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
CA11 Denies Witholding to Petitioner Fleeing Drug Violence in Mexico
The court upheld the IJ’s and BIA’s decisions, finding Petitioner did not establish a nexus between membership in a particular social group and the harm, and he did not establish past persecution, as he did not show acts that harmed him personally. (Rodriguez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 11/19/13)
Settlement Requires USCIS to Provide Asylum Officer Interview Notes in FOIA Response (Updated 4/29/14)
Settlement agreement reached in a lawsuit challenging USCIS’s policy of withholding of asylum officer interview notes in FOIA responses. On 1/8/14, USCIS instructed its employees involved in processing FOIA requests that asylum officer interview notes generally are to be produced.
CA7 Denies Asylum to Landowners from Honduras
The court upheld the BIA’s conclusions that the squatters, known as “capesinos,” did not act on account of petitioners’ status as land owners and that Honduras is both willing and able to protect land owners from campesinos. (Urbina-Dore v. Holder, 11/18/13)
BIA Finds IJ Erred in Denying Derivative Asylum Claim
Unpublished BIA decision remanding, finding the IJ erred when concluding the respondent could not claim derivative status through her husband’s approved asylum application because she entered the U.S. as a nonimmigrant prior to her husband. Courtesy of Rachel Wilson.
BIA Remands Asylum Denial for Bipolar Individual from Ghana
Unpublished BIA decision remanding, finding that individuals from Ghana who suffer from mental illness and are indigent and lack family support constitutes a cognizable particular social group and that the IJ erred in evaluating well-founded fear of persecution. Courtesy of Geoffrey Hoffman.
BIA Grants Asylum to Applicant from Republic of Congo
Unpublished BIA decision sustaining appeal of asylum denial, concluding that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was clearly erroneous and that the harm the applicant suffered on account of her political opinion constituted past persecution in the Republic of the Congo. Courtesy of Toni Maschler.
BIA Remands After IJ Failed to Determine if Applicant Experienced Past Torture
Unpublished BIA decision remanding denial of application for protection under the Convention Against Torture because the IJ did not render a determination on whether the applicant established that he was tortured by a Salvadoran government official. Special thanks to Edgardo Quintanilla.
CA8 Denies Asylum to Chinese Christian from Indonesia
The court denied asylum, upholding the findings of the IJ and BIA that the harm Petitioner suffered did not rise to the level of persecution, while also noting State Department reports of decreased violence involving Chinese Christians in Indonesia. (Supangat v. Holder, 11/7/13)
CA9 Overturns Asylum Denial for Pakistani Petitioner
The court overturned the termination of Petitioner’s asylum status, finding that DHS failed to give proper notice of its witnesses or exhibits, and since Petitioner refused to testify, the exhibits could not be used as impeachment evidence. (Urooj v. Holder, 11/6/13)
CA1 Remands Pentecostal Russian Asylum Claim
The court vacated and remanded, finding that the BIA erred when it found that the persecution the petitioner experienced in Russia was not “on account of” his Pentecostal faith. (Ivanov v. Holder, 11/5/13)
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment Report on Refugee Access Verification Unit
DHS Privacy Impact Assessment report on Refugee Access Verification Unit, which tracks and manages information on immediate family members in the U.S. and their overseas family members seeking consideration for resettlement under the Priority 3 Family Reunification Program.
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Finding for Guatemalan Petitioner
The court denied the application for CAT relief and upheld the adverse credibility finding due to the Petitioner’s inconsistencies in his submissions and testimony. (Martinez v. Holder, 11/4/13)
DHS Notice on Exercise of Authority Regarding Eritrean Liberation Front
DHS notice of determination announcing that §212(a)(3)(B) of INA shall not apply to a person for any activity or association occurring on or after 1/1/1980 relating to the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), provided that they satisfy relevant agency criteria. (78 FR 66037, 11/4/13)
DHS Notice on Exercise of Authority Regarding DMLEK (Updated 12/5/13)
DHS notice of determination announcing that INA §212(a)(3)(B) shall not apply to the solicitation of funds or activities of the Democratic Movement for the Liberation of Eritrean Kunama (DMLEK). Typographical correction issued on 12/5/13. (78 FR 73202, 12/5/13) (78 FR 66036, 11/4/13)
Harvard Law School Report on Canada/U.S. Border Policy and the Politics on Refugee Exclusion
The Harvard Immigration and Refugee Law Clinical Program report titled “Bordering on Failure: Canada – U.S. Border Policy and the Politics of Refugee Exclusion” explores the reforms that Canada has implemented since June 2012 to its refugee system.
USCIS Affirmative Asylum Procedures Manual (November 2013)
USCIS Affirmative Asylum Procedures Manual from the Asylum Division, updated and revised as of November 2013, provides instruction for asylum office personnel on how to process affirmative asylum applications.
CA1 Denies Asylum to Former 18th Street Gang Member from El Salvador
The court denied the petition for review, upholding the BIA’s finding that membership in a violent criminal street gang cannot serve as the basis for protected-group status under the INA. (Cantarero v. Holder, 10/31/13)
District Court Awards $20,000 in Attorney’s Fees in FOIA Lawsuit
Settlement agreement reached in district court in a FOIA lawsuit seeking the release of asylum officer notes. The agreement stipulated that DHS pay $20,000 in attorney’s fees. DHS handed over the asylum officer notes prior to settlement. (Hemed v. DHS, 10/30/13)
CA10 Upholds Cancellation of Removal Denial
The court denied the petition for review, finding that since the Petitioner had been granted suspension of deportation during prior deportation proceedings, he was ineligible for cancellation of removal under INA §240A. (Velasco v. Holder 10/29/13)
CA10 Dismisses Untimely Petition for Review for Lack of Jurisdiction
The court dismissed the untimely petition for review for lack of jurisdiction, finding that the initial removal order was final, notwithstanding a subsequent remand to the IJ regarding voluntary departure. (Batubara v. Holder, 10/28/13)
AILA Liaison CBP Meeting Minutes with Supplemental Committee Notes (10/28/13)
The AILA CBP Liaison Committee provides approved Q&As and supplemental notes from their meeting with CBP on 10/28/13. Topics include I-94 automation, DOMA, preclearance operations, provisional waivers, nonimmigrant adjudications, credible fear interview, and prioritizing petition adjudication.
AILA/CBP Liaison Q&As (10/28/13)
Official questions and answers from the 10/28/13 AILA liaison meeting with CBP. Topics include I-94 automation, DOMA, Global Entry, preclearance operations, provisional waivers, nonimmigrant petition adjudications, credible fear interview, and prioritizing petition adjudication.
PowerPoint Presentations from CIS Ombudsman’s Office Third Annual Conference
PowerPoint presentations from the 10/24/13 Third Annual Conference of the Ombudsman's Office. Invitation and agenda are also included.
CA9 Remands Asylum Denial for Russian Citizen Opposing War in Chechnya
The court granted the petition and remanded, holding that the IJ violated due process by allowing the government to introduce a forensic report concerning a medical document without prior notice and by refusing a continuance to investigate the report. (Bondarenko v. Holder, 10/25/13)
CA1 Denies Withholding and CAT Relief to Ecuadorian National
The court upheld the denials of the motions to reopen, agreeing with the BIA that the Petitioner failed to establish a statutorily protected ground of persecution and failed to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel. (Muyubisnay-Cungachi v. Holder, 10/25/13)