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
BIA Reverses Adverse Credibility in Sexual Orientation Withholding/CAT Claim from Mexico
The BIA reversed the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, holding that the respondent’s mistreatment constitutes past persecution on account of a protected ground, and sustained the appeal for withholding of removal and CAT. Courtesy of Edgardo Quintanilla.
PowerPoint Presentations from Ombudsman’s Office First Annual Conference
PowerPoint presentations from the 10/20/11 First Annual Conference of the Ombudsman's Office. Invitation and agenda are also included.
Presentation on Unlocking the Mystery of Other Serious Harm
A PowerPoint presentation reviewing the mechanics of other serious harm (OSH) analysis, case law examples of OSH, and the keys to applying OSH analysis. Presented at the 2011 CIS Ombudsman’s First Annual Conference.
Hot Topics in Asylum Presentation on Particular Social Group
A PowerPoint presentation covering key developments in asylum law involving particular social group determinations, including recent case law and regulatory developments focused on gender and juvenile issues. Presented at the 2011 CIS Ombudsman’s First Annual Conference.
Highlights from CIS Ombudsman's First Annual Conference (Updated 12/23/11)
CIS Ombudsman’s Office update providing highlights from its first Annual Conference: “Government and Stakeholders – Finding Solutions Together,” which brought together more than 300 participants to discuss improving the delivery of immigration and citizenship services.
CA3 Remands for BIA to Consider Change in Power in Guinea
Declining to take judicial notice of the change in power in Guinea, the court remanded the case to the BIA to consider the possible effect of the change in government on Petitioner’s claims for relief. (Nbaye v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 10/20/11)
AILA Files Amicus Brief in Domestic Violence/Social Group Asylum Case
AILA amicus brief arguing that domestic violence may be persecution perpetrated because of a woman's gender, an immutable characteristic that can define a particular social group. Amicus urges the Board to issue a decision recognizing a PSG defined based on gender per se.
BIA Remands Mali FGM Asylum Claim
The BIA found exceptional circumstances to permit respondent’s late-filed asylum application, reversed the IJ’s finding that DHS rebutted the well-founded fear presumption, and found that the IJ failed to follow Matter of A-T-. Courtesy of Geoffrey A. Hoffman.
AILA/USCIS Liaison Meeting Q&As (10/5/11)
Official Q&As from the 10/5/11 meeting between USCIS HQ and AILA liaison. USCIS responses address naturalization, Kazarian guidance, VIBE, H-1Bs, Ls, Ks, NIWs, family unity, AAO, I-131, NSEERS, asylum clock, NCSC, CRIS, and more.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Nigerian Christian Asylum Claim
The court found that Petitioner suffered little physical harm at the hands of Muslim gangs, that his family continued to practice their religion without incident, and that there was no evidence that the government condoned the harassment. (Osuji v. Holder, 10/5/11)
President Obama Releases FY2012 Refugee Admissions Numbers and Authorizations
A 9/30/11 Presidential Memorandum on determinations of up to 76,000 refugee admissions numbers and authorizations of in-country refugee status for eligible persons of Cuba, Eurasia and the Baltics, Iraq, and in exceptional circumstances, persons in any location, for FY2012.
USCIS Memo with Proposed Reasonable Fear Performance Goals
A USCIS Asylum Division memo stating that starting in FY2012, 85% of reasonable fear referrals should be completed within 90 days of the referral, and that those not completed within 90 days, should be completed within 150 days, with only a 5% margin for exception cases.
CA9 Finds ELF Is a Terrorist Organization; Grants Deferral under CAT
The court upheld the BIA’s findings that the Eritrean Liberation Front is a Tier III terrorist organization and that Petitioner engaged in terrorist activities, but finding the possibility of torture more likely than not, granted deferral. (Haile v. Holder, 9/26/11)
CA2 Says Petitioner’s Undocumented Husband Was “Available” to Testify
The court held that Petitioner’s undocumented husband was “available” to testify despite his fear of apprehension, noting that he would have been eligible for derivative asylum status and had every incentive to testify on his wife’s behalf. (Chen v. Holder, 9/23/11)
CA9 Remands CAT Claim for Deferral of Removal from Honduras
The court found that the BIA mischaracterized the record with regard to one expert’s consistency with DOS reports, criticized the expert’s testimony for reasons not supported by the record, and failed to acknowledge a second expert witness. (Cole v. Holder, 9/22/11)
S. 1618 – SSI Extension for Elderly and Disabled Refugees Act of 2011
S. 1618, introduced by Sen. Schumer (D-NY) on September 22, 2011, extends the eligibility period for SSI benefits for refugees and asylees.
CA2 Says Firm Resettlement Inquiry Is Not Limited to Post-Persecution Ties
The court held that the firm resettlement inquiry requires consideration of all ties established by an alien in a third country before entering the U.S., including ties formed prior to the persecution giving rise to the asylum claim. (Tchitchui v. Holder, 9/19/11)
ICE Announces Charges in Large Scale L.A.-Area Asylum Fraud Scheme
ICE press release announcing that the owner and an employee of New Arrival Immigration Service were charged with filing fraudulent asylum applications for Chinese clients claiming persecution based on their Christian beliefs.
CA9 Says Incorrect Standards Were Applied in Refusing to Excuse Late Asylum Application
The IJ applied incorrect legal standards when finding Petitioner had not shown changed or extraordinary circumstances to excuse his late application and the IJ erred in finding that the application was not filed in a reasonable time period. (Singh v. Holder, 9/8/11)
BIA Refuses to Apply Frivolous Asylum Bar to Derivative Child
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that as the minor derivative of her mother's application, the respondent did not receive the necessary advisals, and held that the frivolousness finding applicable to her mother should not be applicable to her. Courtesy of Alan Lee.
CA10 Rejects Political Opinion and Social Group Claim in MS-13 Case
The court found that Salvadoran women aged 12 to 25 who have resisted gang recruitment is sufficiently particular for purposes of a social group claim, but found that the proposed group failed the social visibility test. (Rivera-Barrientos v. Holder, 9/7/11)
CA7 Remands Colombian/FARC Asylum Claims for Further Proceedings
The court found that the BIA inexplicably focused only on the FARC’s burning of Petitioner’s trucks in concluding he was not persecuted and rejected the Board’s finding that even if he was persecuted, it was not due to a protected ground. (Escobar v. Holder, 9/7/11)
CA7 Recognizes Threat of “Honor Killing” as Basis for Social Group Claim
The court found that Petitioner is a member of the particular social group of women in Jordan who have flouted repressive moral norms and face a high risk of honor killing. (Sarhan v. Holder, 9/2/11)
VOICE: September/October 2011
AILA kicks off the fall season with a new issue of VOICE: An Immigration Dialogue! Be sure to check out articles on the U.S. Military’s Selective Service requirement, the long wait for immigrant visas, our new “Pass the Mic” and “Poetic Justice” columns, and more!
CA9 Finds Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Relief Despite BIA Remand on Collateral Issue
The court found jurisdiction to review the BIA’s denial of relief where the BIA remands under 8 CFR §1003.1(d)(6) for completion of background checks that are required before alternative relief may be granted. (Li v. Holder, 9/1/11)