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
A Call to Arms
(With thanks to Sir Winston Churchill) Last week, I spoke with some of our government contacts about the changes that are on the very near horizon here in Dilley. Due, I imagine, to the Congressional visit, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson's announcement, and the Flores litigation, the asylum office will r
Little By Little, We Tear Down the Walls of Family Detention
In June of 2014, the first and most remote Family Detention Center opened in Artesia. The move was a concerted effort by the Administration to deter the influx of mothers and children and unaccompanied minors from Central America fleeing violence, persecution and despair. The Administration's prem
AILA: DHS Plans on Family Detention Are a Step Forward
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis welcomed newly announced DHS plans relating to family detention but said, “more is needed…Asylum seeking families should be given due process, not expedited removal. And the end of the road must be the end of family detention entirely.”
A Look Back to Artesia, and a Look into Karnes: Part 7
As the clock ticked toward mid-June, ICE quietly hinted that the agency would be reviewing the long-term custody status of detained families at Dilley and Karnes, although ICE would not share the criteria that they intended to apply in the review process. Yet in recent conversations with E-, she re
35 Representatives Call for an End to Detention of LGBT Immigrants
A 6/23/15 letter to DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson from 35 members of the House of Representatives, calling on the administration to end to the detention of LGBT immigrants.
AILA: ICE Statement on Family Detention Ignores the Tragic Reality
AILA President Victor Nieblas Pradis responded to a recent statement on family detention from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) saying "In all my 19 years of experience as an immigration attorney, I have never heard a federal agency rewrite history to this extent."
AILA’s Take on Operation Streamline
AILA urges DHS and DOJ to halt the use of Operation Streamline. For years, this program, a federal program that fast tracks federal criminal prosecutions for immigration status offenses, has drawn criticism for engaging in speedy mass prosecutions that deprive individuals of due process.
AILA: Need to End Family Detention Ever More Clear
AILA President Leslie A. Holman responded to news that some kids and moms are being released from detention, noting that “The tragic reality is that more than 2,000 children and mothers remain detained…Freedom for a few, while the nightmare continues for everyone else detained, is not sufficient.”
USCIS Training Module: Definition of Persecution and Eligibility Based on Past Persecution
USCIS provided the RAIO Combined Training Course on the definition of persecution. This module discusses the definition of persecution and the determination as to whether an act constitutes persecution.
Finally Free from Fear
B- and her six-year-old daughter just received a gift of immeasurable value: the gift of safety, of security, of freedom from fear. They had been through torment the likes of which I hope no one ever faces, but they made it through and I was privileged to help them. B- is a survivor of childhood [&#
CA7 Finds IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding Not Supported by Substantial Evidence
The court remanded, holding that because an applicant’s testimony alone may be sufficient to sustain the applicant’s burden without corroboration under INA §208(b)(1)(B)(ii), the IJ’s flawed credibility determination required a reassessment of petitioner’s credibility. (Liu v. Lynch, 6/11/15)
CA9 Amends Angov Opinion; Affirms Reliance on Hearsay Letter in Asylum Claim
The court amended its opinion, affirming the IJ and BIA’s discretionary decision to admit into evidence and rely on a hearsay letter prepared by the State Department for litigation to find that police subpoenas submitted by the asylum petitioner were fraudulent. (Angov v. Holder, 6/8/15)
BIA Says IJs Should Accept as Genuine an Asylum Applicant with Competency Issues’ Fear of Harm
The BIA held that if an asylum applicant has competency issues that affect the reliability of his testimony, the IJ should, as a safeguard, generally accept his fear of harm as subjectively genuine based on the applicant’s perception of events. Matter of J-R-R-A-, 26 I&N Dec. 609 (BIA 2015)
District Court Says Asylum Seeker on Parole May Be U.S. Resident for Venue Statute Purposes
The court denied defendant's motion to transfer for reason of lack of proper venue, holding that the clear language of 28 USC §1406(e)(1) permits a person on parole seeking asylum in the U.S. to be a U.S. resident for purposes of the venue statute. (Quiñones Flores v. USA, 6/11/15)
CA8 Finds Guatemalan Petitioner’s Repeated Physical Abuse Not Persecution
The court held that the BIA was not compelled to find that the physical abuse inflicted on the petitioner by his aunt, cousin, and a group of his cousin’s friends amounted to persecution, either in isolation or cumulatively. (Barillas-Mendez v. Lynch, 6/4/15)
CA6 Says Asylum Applicants Not Entitled to Notice of Necessary Corroborating Evidence
The court held that INA §208(b)(1)(B)(ii) does not require immigration courts to give asylum applicants advance notice regarding the sort of evidence they must produce to prevail in their efforts to remain in the United States. (Gaye v. Lynch, 6/9/15)
BIA Holds Marriage Is Not a Requirement for Domestic Violence Asylum Claims
Unpublished BIA decision holds that Matter of A-R-C-G- does not require applicants seeking asylum based on domestic violence to have been married to their abuser. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of D-M-R-, 6/9/15)
Immigration Law Advisor, May 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 5)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on the Convention Against Torture and third-party abuse, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for April 2015, as well as summaries of recent BIA precedent decisions.
Life or Death Consequences: Part 2
Read Part 1 of this blog post. The story continues… A few days later, I got a desperate email from our local staff: we only had two volunteers lined up for the next week. Worse yet, one lawyer was only available for three days and the other didn't speak Spanish. Continuity was critical: we
AILA Brief in BIA Artesia Case on Border Statements and CFI Q&A’s
AILA amicus brief with the BIA, arguing that the I-867A/B, I-870, and I-899, pertaining to statements made at border interviews and credible fear interviews (CFI), are unreliable, and that DHS must demonstrate their reliability each time one of these documents is used for impeachment purposes.
AILA: 33 Senators Call for an End to Family Detention
AILA President Leslie A. Holman commended 33 senators for their forceful call to end family detention, saying “Nearly three-quarters of the Members of Congress from the President’s own party have now called on the Administration to end this shameful practice. Isn’t it time for him to listen?”
Life or Death Consequences: Part 1
I wasn't going to do it. It was just crazy stupid. We didn't have the resources. The hearing was in 20 hours, and that just wasn't enough time to put a case together. And yet, knowing that there were life or death consequences, how could I tell the young mother and little boy sitting in […]
DOJ OIL June 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for June 2015, with articles on Kerry v. Din and Mata v. Lynch, as well as a discussion of H-1B fraud prosecution and summaries of circuit court decisions for June 2015.
CA3 Finds There Is No Duress Exception to the Material Support Bar
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s asylum application, finding that voluntary as well as involuntary material support, even when provided under threat of death, bars an immigrant from receiving asylum or withholding of removal. Amended on 6/1/15. (Sesay v. Att’y Gen., 5/26/15)
BIA Says Predictive Findings of What May Occur in the Future Are Findings of Fact
The BIA held that an IJ’s predictive findings of what may occur in the future are subject to a clearly erroneous standard of review, but whether an applicant has established an objectively reasonable fear of persecution is reviewed de novo. Matter of Z-Z-O-, 26 I&N Dec. 586 (BIA 2015)