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
USCIS TRIG Statistics from 7/9/13 Meeting
Statistics current as of 5/15/13, provided by USCIS at a TRIG stakeholder meeting held on 7/9/13, including statistics on exemptions grated by category, exemptions denied by type of application, and cases on hold by type of application.
District Court Orders Vaughn Index in FOIA Case Over Asylum Officer Notes
The court found credible plaintiff's argument that asylum officer interview notes are not deliberative and ordered USCIS to produce a Vaughn index of withheld documents. (Martins v. USCIS, 7/3/13)
DHS 2012 Yearbook of Immigration Statistics
DHS Office of Immigration Statistics 2012 Yearbook of Immigration statistics, consisting of tables organized by subject matter, including legal permanent residents, refugees and asylees, naturalizations, nonimmigrant admissions, and enforcement actions.
BIA Finds Grant of Asylum is Not “Admission” Under INA §101(a)(13)(A)
The Board remanded the case to the IJ, holding that a grant of asylum is not an “admission” to the U.S., and IJ should make a threshold determination regarding termination of asylum status when the asylee is in removal proceedings. Matter of V-X-, 26 I&N Dec. 147 (BIA 2013)
CBP Releases Memo on Processing Cubans at Ports of Entry
CBP released a redacted memo on processing Cubans at ports of entry. This memo supersedes the one issued 6/10/05 titled, “Treatment of Cuban Asylum Seekers at Land Border Ports of Entry.”
USCIS Memo on Processing Credible Fear Cases When a Rare Language Interpreter Is Unavailable
USCIS 6/14/13 memorandum providing guidance on processing credible fear cases when a rare language interpreter is unavailable, including scheduling an interview with the applicant to determine if the individual is able to communicate in another language.
NSC Liaison Q&As from Refugee and Asylee Product Line Teleconference (6/13/13)
The NSC Liaison Committee unofficial Q&As from AILA and other stakeholders from the 6/13/13 teleconference with NSC on refugee and asylee issues. Topics include AOS for derivative refugees, name changes, nunc pro tunc asylum cases, reentry permits, and NCSC.
CA11 Denies Informant’s CAT Claim
The court denied the petitioner’s CAT claim, held that his removal to Mexico would not violate his due process rights, and directed the court to seal only certain parts of the record. (Perez-Guerrero v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 6/12/13)
CA1 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review ABC Class Membership Determination
In a nonprecedential decision, the court found no jurisdiction to review whether the petitioner registered for ABC benefits by the 12/31/91 deadline, and denied his asylum claim, which was based his involvement in a student activist group from 1987 to 1988. (Letran v. Holder, 6/7/13)
CA7 on Conditions of Religious Freedom in China
The court held that the Chinese petitioner, who converted to Christianity after coming to the U.S., demonstrated that she had a well-founded fear of persecution, and that conditions of religious freedom in China have deteriorated since 2002. (Liu v. Holder, 6/3/13)
CA7 on Jurisdiction to Review Timeliness of Asylum Application
The court found that it did not have jurisdiction to review whether the petitioner’s asylum application was untimely and that there were no changed circumstances that excused the late filing, holding that the petitioner’s argument was not a pure question of law. (Bitsin v. Holder, 5/31/13)
USCIS Evidence Training Module for Cases in RAIO Directorate
USCIS training module dated 6/6/13 describing the types of evidence and the burden and standards of proof for applications for benefits in the RAIO Directorate, including language stating that the “clearly and beyond doubt” standard is comparable to the “clear and convincing standard.”
CA9 Remands Denial of El Salvadoran Asylum Claim
The court directed the BIA to re-evaluate whether the petitioner’s opposition to the FMLN’s strategy of using violence constitutes a political opinion and address whether the petitioner established a likelihood of future persecution. (Regalado-Escobar v. Holder, 6/5/13)
USCIS Memo on Telephonic Interviews in Negative Credible Fear Determinations
USCIS Asylum Division memo dated 6/4/13 implementing effective immediately the policy that where credible fear interviews are initiated over the telephone, Asylum Pre-Screening Officers should complete their interviews over the telephone, including those that may lead to a negative determination.
BIA Says Severity of Past Persecution in Guatemala Warrants Humanitarian Asylum
Unpublished BIA decision finding that the atrocity of respondent’s past persecution in Guatemala was sufficient to warrant a discretionary grant of humanitarian asylum in the absence of a well-founded fear of future persecution. Courtesy of Diana M. Bailey.
USCIS Permanently Closing Office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on June 20
USICS press release stating that USCIS will close its field office in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on June 20, 2013. The USCIS Field Office in San Salvador, El Salvador, will assume its former jurisdiction and the U.S Embassy in Tegucigalpa will assume responsibility for certain requests.
CA8 Finds Conviction Precludes Review of CAT Protection Claim
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for burglary in the second degree is an aggravated felony, and that the conviction precludes the court from reviewing the BIA’s denial of CAT protection. (Gallimore v. Holder, 5/22/13)
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Pakistani Withholding Case
The court held that the BIA’s decision on withholding of removal was contrary to the evidence, finding that the mistreatment suffered by the Pakistani petitioner rose to the level of persecution and was not merely part of a private dispute. (Javed v. Holder, 5/24/13)
USCIS Guidance to RAIO Officers on Firm Resettlement
USCIS provided an overview of the firm resettlement bars for asylum and refugee resettlement and addresses the similarities and differences between these two bars and their exceptions, including an explanation of the BIA four-step framework for analyzing evidence. Special thanks to David Cleveland.
USCIS Memo on TRIG Exemption for Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front and Nationalist Republican Alliance
USCIS policy memo on the implementation of exercised discretionary authority not to apply most terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG) to certain aliens for voluntary activities or associations related to the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or the Nationalist Republican Alliance.
CA11 Finds No Implied Exception to Material Support Bar
The court held that there is no implied exception to the material support bar for support provided to a terrorist organization involuntarily or under duress. (Alturo v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 5/21/13)
CA7 Remands Asylum Case of Political Activist from Moldova
The court found that the IJ and BIA applied the wrong legal standard in determining whether the petitioner had shown past persecution for his political activities in Moldova, and remanded the case to the BIA. (Prodan v. Holder, 5/20/13)
CA4 Holds Conviction Is Not an Aggravated Felony, Reinstates Asylee Status
The court held that the conduct the petitioner admitted to and on which his conviction for second degree assault necessarily rests does not constitute a crime of violence, and thus that he is not removable as an aggravated felon. (Karimi v. Holder, 5/13/13)
BIA Critiques and Reverses IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding
In an unpublished decision, the Board strongly critiqued several aspects of the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, and held that the respondent established past persecution on account of his sexual orientation. Special thanks to NIJC.
USCIS Guidance to RAIO Officers on Gender-Related Claims
USCIS provided its RAIO Combined Training Course on gender-related factors to be considered when interviewing and adjudicating claims related to gender, including claims based on violations of societal norms associated with gender.