylum applicants as "allies" and consider them eligible for an expedited asylum application process and supportive policies.
CA8 Remands Asylum Claim of Pastor of Christian Church in El Salvador Who Was Targeted by MS-13 Gang Members
The court held that the BIA and IJ failed to conduct the required careful examination of the record to determine whether religion may have been one of multiple central reasons for the gang members’ persecution of the petitioner in El Salvador. (Rivera v. Garland, 7/5/24)
AILA and the Council Submit Comment on the Secure the Border Interim Final Rule
AILA and the American Immigration Council submitted a comment to DHS and DOJ's Interim Final Rule titled, Securing the Border, stating that, "AILA and the Council oppose the interim regulations because they will return vulnerable individuals who deserve protection from danger and potential death."
DHS OIG Publishes Report on USCIS Affirmative Asylum Claim Challenges
DHS OIG published a report on USCIS’s handling of affirmative asylum claims, finding that the agency did not process applications in a timely manner to meet statutory timelines and reduce the existing backlog.
CA9 Holds That California Carjacking Is Not a Crime of Violence under INA §101(a)(43)(F)
The court concluded that a conviction for carjacking in California under Cal. Pen. Code §215(a) was not a categorical crime of violence, and that the BIA erroneously determined that the petitioner had waived his challenge to the moral turpitude removal charge. (Gutierrez v. Garland, 7/2/24)
CA1 Finds That Guatemalan Petitioner’s Proposed PSG of “Climate Refugee” Was Not Legally Cognizable
The court held that the BIA did not err in finding that petitioner had failed to show that his proposed particular social group (PSG)—“climate refugee”—was legally cognizable, upholding the IJ’s determinization that it lacked social distinction in Guatemala. (Cruz Galicia v. Garland, 7/1/24
BIA Issues Memo on the Handling of Classified Information at the BIA
The BIA issued BIA Operating Policies and Procedures Memorandum 24-01, Classified Information at the Board of Immigration Appeals, on the proper handling of classified information at the BIA.
CA9 Holds That Conviction in California for Impeding Person from Reporting Crime Was Offense “Relating to Obstruction of Justice”
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction in California for violating Cal. Penal Code §136.1(b)(1), which encompasses conduct geared toward impeding a person from reporting a crime, qualified as an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(S). (Cordero-Garcia v. Garland, 6/27/24)
CA9 Holds That Petitioner’s Jehovah’s Witness Faith Was One Central Reason for His Feared Harm in El Salvador
The court held that the BIA erred in determining the petitioner was not eligible for asylum because he was not targeted due to a protected ground, finding that the record compelled the conclusion that religion was one central reason for his feared harm. (Alfaro Manzano v. Garland, 6/25/24)
USCIS Issues Guidance on Customer Service Options for Refugee/Asylee Relative Petitions
USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify the customer service options available to petitioners of Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition (Form I-730). Guidance is effective on 6/25/24, and comments are due by 7/25/24.
CA7 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review IJ’s Denial of Petitioner’s Request for Cancellation under Wilkinson v. Garland
The court held that, under the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Wilkinson v. Garland, it lacked jurisdiction to consider the Mexican petitioner’s challenge to the IJ’s discretionary decision denying cancellation of removal. (Santiago Lopez v. Garland, 6/24/24)
Asylum Office Guide – Best Practices
This best practices guide was written by AILA’s Asylum & Refugee Liaison Committee and contains information specific to each USCIS asylum office, including contact information for the office and local AILA liaisons, interview wait times, rescheduling requests, and more.