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
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Honduran Petitioner Threatened by Former Leader of Land Cooperative
The court upheld the agency’s denial of asylum and withholding of removal, finding that the petitioner, who was threatened by a former leader of a Honduran land cooperative, failed to show that Honduran authorities were unable or unwilling to protect her. (Martinez-Martinez v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
USCIS Policy Alert (PA 2025-18) on H.R.-1 and Submission of Fees
USCIS updated guidance in its Policy Manual to address fees not eligible for fee waivers in accordance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.-1) and applicable dates for determining the fees and filing deadlines for benefit requests. The guidance is effective 7/22/25. Feedback is due 9/22/25.
BIA Holds That Lack of Corroboration May Be Independent Basis to Deny Asylum or Withholding
The BIA held that a respondent’s nonresponsive and evasive testimony supports an adverse credibility determination, and that lack of corroboration may be an independent basis to find respondent has not shown eligibility for asylum or withholding. Matter of G–C–I–, 29 I&N Dec. 176 (BIA 2025)
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Venezuelan Opposition Member Shot and Threatened by Paramilitary Group
The court found that the petitioner, who feared persecution by a paramilitary group in Venezuela, failed to establish past persecution from death threats and a gunshot wound or demonstrate a well-founded, objectively reasonable fear of future persecution. (Montiel Rubio v. Bondi, 8/13/25)
CA3 Finds Mexican Petitioner’s Asylum Claim Was Unexhausted and Upholds BIA’s Denial of Cancellation
The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in finding petitioner waived his challenges to the denial of asylum and related relief, upheld the BIA’s denial of cancellation of removal, and held that the BIA properly rejected his due process claim. (Sanchez v. Att’y Gen., 8/15/25)
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Salvadoran Petitioner Based on Lack of Nexus
The court upheld the agency’s conclusion that petitioner had not been persecuted on the basis of membership in her immediate family, and found there was a lack of nexus between the home invasion she experienced and her status as a single Salvadoran woman. (Rivas de Nolasco v. Bondi, 8/14/25)
DOS Announces Signing of a Safe Third Country Agreement with Paraguay
DOS Secretary announced that the U.S. and Paraguay signed a Safe Third Country Agreement, which would allow the U.S. to send some asylum seekers currently in the United States to Paraguay to pursue their protection claims.
Sample: Habeas Corpus Petition Challenging Detention of Afghan Asylum Seeker
This petition for a writ of habeas corpus is filed for an Afghan man re-detained by ICE after appearing for an immigration hearing while pursuing asylum. It seeks to stop his transfer, challenge the detention, and secure his release. (Petition, Habeas Corpus, Other Pleading)
Sample: Habeas Corpus Petition Challenging Detention of Salvadoran Asylum Seeker
This petition for a writ of habeas corpus is filed for a Salvadoran man re-detained by ICE and placed in expedited removal while pursuing asylum. It seeks to stop his transfer, challenge the removal, and secure his release. (Petition, Habeas Corpus, Other Pleading)
Sample: Habeas Corpus Petition Challenging Detention of Brazilian Asylum Seeker
This petition for a writ of habeas corpus is filed for a Brazilian man re-detained by ICE and placed in expedited removal while pursuing asylum. It seeks to stop his transfer, challenge the removal, and secure his release. (Petition, Habeas Corpus, Other Pleading)
CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Nicaraguan Petitioner Who Supported Anti-Government Protests
The court held that substantial evidence supported BIA’s finding that petitioner, who feared state-sponsored retribution in Nicaragua for supporting anti-Sandinista protesters, failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution or likelihood of torture. (Rivas-Jarquin v. Bondi, 8/11/25)
CA2 Holds That INA §209(b) Allows Only Noncitizens with Current Asylum Status to Adjust to LPR status
The court held that the plain text of INA §209(b) allows only noncitizens with current asylum status to adjust to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, and concluded that petitioners could not adjust to LPR status because their asylum status had been terminated. (Wassily v. Bondi, 8/7/25)
CA7 Affirms CAT Denial as to Jamaican Petitioner Who Suffered from Severe Mental Illness
