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
Overview of the Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act (S. 3594)
AILA overview of the Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act (S. 3594), introduced by Senator Menendez (D-NJ)on 9/26/08.
Analysis of the Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act
Section-by-section analysis of the Protect Citizens and Residents from Unlawful Raids and Detention Act (S. 3594), introduced by Senator Menendez (D-NJ) on 9/26/08.
GAO Study on Quality Assurance in U.S. Asylum System
GAO released a report that addresses the extent to which quality assurance mechanisms have been designed to ensure adjudication integrity, as well as the key factors that affect asylum officer and immigration judge adjudications.
GAO Reports on Factors Affecting Variability in Asylum Outcomes
A GAO report found significant variation in asylum outcomes across immigration courts and judges, with nine factors affected variability in asylum outcomes.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial Based on Lack of Nexus under REAL ID
The court found insufficient evidence to conclude that Petitioner’s family was targeted for political reasons, and that REAL ID added two elements to the burden of proof: 1) the one central reason standard, and 2) corroborating evidence. (Singh v. Mukasey, 9/25/08)
DOJ Announces Opening of Kansas City Immigration Court
DOJ announced the opening of the Kansas City immigration court on 9/29/08.
USCIS Fact Sheet on New Policy of ABC Registration Determinations After Chaly-Garcia v. U.S.
USCIS released a fact sheet and Q&As on ABC registration determinations after Chaly-Garcia v. U.S
Attorney General Vacates Denial of Withholding Claim Based on FGM
The Attorney General vacated BIA decision denying a Malian woman’s claim for withholding and remands for reconsideration of questions relating to her eligibility for withholding based on the claim that she was subjected to female genital mutilation. Matter of A-T-, 24 I & N Dec. 617 (AG 2008)
CA7 Upholds Adverse Credibility Finding Despite IJ Errors; 1 Judge Dissents
The court held that notwithstanding the IJ’s mistakes, the balance of the evidence relied on by the IJ supported the adverse credibility finding. (Musollari v. Mukasey, 9/19/08)
CA8 Finds Cameroonian Widows Constitute a Particular Social Group
The court held that the BIA erred in rejecting the social group of Cameroonian widows, finding that they share an immutable characteristic and are viewed by society as members of a social group. (Ngengwe v. Mukasey, 9/18/08)
CA1 Upholds Cambodian Asylum Denial for Lack of Nexus
The court held that substantial evidence indicated that Petitioner was not targeted on account of one of the protected statutory grounds, where he admitted that he had been mistreated for enforcing a ban on illegal fishing. (Nou v. Mukasey, 9/18/08)
Sen. Menendez and Rep. Honda Introduce the Reuniting Families Act (S. 3514)
On 9/18/08, Senator Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the Reuniting Families Act (S. 3514), a bill aimed at promoting family unity in the immigration system. A companion bill (H.R. 6938) was introduced in the House by Rep. Honda (D-CA).
CA9 Reverses Armenian Asylum Denial and Finds IJ Erred on Fingerprints
CA9 held that an Armenian who was threatened, beaten, and detained because of mixed ethnicity and political opinion, was statutorily eligible for asylum, and found that the IJ abused discretion in denying a continuance to comply with fingerprint requirements. (Karapetyan v. Mukasey, 9/16/08)
CA9 Finds Pattern of Persecution of Homosexual Men in Jamaica
The court found a pattern or practice of persecution of gay men in Jamaica and remanded Petitioner’s withholding claim. The court also remanded his CAT claim in light of the government’s acquiescence and involvement in the torture of gay men. (Bromfield v. Mukasey, 9/15/08)
DHS/DOS Joint Statement on Iraqi Refugee Processing in FY 2008
On 9/12/08 DHS and DOS released a joint statement announcing that the U.S. admitted 12,000 Iraqi refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program during fiscal year (FY) 2008. The statement is followed by a fact sheet. AILA Doc. No. 08091268.
AILA Liaison/TSC Meeting Minutes (09/11/08)
The 09/11/08 meeting minutes address TSC’s latest updates, follow ups, biometrics, split derivatives, turning 14 mid-stream, mailroom rejections, RFEs, I-140 Priority Date retention, I-140 denials without RFEs, RFEs on Household Workers, e-filed I-140s, I-765 processing times and more.
IJ Grants Asylum to Children of a Particular Family Who Where Physically Abandoned
IJ finds that Honduran children merit a grant of asylum on humanitarian grounds with the social group defined as members of a particular family who were physically abandoned by their parents. Courtesy of David Sperling.
CA9 Rejects Social Group Claim in Salvadoran Gang-Related Asylum Claim
The court upheld BIA’s finding that Petitioner’s fear based on family membership was not well-founded. It also upheld the BIA’s rejection of “young [men] in El Salvador resisting gang violence” as a social group due to lack of particularity and visibility. (Santos-Lemus v. Mukasey, 9/8/08)
CA6 Reverses Adverse Credibility Finding for Relying on AO’s Assessment
The court held that the substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s adverse credibility finding because it was based on an Asylum Officer’s (AO’s) Assessment to Refer which lacked standard indicia of reliability. (Koulibaly v. Mukasey, 9/4/08)
USCIS Monthly Newsletter for August 2008
USCIS released their newsletter for August 2008, which includes a message form USCIS Acting Director Jonathan Scharfen about a visit to USCIS Refugee Corps officers abroad, an interview with an adjudications officer in the Orlando Field Office, FAQs on Refugee/Asylee relative petitions and more.
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Finding Firm Resettlement
The court remanded the case to the BIA to determine the significance of an expired residence stamp in Petitioner’s passport, and whether it constituted an offer of permanent residence in a third country. (Bonilla v. Mukasey, 8/25/08)
CA3 Remands for Ineffective Assistance and Claim Based on New International Treaty
The court found that Petitioner sufficiently addressed the steps under Lozada to proceed with his ineffective assistance claim and remanded for the BIA to consider how U.S. law complies with the Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. (Rranci v. Att’y Gen. of the U.S., 8/22/08)
CA9 Remands Sierra Leonean Case for Consideration of Humanitarian Asylum
CA9 upheld the finding that country conditions that affected Petitioner in Sierra Leone had improved. The court, however, rejected the BIA’s discretionary denial of humanitarian asylum, finding that the failed to consider the harm to Petitioner’s family. (Sowe v. Mukasey, 8/19/08)
CA9 Finds BIA Cannot Cure Legal Error in Later Motion to Reopen
The court held that the BIA erred as a matter of law when it construed that Petitioner’s properly raised CAT claim was abandoned, and that the BIA could not cure this legal error in its subsequent consideration of Petitioner’s motion to reopen. (Doissaint v. Mukasey, 8/18/08)
CA9 Denies MTR of Iranian Who Claimed Conversion to Christianity
CA9 upheld denial of a motion to reopen for adjustment of status, finding that it was rightly rejected as barred by the 90-day deadline, as well as the rejection of the claim of changed circumstances in Iran, finding that the new evidence was not material. (Toufighi v. Mukasey, 8/18/08)