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 Finds Request for Corroboration Improper, Adverse Credibility Analysis Inadequate
In an unpublished decision, the BIA held that the asylum applicant from Turkmenistan, persecuted on account of religion and ethnicity, adequately explained the failure to provide corroborating evidence. Also finds IJs adverse credibility determination was inadequate. Courtesy of Harry Asatrian.
AG Mukasey Swears in New Members of the BIA
On 12/15/08 the DOJ announced that Attorney General Mukasey administered the oath of office to five new members of the Board of Immigration Appeals: Charles K. Adkins-Blanch, Anne J. Greer, Garry D. Malphrus, Hugh G. Mullane, and Linda S. Wendtland.
CA1 Rejects Due Process Claims in Colombian Asylum Case
The court rejected Petitioner’s claims that the IJ erred in failing to initiate a competency hearing and that the BIA incorrectly affirmed the adverse credibility finding. (Muñoz-Monsalve v. Mukasey, 12/12/08)
IJ Thomas Snow to Serve as Acting Chief Immigration Judge
In a 12/10/08 press release, DOJ announced that Immigration Judge Thomas Snow will serve as acting Chief Immigration Judge as of 1/5/09.
EOIR Swears in Immigration Judge in Omaha
On 11/5/08 EOIR announced that Jack L. Anderson was sworn in to serve at the Omaha Immigration Court.
CA11 Determines Whether Procedural Errors Are Prejudicial, Sets Standards to Prove Torture
CA11 held it can review due process violations, but petitioner failed to establish that the outcome of his removal hearing would have been different. Applicants have to prove torture by the government to be eligible for withholding of removal under CAT. (Gardner v. Attorney General, 12/4/08)
Human Rights First Report on the U.S. Asylum System
Human Rights First issued a report, "How to Repair the Asylum System: Blueprint for the Next Administration," which includes recommendations on detention, gender-based persecution, and the one-year filing deadline for filing an asylum application.
Supreme Court Will Review Stay Standard
The Supreme Court granted certiori in Nken v. Mukasey and will review the standard governing a stay of removal pending consideration of a petition for review.
CA3 Remands Denial of MTR for Asylum Claim Based on One-Child Policy
The court noted that the BIA must consider the evidence and arguments set forth in motions to reopen and found that the BIA abused its discretion by failing to identify or discuss statements and evidence in support of Petitioners’ motions to reopen. (Zheng v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 11/26/08)
CA4 Finds IJ Erred in Denying Asylum as a Matter of Discretion
The court set forth a list of non-exhaustive factors that IJs should consider when determining if an individual merits asylum as a matter of discretion.(Zuh v. Mukasey, 11/25/08)
CA9 Denies Petition for Rehearing En Banc and Amends Opinion in Kalilu
CA9 denied the petition for rehearing en banc and made minor amendments to its earlier opinion on eligibility for adjustment of status. The court remanded the determination of a frivolous asylum application in light of Matter of Y-L-. (Kalilu v. Mukasey, 11/20/08)
CA11 Discusses What Rises to Persecution
CA11 found no jurisdiction to review untimely filed asylum applications. Being forced to pay for government-provided education, or evidence that activists with similar political views were arrested and detained, did not rise to the level of persecution. (Lei v. Attorney General, 11/20/08)
AILA Liaison/NSC Meeting Minutes (11/20/08)
NSC Liaison's 11/20/08 meeting minutes address “other” product lines, such as I-130s, I-751s, I-131s, I-102s, I-602s, and more.
CA9 Holds Undisputed Admission of Entry Date Satisfies One-Year Deadline
Finding that it had jurisdiction to determine the timeliness of the asylum application as a question of law, CA9 held that a judicial admission of an entry date within one year of filing an asylum application was an undisputed fact. (Hakopian v. Mukasey, 11/19/08)
CA8 Upholds Finding of Improved Conditions in Mauritania; Rejects Asylum
CA8 held that significant discrepancies in the record and lack of evidence supported IJ’s adverse credibility determination. It upheld the IJ’s determination that improved conditions in Mauritania rebutted any presumption of a well-founded fear based on past harm. (Sow v. Mukasey, 11/19/08)
CA9 Overturns One-Year Deadline Denial in Iranian Asylum Case
The court found that it has jurisdiction to consider the timeliness of the asylum application because it was a mixed question of law and fact.(Khunaverdiants v. Mukasey, 11/18/08)
DOS Fact Sheet on Fraud in Africa "Priority Three" Program
DOS fact sheet on fraud within the “Priority Three” program, which grants U.S. Refugee Admissions Program access to certain individuals claimed as a parent, spouse, or minor child by certain legal residents in the U.S. The fact sheet specifically addresses fraud from Africa.
CA6 Upholds Negative Credibility Finding Based on Blatant Overstatement
The court noted that the failure to include every detail in an asylum application should not be fatal to an asylum claim, but held that blatant overstatement of the dangers in the Ivory Coast was sufficient to support a negative credibility determination. (Kaba v. Mukasey, 11/13/08)
CA2 Vacates Adverse Credibility and Persecutor Bar in Russian Claim
The court could not determine the basis for the adverse credibility determination and remanded. The court also held that substantial evidence did not support the persecutor bar. (Balachova v. Mukasey, 11/12/08)
CA10 Upholds MTR Asylum Denial Based on Change in Personal Circumstances
CA10 upheld the BIA finding of failure to present new evidence of changed conditions in China re coercive population control measures. It also held that a change in personal circumstances, a fourth pregnancy, could not support an untimely motion to reopen. (Wei v. Mukasey, 11/7/08)
USCIS Releases Summary of 2008 Accomplishments
An 11/6/08 USCIS news release and fact sheet on strides taken in 2008 provide data on completed naturalization applications, reductions in the FBI name check backlog, increased participation in E-Verify and more.
CA11 Denies Asylum to Eritrean Army Deserter Based on Lack of Credibility
The court held that the record did not compel a finding of past persecution because substantial evidence supported the IJ’s and BIA’s adverse credibility finding. (Mohammed v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 11/5/08)
BIA Finds Asylum Filing Window Begins Upon Arrival from Most Recent Trip Abroad
The BIA held that for calculating the time between the arrival in the U.S. and the date when an asylum application was filed, the term “last arrival” should be interpreted literally to mean the alien’s most recent arrival from a trip abroad. Matter of F-P-R-, 24 I&N Dec. 681 (BIA 2008)
CA10 Holds “Frivolous” Notice on Asylum Form Alone Complies with Statute
The court concluded as a matter of law that the written notice of the penalty for filing a frivolous asylum application contained on form complied with INA §208(d)(4)(A) and provided Petitioner with the notice he was entitled to. (Ribas v. Mukasey, 11/4/08)
CA8 Finds Lari Ethnic Group to Be a Particular Social Group for Asylum
The court granted withholding, concluding that the Lari ethnic group of the Kongo tribe is a particular social group because members share a common dialect. (Malonga v. Mukasey, 11/3/08)