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
CBP Releases Memo and Muster on I-94 Automation for Refugee Processing
CBP released a memo and muster noting that effective September 7, 2015, CBP officers are no longer required to complete a paper I-94 as part of the initial refugee admission process.
CA9 Reverses BIA’s Denial of CAT Deferral for Transgender Woman from Mexico
The court granted in part the petition for review, holding that the BIA erred in denying CAT relief for the petitioner, a Mexican transgender woman, because it failed to recognize the difference between gender identity and sexual orientation. (Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, 9/3/15)
Compilation of Family Detention Case Examples
Compilation of case examples of mothers and children from the Artesia family detention center who have been granted asylum.
BIA Grants FGM Asylum Claim for Woman From Mali
Unpublished BIA decision reverses denial of FGM-based asylum application for respondent from Mali upon finding the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was clearly erroneous. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of R-D-D-K-, 9/1/15)
DOJ OIL September 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for September 2015, with articles on Avendano-Hernandez v. Lynch, Morales-Santana v. Lynch, and TPS for Yemeni nationals, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for September 2015.
BIA Grants Motion to Reconsider Denial of Asylum Application
Unpublished BIA decision reconsiders prior denial of asylum application upon finding IJ erred in finding respondents’ witnesses not credible and in requiring respondent to provide corroborating evidence from former supervisor in China. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-L-, 8/31/15)
SSA Releases Updated POM on Alien Evidence for an SSN
SSA released RM 10211 TN 26 on alien evidence for an SSN, stating that beginning 9/1/15 the CBP I-94 website printout and the DOS transportation boarding letter with the refugee admission stamp is acceptable evidence of refugee status for a Social Security number card.
CA9 Upholds CAT Denial of Petitioner with Non-Gang Tattoos
The court upheld the BIAs’ denial of petitioner's CAT application, holding that the evidence did not compel the conclusion that petitioner established it was more likely than not that he would be tortured in El Salvador due to his decorative, non-gang tattoos. (Andrade v. Lynch, 8/27/15)
BIA Remands for Consideration of Administrative Closure Motion
Unpublished BIA decision finds that IJ's failure to consider a Motion to Administratively Close proceedings was error, and that IJ’s decision to allow DHS's sizable exhibit to be presented at the merits hearing without giving counsel sufficient time to review was unfair. Courtesy of Carlos Spector.
BIA Rules on Controlling Filing Date for INA §208(b)(1)(B)(iii) Purposes
The BIA held that where an applicant’s initial asylum application was filed before May 11, 2005, and a subsequent one was submitted on or after that date, the filing date of the later application controls if it is properly viewed as a new one. Matter of M-A-F-, 26 I&N Dec. 651 (BIA 2015)
CA7 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination of Cameroonian Petitioner
The court upheld BIA's denial of petitioner's asylum application, finding that petitioner neither demonstrated that IJ’s adverse credibility determination was erroneous nor produced any evidence sufficient to corroborate his account of mistreatment in Cameroon. (Tawou v. Lynch, 8/20/15)
Witness to Inhumanity
Paralegal Laura Tovar recently volunteered in Dilley and Karnes with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project. The experience changed her life and she wanted to share what she learned: What did you see and how did it make you feel? They all had the same look, eyes sunken with dark rings, hungry, a
IJ Grants Asylum to Bangladeshi Member of BNP
The IJ granted the asylum application of a Bangladeshi national who was a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and who suffered persecution by the current ruling party, the Awami League. The IJ specifically found that the BNP is not a terrorist organization. Courtesy of Paul Scott.
NSC Liaison Q&As on Refugees and Asylum Issues (8/13/15)
The NSC Liaison Committee’s unofficial Q&As from the 8/13/15 teleconference on refugee and asylee issues, and other issues with NSC. Topics include: document production, same-sex common law marriage, I-589s, and I-730s.
CA6 Remands for Reconsideration and Clarification of Frivolousness Finding
The court held that the current record did not support BIA and IJ’s frivolousness finding, because IJ failed to determine whether misrepresentations made by the Chaldean Christian Iraqi petitioner were material to his asylum application at the time they were made. (Yousif v. Lynch, 8/7/15)
DOJ’S Shameful Attempt to Pretty Up Family Detention Comes Up Woefully Short
The American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Council are outraged by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) response to U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee’s ruling on the mass incarceration of children and mothers seeking asylum in the U.S.
Affirmative Asylum Scheduling Bulletin (8/7/15)
As of 8/7/15, USCIS’s Asylum Division began posting an affirmative asylum scheduling bulletin, which will be updated monthly.
USCIS Asylum Division Stakeholder Meeting Agenda and Unofficial Notes (8/7/15)
Agenda and unofficial notes from the 8/7/15 USCIS Asylum Division Quarterly stakeholder meeting. Topics include Asylum Division updates, statistics, the affirmative asylum application backlog, one-year filing deadline, and the asylum clock.
CA1 Upholds Determination That Attack on Petitioner Was Not Persecution
The court held that the generalized evidence, including news articles and country conditions reports, submitted by the Honduran petitioner, who escaped an attack by armed assailants, was not sufficient to compel a finding of a well-founded fear of persecution. (Villafranca v. Lynch, 8/5/15)
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination Due to Prior Inconsistent Statements
Based on substantial evidence, including petitioner's prior inconsistent statements, the court upheld the IJ and BIA's adverse credibility finding and the resulting denial of petitioner's withholding of removal and CAT claims. (Cuatzo v. Lynch, 8/5/15)
BIA Holds IJs Must Notify Applicants of Biometrics Requirement and Deadline
BIA held that IJs must notify asylum applicants of biometrics requirements, deadline, and noncompliance consequences, and that IJs and BIA lack jurisdiction to consider if asylum-only proceedings were improvidently begun under a VWP referral. Matter of D-M-C-P-, 26 I&N Dec. 644 (BIA 2015)
Recognition of Some Amazing Volunteer Work
There are hundreds of individuals who have come together on the ground to work on family detention - in Artesia, in Karnes, in Dilley, and in Berks. There are people from every far-flung corner of our nation who have worked remotely on case after case, brought attention to this tragic and inhumane i
CA9 Holds “Mixed” BIA Decision Is Not a Final Order of Removal
The en banc court held that when BIA issues a decision that denies some claims, but remands others to IJ, BIA's decision is not a final removal order with regard to any of the claims, and does not trigger the 30-day window in which to file a petition for review. (Abdisalan v. Holder, 1/6/15)
DOJ OIL August 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for August 2015, with articles on Garcia v. Lynch and Thomas v. Lynch, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for August 2015.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for April 2015 – June 2015
USCIS asylum offices’ workload, broken down by office, stage of the asylum case and nationality to applicants, for April 2015 through June 2015.