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 Finds Petitioner Who Supported Alleged Terrorist Organization Is Eligible for Withholding of Removal
The court reversed the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal to the Indonesian petitioner, concluding that substantial evidence did not support its determination that the organization petitioner supported, Jemaah Muslim Attaqwa, engaged in terrorist activities. (Budiono v. Lynch, 9/21/16)
CA3 Says It Has Jurisdiction to Review Petition Where BIA Reissued Decisions and Orders
The court held that because the BIA's reissued decisions and orders did not alter the challenged decisions and orders, it had jurisdiction over the petition to review. On the merits, the court upheld the denial of the petitioners’ asylum applications. (Ordonez-Tevalan v. Att’y Gen., 6/23/16)
White House Fact Sheet on the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees
The White House released a fact sheet on the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees hosted on 9/20/16 in New York by President Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon as well as leaders from Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Jordan, Mexico, and Sweden.
USCIS 60-Day Notice and Comment Request on Revisions to Form I-589
USCIS 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. Comments are due by 11/18/16. (81 FR 64190, 9/19/16)
CRS Report on Syrian Refugee Admissions and Resettlement in the United States
A Congressional Research Service report details the U.S. refugee admissions process and the placement and resettlement of arriving refugees in the United States.
DOS Request for Comments on Affidavit of Relationship for Minors from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
DOS notice of request for emergency OMB approval and public comments on the Affidavit of Relationship for Minors from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras (DS-7699). Comments are due by 9/26/16. (81 FR 63839, 9/16/16)
Solicitor General Apologizes to the Supreme Court, Again
The moral of this blog post is two-fold. First, stranger things have happened, and second, do not believe everything someone tells you because just saying it does not make it so. On August 26, 2016, Acting Solicitor General Ian Heath Gershengorn penned a letter to the Honorable Clerk of the Supreme
CA8 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination Based on Inconsistencies in Petitioner’s Asylum Interview
The court held that the IJ identified, and the BIA adopted, specific, cogent reasons for making an adverse credibility determination as to the petitioner that were supported by substantial evidence. (Chakhov v. Lynch, 9/14/16)
EOIR OPPM 16-01: Filing Applications for Asylum
EOIR OPPM 16-01 from Acting Chief Immigration Judge Michael C. McGoings announcing that effective immediately, applications for asylum may be filed at the window or by mail. They are no longer required to be filed at a master calendar hearing. This applies to all Form I-589s.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal to Guatemalan Brothers
The court upheld the BIA’s finding that petitioners’ family was no different from any other Guatemalan family who has experienced gang violence, and that there was no evidence petitioners’ mistreatment was associated with their membership in a social group. (Cambara-Cambara v. Lynch, 9/13/16)
When Pictures Are Worth More than a Thousand Words
I had heard stories about Border Patrol's mistreatment of immigrants. When I volunteered in Artesia, New Mexico, and Dilley, Texas, the mothers and children there told me what a horrible experience they'd had in Border Patrol custody. Over the years, I'd become familiar with the term hieleras, or ic
AILA Immigration Policy Update – “Catch and Release”
AILA issued an immigration policy update on “catch and release,” an unofficial term for the government practice that ended in 2006, where people apprehended at the border were released from detention while their cases were waiting to be heard before the immigration court.
NSC Liaison Q&As on Refugee and Asylee Issues (9/8/16)
The NSC Liaison Committee’s official Q&As from the 9/8/16 teleconference relating to refugee and asylee issues. Topics include processing times for (c)(8) EADs, common RFEs, obtaining biometrics appointments, and timeframe for the transfer of an I-730 from a USCIS field office to NSC.
Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin (9/7/16)
USCIS’s Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin as of 9/7/16. This Bulletin explains how the Asylum Division has prioritized the adjudication of affirmative applications for asylum.
CA1 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Citizen of Guatemala
The court held that substantial evidence supported BIA’s findings that petitioner failed to establish that any harm he suffered or would likely suffer in the future was serious enough to constitute persecution and related to a statutorily protected ground. (Hernandez-Lima v. Lynch, 9/7/16)
Bring Hope Back to Berks
History is full of places designed to hide people. People like Alexandre Dumas' Man in the Iron Mask, imprisoned on an island in the Mediterranean with his identity concealed. Refugees subject to inhumane treatment by the Australian government on the island of Nauru. And, in the United States, for
CA9 Upholds Regulation Precluding an Individual Subject to a Reinstated Removal Order from Applying for Asylum
The court found that the Attorney General’s regulation at 8 CFR §1208.31(e), which prevents a noncitizen who is subject to a reinstated removal order from applying for asylum, was reasonable, and hence entitled to deference under Chevron. (Perez-Guzman v. Lynch, 8/31/16)
AILA: Trump Immigration Policy Unworkable and Inhumane
AILA expressed deep concern over Donald Trump’s immigration platform which “reflected a lack of understanding of immigration law, a disregard for fundamental rights of due process guaranteed by the Constitution, and a failure to appreciate the valuable contributions that immigrants make.”
Human Rights First Report on Recommendations to Address the Refugee Crisis
This report, published by Human Rights First in advance of two major summits on refugees scheduled for September 2016, “lays out key steps that the United States should take to lead a comprehensive effort to address the global refugee crisis.”
American Immigration Council Special Report: Divided by Detention
The American Immigration Council issued a special report that profiles five asylum-seeking families divided by detention. It provides a preliminary analysis of how this separation occurs, and the impact this separation can have on families’ well-being and ability to access humanitarian protection.
What is Donald Trump’s Position on Immigration?
Why do we ask? And why particularly of Donald Trump and not Hillary Clinton? While the devil is always in the details, it is clear that Secretary Clinton has a more favorable view of immigration and has laid out a fairly clear strategy for how she would reform the current system. But the question
CA9 Finds BIA Erred by Failing to Give Notice and Opportunity to Provide Corroborating Evidence
The court granted the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of asylum, holding that the IJ erred by failing to give the petitioner notice and an opportunity to explain any perceived inconsistencies or provide additional corroborative evidence. (Bhattarai v. Lynch, 8/30/16)
Statement by DOS Secretary Kerry on Syrian Refugee Admissions
DOS Secretary John Kerry issued a statement announcing that the United States has welcomed 10,000 refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria, and noting that President Obama will host the “Leaders’ Summit on Refugees” on 9/20/16.
CA3 Affirms Dismissal of Habeas Petitions of 28 Detained Central American Mothers
The court affirmed the district court’s order dismissing the petitioners’ habeas petitions for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, and found that noncitizens seeking initial admission cannot invoke the U.S. Constitution’s Suspension Clause. (Castro, et al. v. DHS, et al., 8/29/16)
Sign-On Letter to President Obama on Refugees and Asylum Seekers
On 8/29/16, AILA joined a number of national, state, and local organizations and faith communities in urging President Obama to demonstrate global leadership by making bold new commitments to refugee protection at home and abroad, in advance of the September 2016 Leaders’ Summit on Refugees.