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
Practice Pointer: Top 10 Things You Need to Know about the USCIS Fee Rule
AILA provides this practice resource to alert members to the most important aspects of the new fee rule so that you may better understand the impact of the new fee schedule on your clients’ cases.
Practice Alert: Increased USCIS Filing Fees For the H-2 Visa Programs to Take Effect on April 1, 2024
The DOL Liaison Committee’s H-2 subcommittee provides an alert on increased filing fees under the new USCIS fee rule affecting H-2A and H-2B programs. The new fee schedule will take effect on April 1, 2024.
Policy Brief: AILA Analysis of the Border and Immigration Provisions of the “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024”
With unprecedented levels of global migration and an outdated U.S. immigration system pushing more migrants to the southern border, solutions are urgently needed. The Senate’s emergency spending bill includes the most extensive border funding and security measures proposed in decades, perhaps ever.
AILA Executive Director Responds to Release of Bipartisan Senate Bill
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson responded to the newly released bill text from the bipartisan group of Senators negotiating the “Emergency National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024.”
CA4 Holds That IJs May Make Partial or Mixed Adverse Credibility Determination If Supported by Substantial Evidence
The court found that the IJ properly made a mixed finding about credibility, and that the BIA did not err in affirming the IJ’s determination that petitioners failed to show a nexus between past or feared future harm and any familial relationship. (Ayala-Osegueda, et al. v. Garland, 2/1/24)
The Mandatory Detention of Unlawful Entrants Seeking Asylum in the United States and the Due Process Protection
AILA Law Journal author Jim Nzoguma Mayua shares more about his article in the Fall 2023 edition of the journal, in which he discusses the legal uncertainty stemming from Supreme Court rulings denying asylum seekers due process protection.
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Received Threats Due to Father’s Unpaid Debt
The court held that the petitioner neither demonstrated that he suffered past persecution on account of a protected factor, nor offered credible, specific evidence that a reasonable person in his position would fear persecution if he returned to Guatemala. (Gaspar-Felipe v. Garland, 1/30/24)
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial to Salvadoran Petitioner Who Failed to Show Nexus Between His Extortion and Family Membership
The court held that the IJ and BIA did not err in determining that the Salvadoran petitioner had failed to establish nexus between his claimed social group and his extortion by the MS-13 gang, and thus upheld the denial of asylum and withholding of removal. (Lopez-Benitez v. Garland, 1/30/24)
USCIS Provides Summary of Its Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees
USCIS provided a summary of its final rule, including information on the new fee schedule, the asylum program fee for employment-based petitions, naturalization fee changes, international adoption validity period changes, and more.
AILA Responds to New Biden Administration Rules on Fees and H-1B Registration Process
AILA responded to the advance copies shared publicly by the Biden Administration regarding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fees and a revised H-1B visa registration process with insights from President Farshad Owji and Dir of Gov’t Relations Shev Dalal-Dheini.
Ninth Edition of AILA’s Invaluable Asylum Primer Released
Ben Johnson on the 9th edition of AILA’s Asylum Primer: A Practical Guide to U.S. Asylum Law and Procedure by Dree K. Collopy: “This book will help practitioners, those new to the area of practice as well as long-time asylum attorneys, do the best job possible for their vulnerable clients.”
Is Chevron Dead? Thoughts after Oral Arguments in Relentless, Inc. and Loper Bright Enterprises
Brian Green and Stephen Yale-Loehr describe the recent oral arguments in two SCOTUS cases which could dramatically affect federal agency review; it is yet unclear whether the decisions will hurt or help immigrants when challenging ambiguous agency decisions or interpretations.
A Bridge We Can All Cross
AILA members César Magaña Linares and Raquel Fernández—a Salvadoran Dreamer with TPS and a second generation Venezuelan American—call for intra-immigrant solidarity.
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial After Finding That Petitioner Failed to Show State-Sanctioned Persecution
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner, who alleged that he had been persecuted in Ghana on account of his political opinions and party membership, failed to establish state action and was thus ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal. (Owusu v. Garland, 1/24/24)
CA1 Remands Asylum Claim of Salvadoran Petitioner Who Was Threatened by Cattle Thieves and Beaten by Police
The court vacated the agency’s denial of asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief as to petitioner, who had been threatened by cattle thieves who murdered his father and who had been beaten by the police in El Salvador. (Pineda-Maldonado v. Garland, 1/24/24)
AILA Advocacy Toolkit for Congressional Border Deal
AILA provides members with a summary of border supplemental funding proposals that would trade funding for Ukraine and other allies for dramatic changes to U.S. asylum and detention laws. This toolkit includes Senate office contact information, template emails, and a template call script.
How the “Internal Enemy” Label Forces Venezuelans to Flee Their Country
AILA Law Journal authors Emercio José Aponte and Andrea Paola Aponte share more about their article in which they discuss how the current authoritarian regime in Venezuela has been violating citizens' human rights and what that means for claims of asylum.
Practice Alert: Notes from USCIS Listening Sessions on Issues Relating to Israel and Palestine
AILA summary of key takeaways from two listening sessions USCIS conducted on January 17, 2024, on a range of issues relating to the Middle East conflict.
CA5 Remands Asylum Claim Where BIA Failed to Consider Possible Application of TVPRA to Petitioner’s Case
The court held that the BIA erred in denying petitioner’s motion to reopen without resolving whether the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which would invalidate the existing removal order, applied to the petitioner’s case. (Velasquez-Castillo v. Garland, 1/17/24)
Practice Pointer: BIA Addresses the “Unable or Unwilling” Standard in Matter of C-G-T-
AILA’s Asylum and Refugee Committee provides a practice pointer on Matter of C-G-T-, a 2023 BIA precedent decision in which the BIA reiterated the “unable or unwilling” standard as the correct legal standard for demonstrating eligibility for asylum.
EOIR Announces 2024 Model Hearing Program
EOIR will continue its Model Hearing Program and host a series of events nationwide to provide substantive law and practical training on human trafficking, juveniles, adjustment of status, and special immigrant juvenile status. Notice includes in-person and hybrid events for January 2024.
New England AILA Members Joined Community and Government in Helping Newcomers
AILA New England Chapter Chair Robin Nice describes the recent successful set of EAD clinics hosted in Massachusetts, where state and federal agencies worked together with local partners and volunteers “to address immigration issues in a cooperative, common sense, humane manner.“
Resources Related to Case Challenging Credible Fear Interview and Bond Hearing Delays (Padilla v. ICE)
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order granting the parties’ stipulated motion to dismiss Count IV of the complaint and granting final approval of the class action settlement for the Credible Fear Class. (Padilla v. ICE, 1/5/24)
Digging Into One Key Aspect of Refugee Designations
AILA Law Journal author Betsy Fisher shares more about her recent article published in the journal which reflects on the disappointing results she has seen in one kind of humanitarian program: Priority-2 (or P-2) refugee resettlement, and seeks to identify ways to best leverage P-2 resettlement.
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Salvadoran Petitioner Who Feared Threats from Her Alleged Rapist and MS-13 Gang Members (Withdrawn)
The court held that the petitioner had failed to show that the Salvadoran government would be unable or unwilling to control her persecutors, finding that the BIA adequately considered evidence of gang involvement in her claims. (Mejia-Alvarenga v. Garland, 1/3/24, withdrawn 3/8/24)