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
SSA POMS on Evidence of Asylee Status for SSA Card
SSA’s RM 10211.205 provides guidance on the evidence requirements for asylees and asylee applicants.
USCIS Adjustment of Status Form I-485 Performance Data
USCIS performance data containing numerical information on adjustment of status applications, including the number of receipts, approvals, denials, and pending cases by field office from FY2010 through October FY2013.
USCIS TRIG Statistics from 12/11/12 Meeting
Statistics provided by USCIS at a TRIG Stakeholder meeting held on 12/11/12, including statistics on exemptions granted by category, exemptions denied by type of application, and cases on hold by type of application.
USCIS Asylum Division Statistics from 12/6/12 Meeting
Asylum statistics provided by the USCIS Asylum Division at a quarterly stakeholder meeting held on 12/6/12, including statistics on cases filed from 2007-2012, credible and reasonable fear interviews, applications by nationals of Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq, and more.
Practice Pointer: Prosecutorial Discretion & LGBT Families
Liaison practice pointer offering information on prosecutorial discretion, a background on DOMA, and suggestions for how to protect an LGBT client. Special thanks to Victoria Neilson and the LGBT Working Group.
CA8 Denies Asylum Claim Based on HIV-Positive Status
The court found the BIA adequately addressed the petitioner’s asylum claim, which was based on his HIV-positive status, and upheld the IJ’s adverse credibility finding and decision to exclude medical records. (R.K.N. v. Holder, 12/3/12)
CA1 Issues Temporary Stay of Mandate to Allow Petitioner to Apply for DACA
The court upheld the denial of the petitioners’ motion to reopen their asylum case based on changed circumstances, but issued a 90-day stay of mandate to allow the son to apply for deferred action for childhood arrivals. (Gasparian v. Holder, 12/3/12)
CA9 Finds Petitioner Ineligible for Withholding Due to Conviction for “Particularly Serious Crime”
The court found that the petitioner was ineligible for withholding of removal because he had been convicted of a “particularly serious crime” within the meaning of INA §241(b)(3)(B)(ii), and upheld the revocation of his asylee status. (Pechenkov v. Holder, 12/3/12)
DOJ OIL November 2012 Litigation Bulletin
The DOJ Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL) November 2012 Litigation Bulletin, where the Seventh Circuit ruled that a person who has been previously removed from the United States is ineligible for adjustment of status.
CA8 Denies Guatemalan Asylum and Withholding Claim
The court found the Guatemalan petitioner could not establish past persecution based on attacks on family members and an incident where the PNC handcuffed, beat, and burned him with a cigarette. (Garcia-Colindres v. Holder, 11/30/12)
CA7 Denies Motion to Reopen Based on Change in Country Conditions
The asylum applicant argued her case should be reopened due to the birth of her two USC children and the enforcement of China’s family planning policy, but the court held there was a change in personal circumstances, not country conditions. (Zheng v. Holder, 11/27/12)
CA3 Denies Asylum Applicant’s Motion to Reopen
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the motion to reopen, noting that the petitioner did not show how he acquired the previously unavailable evidence and that he failed to file a new asylum application as required by the regulations. (Lin v. Atty’ Gen., 11/27/12)
CA7 Holds Political Opinion Was Not Central Motivation for Persecution of Asylum Applicant
The court rejected the argument that the IJ improperly required political opinion to be the “primary” reason the petitioner was persecuted, finding that substantial evidence showed political opinion was not a central motivation. (Shaikh v. Holder, 11/26/12)
CA7 Rejects Constitutional Challenge to Asylum Regulation
The court found that it did not have jurisdiction to review the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner’s asylum application was untimely, rejecting the argument that 8 C.F.R. § 1208.4(a)(5)(iv) is unconstitutionally vague. (Vrljicak v. Holder, 11/20/12)
CA4 Holds Asylum Applicant is Subject To Material Support Bar
The court found that the BIA did not err when it held that the petitioner was statutorily ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal because he was a member of, and provided material support to, a terrorist organization. (Viegas v. Holder, 11/19/12)
AILA/EOIR Liaison Meeting Minutes (11/15/12)
Official minutes from the AILA EOIR and OCAHO Liaison Committees’ meeting with EOIR on 11/15/12. Topics include publication of OCAHO decisions, OCAHO caseload, ICPM and court practices, telephonic hearings, bond hearings, asylum filings, regulatory updates, and more.
AILA Amicus on Asylum Claims Based on Domestic Violence
AILA amicus brief submitted to the BIA on 11/14/12, arguing that domestic violence may form the basis of an asylum or withholding of removal claim.
BIA on Definition of Particularly Serious Crime for Asylum Purposes
The BIA held that Matter of N-A-M-, which held that an offense need not be an aggravated felony to be considering a particularly serious crime for purposes of barring asylum, applies to cases in the Third Circuit. Matter of M-H-, 26 I&N Dec. 46 (BIA 2012)
USCIS Policy Memo on TRIG Exemption for Participation in Iraqi Uprisings
USCIS policy memo dated 11/12/12 with guidance on implementation of a terrorism-related inadmissibility ground (TRIG) exemption for certain individuals who are inadmissible due to participation in or association with the Iraqi uprisings from 3/1/1991 through 4/5/1991.
CA1 Denies Guatemalan Withholding Claim
The court held that the petitioner did not show that the persecution of his family members was causally linked to family membership and found that “victims of gang threats and possible extortion” is an overly broad social group. (Tay-Chan v. Holder, 11/9/12)
CA1 Denies Asylum Based on Perceived Wealth of Family
The court held that the petitioner had not provided sufficient evidence to establish a well-founded fear of persecution based on his family membership, and rejected the argument that his family was targeted for their perceived wealth. (Perlera-Sola v. Holder, 11/9/12)
CA6 Denies Senegalese Asylum Claim Based on FGM
The court rejected the petitioner’s asylum claim based on her fear that her daughters will be subject to FGM if they return to Senegal, and held that DHS rebutted the presumption of future persecution based on her own resistance to FGM. (Dieng v. Holder, 11/8/12)
CA11 Denies Untimely Motion to Reopen Based on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The court upheld the BIA’s decision to deny the untimely motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel, and found the petitioner failed to demonstrate changed circumstances in gang violence in Honduras. (Ruiz-Turcios v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 11/8/12)
NSC Liaison Q&As from Refugee/Asylee Product Line (11/8/12)
The NSC Liaison Committee unofficial Q&As from AILA and other stakeholders from the 11/8/12 teleconference with NSC on the refugee and asylee product line. Topics include I-730 processing times, DNA testing, physical mailing addresses, transfer notices, medicals, and more.
CA8 Remands Asylum and Cancellation Case to BIA
The court remanded the case, holding that the BIA’s basis for rejecting the asylum claim was unclear and may have relied on an incorrect statement of law, and that it engaged in improper fact-finding when considering the cancellation claim. (Flores v. Holder, 11/7/12)