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
Sign-on Letter to Stop Streamline Prosecution of Asylum-Seekers
On 7/10/15, AILA joined refugee, faith, and human rights organizations in a sign-on letter to DHS Secretary Johnson and Attorney General Lynch to end prosecution for illegal entry and reentry of individuals seeking asylum in the U.S.
The Global Team Effort that Freed a Mother and Child
Last Wednesday, July 3rd, a client from El Salvador won her merits hearing! I appeared with attorney Melisa Peña from Miami over video conference, while Elora Mukherjee appeared by telephone from Tokyo, Japan and John Bradley appeared, sitting next to the client, from Dilley, TX. Thank you to everyo
USCIS Provides TRIG Statistics from 8/13/15 Meeting
Statistics current as of 7/1/15, provided by USCIS at a TRIG stakeholder meeting held on 8/13/15, including statistics on exemptions granted by category, exemptions denied by type of application, and cases on hold by type of application.
DOJ OIL July 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for July 2015, with articles on Morales-Santana v. Lynch, Morales v. Chadbourne, and DACA, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for July 2015.
Immigration Law Advisor, June 2015 (Vol. 9, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor, a legal publication from EOIR, with an article on looking back and looking forward on gang-related asylum claims, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for May 2015, summaries of recent BIA precedent decisions and a regulatory update.
USCIS Invitation to Quarterly Stakeholder Meeting with Asylum Division
USCIS invitation to the 8/7/15 quarterly stakeholder meeting with the Asylum Division. Participation in this meeting is in-person only. Individuals must RSVP in order to attend. Questions and agenda items are due by 7/17/15.
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
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
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.”
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.
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 [&#
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
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