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
CA1 Reverses Adverse Credibility Determination Based on Purported Record Omissions
The court vacated BIA's order denying petitioner’s asylum claim and remanded for reconsideration of the credibility determination, finding that purported omissions upon which the IJ based an adverse credibility determination were consistently present in the record. (Mboowa v. Lynch, 7/21/15)
CA5 Says Immigrants Whose Removal Orders Have Been Reinstated Are Not Eligible for Asylum
The court held that INA §241(a)(5)'s plain language, relevant regulations, and analogous case law compel the conclusion that immigrants whose removal orders are reinstated following illegal re-entry into the United States may not apply for asylum. (Ramirez-Mejia v. Lynch, 7/21/15)
CA8 Rejects Due Process Claims and Upholds Denial of Asylum for Bosnian Petitioners
The court upheld the BIA's denial of asylum, finding that the BIA’s rejection of the Bosnian petitioners' due process claims was supported by substantial evidence, and that the petitioners were accorded due process. (Nanic v. Lynch, 7/20/15)
Preconceived Notions Shattered by Dilley
Recently, Rochelle G. volunteered at the Dilley facility where nearly 2,000 mothers and children are incarcerated despite their status as asylum-seekers. Brian Hoffman, lead attorney for the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project which brings volunteers from all over the nation to help in this remot
Release of Refugee Families is Long-Overdue Step
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the American Immigration Council welcome plans announced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the release of some mothers and children detained after seeking refuge at our borders with the following statement.
Practice Alert: What To Do When the Social Security Office Refuses to Issue a SSN to an Asylum Applicant Who Lacks Identification
Practice pointer providing best practices and tips for effectively resolving issues arising when a social security office refuses to give a social security number to an asylum applicant who does not possess identification. Special thanks to the AILA Asylum and Refugee Liaison Committee.
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
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.
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.
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
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)