USCIS and EOIR Joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Bars to Asylum Eligibility

USCIS and EOIR joint notice of proposed rulemaking that would add seven additional mandatory bars to eligibility for asylum. The proposed rule would also set forth criteria for determining whether a vacated, expunged, or modified conviction or sentence should be recognized for purposes of determining whether an individual is eligible for asylum, and would remove the provision at 8 CFR §208.16(e) and §1208.16(e) regarding reconsideration of discretionary denials of asylum. Comments are due 1/21/20. (84 FR 69640, 12/19/19)

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

8 CFR Part 208

RIN 1615–AC41

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Executive Office for Immigration Review

8 CFR Part 1208

[EOIR Docket No. 18–0002; A.G. Order No. 4592–2019]

RIN 1125–AA87

Procedures for Asylum and Bars to Asylum Eligibility

AGENCY: Executive Office for Immigration Review, Department of Justice; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.

ACTION: Joint notice of proposed rulemaking.

The proposed regulation would provide seven additional mandatory bars to eligibility for asylum. The proposed rule would add bars to eligibility for aliens who commit certain offenses in the United States. Those bars would apply to aliens who are convicted of:

1. A felony under federal or state law;
2. An offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A) or § 1324(a)(1)(2) (Alien Smuggling or Harboring);
3. An offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (Illegal Reentry);
4. A federal, state, tribal, or local crime involving criminal street gang activity;
5. Certain federal, state, tribal, or local offenses concerning the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant;
6. A federal, state, tribal, or local domestic violence offense, or who are found by an adjudicator to have engaged in acts of battery or extreme cruelty in a domestic context, even if no conviction resulted; and
7. Certain misdemeanors under federal or state law for offenses related to false identification; the unlawful receipt of public benefits from a federal, state, tribal, or local entity; or the possession or trafficking of a controlled substance or controlled-substance paraphernalia.

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Cite as AILA Doc. No. 19121901.

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