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
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Detecting Possible Victims of Trafficking
USCIS provided its RAIO Combined Training Course on detecting possible victims of trafficking. Issues addressed include indicators that may demonstrate an individual is a victim, specific assistance and benefits available to victims, as well as guidelines for sensitive interview techniques.
USCIS Memo on Revised Instruction on the Rejection of Form I-589 Submissions
USCIS memo, from John Lafferty, Chief of the Asylum Division, requests that contract personnel at Service Center Operations be instructed to accept an I-589 filing if it has the original and only one copy of the application with supporting evidence at the time of filing.
USCIS Provides RAIO Training Course on Note-Taking During Asylum Interviews
USCIS provided the RAIO training course on the importance of taking clear and comprehensive notes during the interview, the characteristics of proper notes, and procedures for proper note-taking.
RAIO Combined Training Course: Interviewing - Eliciting Testimony
This training module instructs students on how to elicit information from an interviewee in a non-adversarial manner.
RAIO Combined Training Course: Interviewing Survivors of Torture and Other Severe Trauma
This lesson focuses primarily on the effects of torture and severe trauma and how these effects can affect the interview process.
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Interviewing – Working with an Interpreter
USCIS released its Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations (RAIO) Directorate officer training course on “Interviewing – Working with an Interpreter.” The module describes the role and responsibilities of an interpreter, and how officers can communicate effectively through an interpreter.
ORR Letter Regarding the Resettlement of Syrian Refugees
ORR released Dear Colleague Letter 16-02, stating that “States may not deny ORR-funded benefits and services to refugees based on a refugee’s country of origin or religious affiliation. Accordingly, states may not categorically deny ORR funded benefits and services to Syrian refugees.”
CA4 Remands Asylum Claim of Former Gang Member
The court held that the BIA failed to adequately address the record evidence in making its determination that the petitioner's proposed social groups were not cognizable under the INA, and remanded for proper consideration of this issue (Oliva v. Lynch, 11/25/15)
USRAP Refugee Processing Flow Chart
The United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) provides a flow chart on how refugees are processes and admitted into the U.S.
DOS Myths and Facts about Syrian Refugees
DOS provides a fact sheet on myths and facts about resettling Syrian refugees, including background on the myth that it is impossible to thoroughly vet Syrians, given the ongoing conflict.
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Discretion
USCIS provided its RAIO Combined Training Course on discretion. This module provides guidelines for adjudicating immigration benefits or requests that are subject to DHS's discretion. The module addresses the basis for determining when discretion is warranted and for performing legal analysis.
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Decision Making
USCIS provided the RAIO Combined Training Course on decision making. This module describes the general factual, legal, and analytical considerations involved in constructing legally sufficient decisions.
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Researching and Using Country of Origin Information in RAIO Adjudications
This RAIO Combined Training Course module provides guidelines on the use of Country of Origin Information in adjudicating immigration benefits, petitions, protection determinations, and other immigration-related requests.
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Cross-Cultural Communication
USCIS provided the RAIO Combined Training Course on cross-cultural communication and other factors that may impede communication at an interview.
Beirut and Paris, What Can We Do?
The recent events in Beirut, Baghdad and Paris have brought feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, and helplessness. While these feelings in the coming weeks may subside and take a backseat to the holiday season, they will not entirely go away. And, they shouldn't. The thought that there has to be
Statement by Secretary Johnson on the Safety and Security of the Homeland
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a statement on the actions DHS is taking to secure the United States, and the ways in which DHS believes that Congress could provide help, including by passing legislation to assist in DHS’s security enhancements to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
USCIS Message on Refugee Form I-94 Automation
USCIS message that employers should be aware that CBP has automated Form I-94 processing for refugees. The stamped paper form will no longer be provided to a refugee upon arrival, except in limited circumstances. A refugee can obtain a copy of their I-94 from the Get I-94 Information website.
CA1 Upholds BIA's Denial of Guatemalan Petitioner's Motion to Removal Proceedings
The court held that BIA did not abuse its discretion in declining to reopen the Guatemalan petitioner's removal proceedings, finding the motion was untimely, and petitioner had not made a showing of changed country conditions sufficient to warrant reopening. (Mejía-Ramaja v. Lynch, 11/20/15)
Scapegoating Refugees is Not the Solution
Somewhere in the deepest recesses of my mind, I live in constant fear. Many of us do. It's a natural reaction. Every day we step outside we are exposing ourselves to those things we fear. I fear a texting driver may hit my car. I fear a person with a gun could shoot up a […]
CRS Report on Syrian Refugee Admissions and Resettlement in the U.S.
A Congressional Research Service report on Syrian refugee admissions and resettlement in the U.S., including information on refugee ceiling and regional allocations, the refugee admissions process, and refugee resettlement. Between FY2011 and 10/31/15, the U.S. admitted 2,070 Syrian refugees.
Letter to President Obama from Former DHS Secretaries on the Refugee Resettlement Program
On 11/19/15, former DHS Secretaries Janet Napolitano and Michael Chertoff sent a letter to the President expressing that the current vetting process for resettlement admits the most vulnerable refugees with the highest level of scrutiny from a law enforcement and national security perspective.
CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum to HIV-Positive Citizen of Mexico
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA's denial of the claims for asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT relief of the petitioner, a citizen of Mexico who had sought relief based on his sexual orientation and HIV-positive status. (Bringas-Rodriguez v. Lynch, 11/19/15)
AILA Quicktake #148: Syrian Refugee Response
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis shares the latest on the response to the Syrian refugee crisis and what AILA members can do to encourage lawmakers to welcome refugees.
AILA Urges Senators to Oppose Suspending or Restricting Refugee Programs
AILA’s statement submitted to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for a hearing on 11/19/15 titled “The Impact of ISIS on the Homeland and Refugee Resettlement.”
AILA’s Take on Protecting Syrian Refugees
This AILA backgrounder provides information on the refugee screening process, a historical snapshot of refugees that have been permitted to resettle in the U.S., as well as recommendations for Congress.