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
“I’m afraid to ask them for any medicine.”
I asked Guadalupe* what she meant by that - she had been on medication for anxiety and depression in her home country of Mexico. She was afraid to tell the medical staff when she got to the South Texas Family Detention Center that she took medication, because she thought it would make her look weak
CA2 Says Jurisdictional Limits Apply in Denial of CAT Deferral of Removal
The court held it lacked jurisdiction to hear petitioner's CAT claim, finding that when an otherwise removable petitioner seeks review of his CAT claim, the court's review is limited to questions of law and constitutional claims. (Ortiz-Franco v. Holder, 4/1/15)
DOS Posts Notice of Public Comments on FY2016 U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
DOS notice of public comments on the FY2016 U.S. Refugee Admissions program. Comments can be submitted on the size and scope of the program. Comments are due by 5/14/15. (80 FR 17541, 4/1/15)
DOJ OIL April 2015 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ OIL Immigration Litigation Bulletin for April 2015, with an article on the vacatur of Matter of Silva-Trevino and on Ortiz-Franco v. Holder, as well as summaries of circuit court decisions for April 2015 and updates from DHS.
An Impossible Amount, an Impossible Burden
As a volunteer attorney at the Dilley, Texas, family detention center, I've seen many children and their mothers come to me for help, seeking a way to gain asylum in the U.S. and finally have a safe place to raise their children, free from fear. One such example is an indigenous woman from Guatemala
BIA Finds Group of Bandits Not a Tier III Terrorist Organization
Unpublished BIA decision finds group of bandits to whom respondent provided domestic services was not a Tier III terrorist organization, because they were motivated by personal monetary gain. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of J-F-L-K-, 3/31/15)
USCIS Provides TRIG Statistics from 5/21/15 Meeting
Statistics current as of 3/31/15, provided by USCIS at a TRIG stakeholder meeting held on 5/21/15, including statistics on exemptions granted by category, exemptions denied by type of application, and cases on hold by type of application.
Immigrants’ Rights Groups Announce Plans to Provide Pro Bono Legal Services to Children and Their Mothers Detained in Texas
AILA joins CLINIC, the American Immigration Council, and RAICES in a new collective project known as CARA to provide legal services to children and their mothers detained in Karnes City and Dilley, Texas, and to advocate for the end of family detention.
USCIS Asylum Statistics from Family Detention Facilities for FY2015, Second Quarter
USCIS Asylum Division statistics on credible and reasonable fear interviews conducted in family detention facilities: Artesia, Berks, Dilley, and Karnes, from the second quarter of FY2015.
CA9 Reverses Denial of CAT Relief Based on Internal Relocation Regulations
The en banc court held that neither petitioner nor government bear the burden of proof as to internal relocation, rather such evidence, if relevant, must be considered in assessing whether it is more likely than not that petitioner would be tortured if removed. (Maldonado v. Holder, 3/27/15)
CA3 Upholds Finding That Sexual Orientation Was Not Central to Persecution
The court denied withholding of removal to a gay Honduran national who feared torture and death by an infamous gang, ruling that the gang was interested in petitioner’s money and recruitment potential and not in harming him because of his homosexuality. (Gonzalez-Posadas v. Holder, 3/26/15)
A Silent Crisis: Children Experiencing Trauma in Family Detention
During my week as a volunteer attorney in San Antonio, I visited with a mother and child at the Karnes family detention center who had been transferred from the Artesia detention center when it closed. The mother and her young son had already been detained for seven months, and I was helping to pr
Practice Pointer: Making Sense of Recent TRIG Exemptions
AILA practice pointer on recent TRIG exemptions, including situational exemptions and group exemptions. Special thanks to Cheri Attix and the AILA Asylum and Refugee Liaison Committee.
FOIA Results from Request Regarding Stewart Immigration Court
FOIA results from a request for information regarding the Stewart Immigration Court in Lumpkin, Georgia. Special thanks to the South Florida AILA Chapter.
A Promise Unfulfilled
Last November, President Obama promised reforms to immigration enforcement that focus on actual threats to public safety while keeping immigrant families together. He evoked a more humane enforcement system where resources are not spent jailing vulnerable individuals. One of his November reforms ex
National Sign-On Letter Calling on the President to End Family Detention
A 3/17/15 national sign-on letter calling on President Obama to revisit family detention in light of federal district court injunction against detaining to deter and strong new evidence that detained mothers and children are asylum seekers.
USCIS Memo on Adjudication of Special Rule Cancellation Requests within Eighth and Ninth Circuits
USCIS memo stating that for applications for special rule cancellation under NACARA adjudicated in the Eighth/Ninth circuits, asylum officers must calculate the 7-year continuous physical presence and good moral character period from the filing date the Form I-881, not the date of the adjudication.
EOIR Releases Asylum Statistics for FY2010 Through FY2014
EOIR asylum statistics for FY2010 through FY2014, including information broken down by status of case and by nationality.
USCIS Memo on Discretionary Exemptions to TRIG Relating to Kurdistan
USCIS policy memo with updated processing requirements for discretionary exemptions to terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG) for activities and associations related to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
Can a Surge Protector Generate a Spark?
My three Case Western Reserve University School of Law students and I are part of an Ohio and New York volunteer legal team at Dilley, Texas (see photo). I had been to Artesia, and volunteered there, but while there are similarities between the two facilities, there are also differences. The biggest
CA8 Upholds Withholding of Removal Denial for Guatemalan Petitioner
In an unpublished decision, the court upheld the BIA determination that the petitioner failed to establish a clear probability that his life or freedom would be threatened in Guatemala because of his membership in a particular social group. (Romero-Romero v. Holder, 3/11/15)
BIA Holds Respondent in Withholding Only Proceedings May Be Released from Custody
Unpublished BIA decision orders further consideration of request for custody determination by mother in withholding only proceedings denied by IJ solely to avoid separation from son who was also in custody. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-R-N-, 3/10/15)
AILA Notes from SCOPS Teleconference (3/4/15)
AILA notes from a teleconference with SCOPS on 3/4/15. Topics include processing times, family unity applications and extensions, EADs pending over 90 days, new Form G-28, I-485 receipt notice language, green card production for consular processing cases, I-129s, and defensive asylum applications.
Hope and Disappointment in Dilley
I spent last week at the detention center in Dilley, Texas, volunteering to help mothers and children detained there. Having previously experienced the harsh conditions at the facility in Artesia, I was immediately struck by the visible differences here in Dilley. Any former Artesia volunteer will d
CA10 Says Young Males Recruited by Gangs in El Salvador Not a PSG
The court held that young El Salvadoran males threatened and actively recruited by gangs, who resist because they oppose the gangs, is not a particular social group (PSG), and that petitioner did not prove he was persecuted due to any membership in a PSG. (Rodas-Orellana v. Holder, 3/2/15)