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
The World is Watching
By now, it is no longer a surprise to learn that many immigration lawyers, and the clients they serve, live in certain “hostile jurisdictions,“ where it is almost impossible to win an asylum case no matter the facts. In places like Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, people seekin
AILA Comments on USCIS Proposed Changes to Form I-589
AILA comments in response to USCIS’s proposed changes to Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, published in the Federal Register on 9/19/16.
AILA EOIR Stakeholder Meeting Minutes (11/17/16)
Unofficial minutes from the 11/17/16 EOIR stakeholder meeting. Topics include staffing and docket information, consistency in following the Immigration Court Practice Manual, use of technology in the courtroom, priority dockets, and increased security measures.
Where Does Family Detention Stand Now?
During the contentious presidential campaign, Hillary Clinton's immigration platform included a promise to end the detention of immigrant families, while President-elect Donald Trump has never specifically addressed the issue of family detention at all. Instead, Trump's website broadly states that a
CA5 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial to Petitioner Who Feared Persecution in Mexico for Perceived Wealth
The court held that persons believed to be wealthy because they are returning to their home country from the United States do not constitute a sufficiently particular social group to support an application for withholding of removal. (Gonzalez-Soto v. Lynch, 11/14/16)
GAO Report Finding Variation Exists in Outcomes of Asylum Applications
The GAO found that variation exists in outcomes of asylum applications across Immigration Courts and judges and recommends that EOIR develop and implement a system of performance measures. Report found that certain case and judge-related factors are associated with the variation.
AILA Comments on DHS's Retrospective Review of Existing Regulations
AILA provides comments in response to the request for information on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) retrospective review of existing regulations pursuant to Executive Order 13563, “Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review,” issued by the President on January 18, 2011.
USCIS Statistics with Credible and Reasonable Fear Nationality Reports for FY2016
USCIS provides statistics on the top five nationalities for credible fear and reasonable fear interviews for FY2016.
USCIS Statistics on the Credible Fear Workload For FY2016
USCIS provides a credible fear report for FY2016, including a summary and the inland and port of entry caseloads. Each report is broken down by month, as well as by office, and includes the number of cases receipted, interviews conducted, and whether or not fear was established and case closings.
USCIS Statistics on the Reasonable Fear Workload For FY2016
USCIS provides a reasonable fear report for FY2016. Each report is broken down by month, as well as by office, and includes the number of cases receipted, interviews conducted, and whether or not fear was established and case closings.
CA3 Says 18 USC §16(b)’s Definition of “Crime of Violence” Is Unconstitutionally Vague
Applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. United States, the court held that the definition of a “crime of violence” provided in 18 USC §16(b) is void for vagueness under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. (Baptiste v. Att'y Gen., 11/8/16)
Don’t Cry, Mommy
After going through security, placing my phone in the locker outside the facility, and relinquishing my driver's license in exchange for a one-day entry badge, I entered the trailer excited and anxious. As a business immigration attorney, though I was outside my comfort zone, I was ready for a new a
Amicus Brief Filed By AILA, NIJC, JFON, and The Advocates for Human Rights Concerning Duress Exception to the Persecutor Bar
AILA joined the NIJC, JFON, and The Advocates for Human Rights in an amicus brief suggesting a more flexible analysis for the duress exception, taking into account the complex realities of asylum claims.
Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin (11/3/16)
USCIS’s Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin as of 11/3/16. This Bulletin explains how the Asylum Division has prioritized the adjudication of affirmative applications for asylum.
CA8 Finds Petitioner Admitted as Refugee Not Entitled to Presumption of Well-Founded Fear of Persecution
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s CAT claim, holding that the Haitian petitioner, who was originally admitted as a refugee, was not entitled to the presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution upon his return to Haiti. (Martine v. Lynch, 11/2/16)
BIA Holds that Respondent Not Barred by One-Year Asylum Deadline
Unpublished BIA decision holding that where the respondent filed for asylum at the earliest opportunity at her initial master calendar hearing, but outside of the one-year deadline, she was not barred from seeking asylum. Courtesy of Lindsay Harris. (Matter of –, 11/1/16)
DHS Annual Flow Report on Refugees and Asylees
DHS provides an Annual Flow Report that presents information and statistics on persons admitted to the United States as refugees or granted asylum in the United States in 2015.
AILA/USCIS HQ Meeting Questions and Answers (11/1/16)
Official questions and answers from the 11/1/16 AILA liaison meeting with USCIS HQ. Topics include processing times, deferred action, EADs for individuals under OSUP, I-140 date of degrees, signature requirements, G-28 recognition, STEM OPT extensions, refugee and asylum issues, and more.
BIA Grants Exception to One-Year Deadline Based on Timing of Initial Master Calendar Hearing
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent qualified for extraordinary circumstances exception due to hearing timing and that the proposed particular social group of "Salvadoran women unable to leave a domestic relationship" is cognizable. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-V-C-, 11/1/16)
Sign-On Letter to DHS Secretary Johnson Condemning the Escalating Detention Rates
On 10/31/16, AILA joined 230 organizations in condemning DHS’ record-level immigration detention rates, as well as ICE contract renewal with a private prison company for a family detention center. The group requested a meeting with DHS Secretary Johnson to discuss these concerns and recommendations.
Profiting Off Trauma
Last year, I spent a week as a volunteer attorney with the CARA Project at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, which is run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Although the government calls it a “residential center,“ it is, of course, a prison that detains
When Will They Listen?
Family detention is wrong. The mass incarceration and detention of asylum seekers is wrong. The detention of immigrants who are not flight risks and pose no danger to community or national safety is wrong. It's not just me saying it, or just AILA saying it, or even churches, community groups, NGOs,
CA3 Remands Bulgarian Roma Asylum Claim, Holding That the Agency Proceedings Went “Awry”
In a nonprecedent decision, the court found that the entire administrative proceedings went “awry” where the BIA demanded the asylum applicant produce an expert witness to establish his Roma ethnicity or face a denial of the claim. Courtesy of Raymond Lahoud. (Ayvazov v. Att’y Gen., 10/27/16)
CA4 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Chinese Petitioner Who Attended “Underground” Catholic Church
The court concluded that petitioner failed to establish a well-founded fear of persecution, finding that the accounts in the DOS reports he submitted substantially supported BIA’s finding of a lack of widespread persecution of unregistered Catholic churches in China. (Tang v. Lynch, 10/26/16)
Immigration Policy Update: Major Shift in Migration to America’s Southern Border
AILA issued an immigration policy update to provide information on ICE’s enforcement data that reflects a decreased of apprehensions in FY2016, roughly one-third of what they were 15 years ago, as well as context on the major factors that contribute to the shift.