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
CA3 Concludes That Removal Order Is Not Final Until Decision Has Been Made on Request for Withholding of Removal
The court held that INA §242(b)(1)’s 30-day filing deadline to seek judicial review of a removal order is nonjurisdictional, and that a removal order is not final until a decision has been made on a noncitizen’s request for withholding of removal. (Inestroza-Tosta v. Att’y Gen., 6/21/24)
CA4 Upholds Denial of CAT Deferral to Salvadoran Petitioner with Gang-Related Tattoos and Criminal Record
The court held that the IJ did not ignore experts’ testimony and the agency applied the correct legal standard in finding that petitioner had not shown he was likely to suffer torture in El Salvador due to his gang-related tattoos and criminal record. (Lopez-Sorto v. Garland, 5/31/24)
CA11 Upholds Withholding of Removal and CAT Denial to Transgender Petitioner from Mexico
The court held that the petitioner failed to show a likelihood of future persecution or torture in Mexico based on transgender status, and thus upheld the BIA’s denial of their claims for withholding of removal and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (A.P.A. v. Garland, 6/6/24)
BIA Holds That Rape Clearly Rises to Level of Torture and Can Never Be a Lawful Sanction under the CAT
The BIA held that rape is sufficiently severe to constitute torture and can never be a lawful sanction under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), and remanded the respondent’s case to a different IJ based on an appearance of bias. Matter of H–C–R–C–, 28 I&N Dec. 809 (BIA 2024)
Key Takeaways from the CIS Ombudsman Open Forum 2024 AILA Annual Conference
AILA’s High Impact Adjudication Assistance (HIAA) Committee shares five key takeaways from the CIS Ombudsman Open Forum at the AILA Annual Conference on June 14, 2024.
Featured Issue: Border Processing and Asylum
This featured issue page provides updates, analyses, and other resources on border processing and asylum policies, and AILA’s advocacy on the creation of a humane and fair border processing system for all individuals arriving at our southern border seeking safety.
DHHS Notice of Realignment of the Office of Refugee Resettlement
DHHS notice of the realignment, making the ORR’s Refugee Program and Unaccompanied Children Program the Refugee Program Bureau and the Unaccompanied Children Bureau, respectively; creating the Bureau of Operations; and aligning the divisions. Effective 6/12/24. (89 FR 49889, 6/12/24)
Think Immigration: The Next Best Thing to Attending the AILA Law Journal Symposium Is Reading This Issue
AILA Law Journal Editor-in-Chief Cyrus Mehta runs through the pieces in this special edition of the journal which focuses on the AILA Law Journal’s first-ever symposium held this Spring on “Shaping Immigration Policy Through the Federal Courts.”
AILA and the Council Comment on the Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings
AILA and the American Immigration Council submitted a joint comment on NPRM, Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings.
CA1 Concludes That Petitioner Detained Nearly Four Years While Seeking CAT Relief Was Not Entitled to Habeas Relief
The court affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas relief, finding that the petitioner had not exhausted his administrative remedies to prevent removal, but rather was being detained because his Convention Against Torture (CAT) proceedings remained pending. (G.P. v. Garland, 6/11/24)
CA4 Upholds Denial of Asylum and Related Relief to Salvadoran Petitioners Who Were Abused by Maternal Uncle
The court held that substantial evidence supported the agency’s finding that petitioners had failed to show the requisite nexus between the harm they suffered from their uncle and their membership in a social group consisting of “children of their mother.” (Diaz-Hernandez v. Garland, 6/10/24)
Legal and Policy Experts Discussed Asylum and Border Changes in Virtual Press Briefing
AILA held a virtual press briefing in which AILA ED Ben Johnson was joined by Greg Chen, Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock, and Angela Kelley to discuss the recently issued Interim Final Rule (IFR) and Presidential Proclamation; an audio recording is available.
DHS/DOJ Interim Final Rule on Securing the Border
DHS/DOJ published an interim final rule with a request for comments on a proclamation suspending and limiting the entry of certain noncitizens. Comments are due by 7/8/24. Rule is effective at 12:01 am (ET) on 6/5/24. (89 FR 48710, 6/7/24)
Audio Recording of Press Briefing Held June 6, 2024, Regarding Implementation of Border IFR
Unofficial transcription and audio recording of AILA's press briefing held on June 6, 2024, regarding the implementation of the recent border IFR.
Practice Alert: Changes to Asylum Law under “Securing the Border” and the “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways” Regulations
AILA provides a practice alert after President Biden signed “A Proclamation on Securing the Border,” (Proclamation) and the Administration issued an Interim Final Rule, “Securing the Border” (IFR), jointly (STB), relying in part on the authority in INA 212(f).
Joint Analysis of Biden Border Proclamation
AILA, as well as several other organizations, provide joint analysis of the Biden Border Proclamation, including key takeaways, background information, and summaries of the changes.
Stuck Between Congressional Inaction and Border Realities, President Biden Issues New Proclamation and Rule on Asylum
AILA ED Ben Johnson responded to the Biden Administration’s new proclamation and rule aimed at preventing migrants entering the U.S. between ports of entry from accessing asylum, noting that “the powers of the Executive Branch alone are insufficient to address the challenges at the border.”
ICE Issues Implementation Guidance for Noncitizens Described in the June 3, 2024, Presidential Proclamation
ICE issued implementation guidance for noncitizens described in the June 3, 2024, Presidential Proclamation, Securing the Border, and the Interim Final Rule, Securing the Border, which went into effect on 12:01 am (ET) on June 5, 2024.
Policy Brief: Presidential Authority to Block or Expel Migrants
President Biden is considering restricting the number of migrants who can enter the United States and barring asylum seekers for extended periods. AILA would oppose this policy if it prevents asylum seekers from receiving fair and accurate consideration of their requests for asylum.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Bosnian Muslims Based on Lack of Nexus to Protected Ground
The court upheld BIA finding that petitioners failed to show a nexus between their protected ground and the persecution they suffered, where the BIA found they had been targeted by Serbian criminals not for being Bosniak, but for police informant activities. (Durakovic v. Garland, 5/20/24)
USCIS Shifts Workload for Form I-730 Following-to-Join Refugee Petitions
USCIS announced that effective May 6, 2024, all Forms I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, filed for following to join refugees (FTJ-R) are being processed at the USCIS International Operations Division rather than the Asylum Vetting Center.
IRAP Resource: What We Know About the Biden Administration's Safe Mobility Initiative
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) provides an updated resource for practitioners and advocates with background on the Biden Administration’s Safe Mobility Initiative.
Resources Related to the 2024 Senate Border Negotiations
On May 23, the Senate voted down (43-50) the Border Act, a bill introduced by Senator Murphy (D-CT). The Border Act includes similar immigration provisions as the February bipartisan bill he jointly wrote with Senators Lankford (R-OK) and Sinema (I-AZ).
CA1 Finds BIA Improperly Disregarded Evidence of Changed Country Conditions in Indonesia in Petitioners’ Motion to Reopen
The court held that, in reviewing the motion to reopen of the petitioners based on changed country conditions related to acts of violence directed at Christian Indonesians, the BIA discarded evidence—without considering its merits—on legally unjustifiable bases. (Tulung v. Garland, 5/21/24)
AILA Joins Letter Urging USCIS to Provide a Minimum of 60-Day Comment Period on NPRM on Mandatory Bars in Fear Screening
AILA joins other advocacy organizations in requesting a minimum of 60 days for public comment after DHS proposed a new rule governing fear screenings by asylum officers and establishing an atypical, abbreviated thirty-day comment period.