The court concluded that the BIA correctly held that the Jamaican petitioner, who suffered from severe mental illness, failed to establish specific intent to torture, and thus upheld the BIA’s denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Fiddler v. Bondi, 8/7/25)
CA4 Vacates BIA’s Conclusory Judgment That Salvadoran Petitioner’s PSG Was Circular
The court held that the BIA erred in rejecting the petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG)—“El Salvadoran women who are continually sexually abused and tortured by gang members…”—without conducting a fact-based, case-specific analysis. (Hernandez Guardado v. Bondi, 8/5/25)
CA10 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Upholding IJ’s 15-Day Asylum Filing Deadline and Denial of Continuance
The court held that the BIA properly upheld the IJ’s imposition of a 15-day asylum filing deadline and denial of a continuance, found that the BIA did not deprive the petitioner of his right to counsel, and concluded that petitioner’s motion to reopen was moot. (Chavez-Govea v. Bondi, 8/5/25)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Withholding and CAT Relief to Petitioner Who Feared Cartel Violence in Mexico
The court held that the record did not compel a conclusion that the petitioner, who feared for his life in Mexico due to cartel violence, proved that he was eligible for withholding of removal under the INA or protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (P. A.-V. v. Bondi, 8/4/25)
USCIS Policy Alert on Refugee and Asylee Adjustment of Status Interview Criteria
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to provide clarification on the interview criteria for asylees or refugees who are applying for adjustment of status, effective 8/1/25. Feeback is due 9/1/25.
CA4 Upholds BIA’s Reversal of CAT Relief Based on Adverse Credibility and Insufficient Likelihood of Torture
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the IJ committed clear error in finding that petitioner demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of torture to be eligible for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT). (Colorado Navarro v. Bondi, 7/31/25)
CA9 Holds That BIA Erred in Finding Romanian Petitioners’ Harm Did Not Cumulatively Rise to Level of Past Persecution
The court found that the record compelled the conclusion that the petitioners’ past experiences collectively rose to the level of persecution, and that the BIA erred when it determined that the Roma ethnicity is not a disfavored group in Romania. (Lapadat v. Bondi, 2/12/25, amended 7/31/25)
CA3 Holds That It Lacks Jurisdiction over “Extraordinary Circumstances” Inquiry as to Untimely Filed Asylum Applications
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s determination that the petitioner failed to show extraordinary circumstances under INA §208(a)(2)(D) sufficient to excuse the late filing of his asylum application. (Real v. Att’y Gen., 7/30/25)
Client Flyer: New Immigration Fees Authorized by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”
AILA provides a flyer to inform your clients of the new immigration fees authorized by H.R.1 (the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act"). The flyer is available as a generic PDF version as well as a Word version you can customize with your firm's information. Please share.
Practice Pointer: Next Steps After USCIS Dismisses an Affirmative I-589 Due to an Alleged Prior Expedited Removal Order
AILA members report that USCIS is dismissing properly filed affirmative asylum applications based on alleged prior expedited removal (ER) orders. Based on these examples, it appears Homeland Security neither issued ER orders nor placed many of them into ER proceedings.
Think Immigration: DC Court Holds Firm Against Trump Attempt to Use 212(f) to End Asylum at Border
In this blog post, Miroslava Becerra Garcia and Amy Grenier dig in to the recent ruling in RAICES v. Noem in the D.C. District Court which found that the Administration did not have the right to suspend the entry of noncitizens at the U.S. Border which would have prevented claims of asylum.
FOIA Litigation on Suspension of I-485 Processing for Asylees and Refugees
The Council and AILA sued DHS and USCIS to obtain records about the suspension of green card processing for asylees and refugees. On 7/28/25, USCIS produced an email announcing the “temporary pause” and an email lifting it. (American Immigration Council and AILA v. DHS and USCIS, 7/28/25)
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Guatemalan Petitioner Targeted by Robberies While Traveling to School
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that petitioner failed to establish a nexus between the five robberies he suffered while traveling to school in Guatemala and either of his proposed particular social groups (PSGs). (Cano-Gutierrez v. Bondi, 7/24/25)