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
CA9 Remands for BIA to Grant Withholding to Gay Filipino Petitioner
The court granted in part a petition for review, reversing the BIA’s denial of withholding, and holding that the BIA erred by engaging in its own fact-finding, rather than clear error review, in evaluating the harm suffered by a gay Filipino petitioner. (Vitug v. Holder, 7/24/13)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim for Diola from Senegal
The panel vacated the BIA’s adverse credibility finding and remanded, finding the BIA erred by drawing an adverse inference from the low level of persecution detail provided in the mistakenly filed N-400, as well as with alleged inconsistencies with the I-589. (Bassene v. Holder, 9/23/13)
BIA Remands Asylum Case For Cameroon Native
Unpublished BIA decision remanding case for additional fact-finding and new decision after finding submitted evidence may be sufficient to rehabilitate the respondent’s credibility or established independently past persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Courtesy of David Cleveland.
CA10 Dismisses Petition from El Salvadoran Business Owner Threatened by MS 18 Gang
In a nonprecedential decision, the court concluded and dismissed the petition to review, finding that the petitioner failed to exhaust her administrative remedies and thus lacked jurisdiction to consider them. (Castellanos-Pineda, 9/20/13)
USCIS Request for Comments on Revisions to Form I-590
USCIS 60-day notice of request for comments on revisions to Form I-590, Registration for Classification as Refugee, which contains the information needed for USCIS to adjudicate refugee applications. Comments are due by 11/19/13. (78 FR 57870, 9/20/13)
CA9 Upholds Asylum Denial for Guatemalan Rape Victim
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum, finding that petitioner did not show persecution on account of real or imputed political opinion and that the attack she suffered did not occur with the acquiescence of the Guatemalan government. (Garcia-Milian v. Holder, 9/18/13, amended 2/13/14)
CA9 Denies Review of Frivolous Armenian Asylum Claim
The court denied the petition for review of the BIA’s decision affirming an IJ’s determination that the petitioner knowingly filed a frivolous asylum application and that she was statutorily barred from adjustment of status and a 212(i) waiver on that basis. (Kulakchyan v. Holder, 9/18/13)
CA9 Holds DHS May Terminate Prior Grant of Withholding in Conjunction with Removal Proceedings
The court held that DHS may terminate a prior grant of withholding in conjunction with removal proceedings, so long as it meets its burden of demonstrating the grounds for doing so, and that two separate proceedings are not required under 8 CFR §1208.24(f). (Gutierrez v. Holder, 9/13/13)
NSC Liaison Q&As from Asylum and Refugee Product Line Teleconference (9/12/13)
The NSC Liaison Committee unofficial Q&As from AILA and other stakeholders from the 9/12/13 NSC asylee and refugee product line teleconference. Topics included I-602 waivers, G-28s, processing times for fee waiver cases, I-730s, nunc pro tunc asylum for adjustment applicants, I-765s, and TRIG.
CA10 Denies Motion to Reopen for Guatemalan Asylum Seeker
In a nonprecedential decision, the court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner failed to explain how changed country conditions in Guatemala would permit an untimely and number barred motion to reopen. (Lopez v. Holder, 9/10/13)
CA5 Remands Case for Anti-Maoist Asylum Seeker from Nepal
The court vacated and remanded, finding the BIA incorrectly required the petitioner to provide direct proof of the nexus between his persecution and his membership in Nepal’s Student Union, and did not consider all the evidence bearing upon the Maoists’ motives. (Sharma v. Holder, 9/9/13)
AAO Approves Employment Authorization for Administratively Closed Asylum Case
On certification from TSC, the AAO affirmed the approved Form I-765, finding that the applicant’s administratively closed asylum proceeding maintained her eligibility for employment authorization under 8 CFR Sec. 274a.12(c)(8).
CA9 Finds it Lacks Jurisdiction to Review Somali Asylum Claim
Despite a mixed BIA decision, the court held it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s underlying denial of asylum, the only issue raised in both petitions for review, because the petitioner failed to file a timely petition for review of that decision. (Abdisalan v. Holder, 9/6/13)
CA9 Remands After BIA Improperly Held Petitioner to Incorrect Legal Standard
The court granted petition for review and remanded after finding that the BIA improperly held that the motion to reopen was numerically barred, erred in restricting the evidence the Petitioner could provide, and erred in failing to consider the evidence tendered. (Zhao v. Holder, 9/6/13).
CA1 Upholds Denial of MTR for Chinese Christian in Indonesia
The court found it was not an abuse of discretion for the BIA to deny the untimely motion, noting that although the petitioner submitted evidence of changed conditions in Indonesia, the information was available at the time of the hearing. (Lie v. Holder, 9/4/13)
CA1 Declines to Exercise Jurisdiction in Asylum Case
Because it was unclear whether the BIA’s remand constituted a final order of removal and the petitioner subsequently filed a timely application for asylum, withholding and CAT relief, the court declined to exercise jurisdiction. (Cano-Saldarriaga v. Holder, 9/4/13)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim for Prison Guard in India
The court granted the petition for review and remanded, concluding that the BIA misapplied the relevant precedent in determining whether the petitioner’s actions rose to the level of “personal involvement” when triggering the persecutor bar. (Kumar v. Holder, 8/29/13)
CA9 Holds Petitioner Has Constitutional Right to Testify in Support of Asylum Application
The court granted the petition for review, finding that the IJ prejudiced the petitioner by denying his constitutional right to testify in support of his asylum application and making an adverse credibility finding based principally on the cross-examination. (Oshodi v. Holder, 8/27/13)
BIA Remands After IJ Fails to Advise Respondent of Right to Counsel
Unpublished BIA decision remanding case after finding IJ failed to comply with 8 C.F.R. 1240.11(c)(1)(iii) by not advising respondent of his right to counsel specifically in asylum-related relief nor provide him with a legal services list. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of K-O, 8/27/13)
USCIS Instructions for I-730 Case Specific Inquiries
USCIS instructions for submitting Form I-730 case specific inquiries. Instructions for general case inquiries with USCIS also provided. Obtained by AILA Liaison as a USCIS Asylum Stakeholder engagement.
BIA Remands Because IJ Did Not Question Respondent After He Expressed Fear
Unpublished BIA decision remanding the case "in an abundance of caution" because the IJ did not further question him after he expressed a fear of returning to Mexico. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Guzman-Rodriguez, 8/23/13)
ACLU of Southern California Report: “Muslims Need Not Apply”
Report from ACLU of Southern California titled “Muslims Need Not Apply,” about how a USCIS national security program known as the “Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program” (CARRP) impacts Muslim or perceived-to-by Muslim applicants.
CA9 Grants Asylum Based on Past Persecution of Seventh Day Adventists in Belarus
The court granted asylum, finding that the petitioner established a claim of past persecution based on the abuses endured by her Seventh Day Adventist parents while she was a child in Belarus, and remanded the withholding and CAT claims for further consideration. (Rusak v. Holder, 8/22/13)
CA7 Remands Withholding Claim to BIA for HIV Positive Gay Man from Mexico
The court granted the petition for review and remanded to the BIA to determine whether the IJ clearly erred in finding that the petitioner—who is an openly gay HIV positive man— is more likely than not to be persecuted if returned to Mexico. (Rosiles-Camarena v. Holder, 8/21/13)
HJC Chairman Goodlatte's Letter to Secretary Napolitano Expressing Concerns Over Asylum Process
A 8/21/13 letter from House Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte to DHS Secretary Napolitano expressing concerns on the asylum process and credible fear interviews.