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
CA7 Finds IJ Gave Full Opportunity to Seek Asylum; Rejects Equal Pro. Claim
The court held that Petitioner was given the opportunity to apply for asylum. It also held it lacked jurisdiction to review whether NSEERS violated equal protection. (Hussain v. Keisler, 10/24/07)
CA11 Finds Motion to Reconsider a MTR Denial Not Subject to Numerical Bar
The court found that the plain language of §1003.2(b)(2) does not prohibit the filing of a second motion to reconsider if it is for a different BIA decision. It also held that the facts in this case did not merit a remand to the agency. (Calle v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 10/23/07)
Determination on Material Support Provided to Certain Hmong Groups
DOS and DHS determined that material support inadmissibility provisions are inapplicable to material support provided to certain Hmong individuals or groups prior to 12/31/04. U.S. has no plans to initiate resettlement program for Hmong currently residing in Thailand.
Determination on Material Support Provided to Certain Montagnards
The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security determined that material support inadmissibility provisions are inapplicable to material support provided to the Front Unifié de Lutte des Races Opprimées (FULRO), a Vietnamese Montagnard group, before 12/31/92.
State Bar of Texas – LRIN Meeting Minutes (10/20/07)
These State Bar of Texas - Committee on Laws Relating to Immigration and Nationality (LRIN) Meeting Minutes of 10/20/07 discuss issues relating to the San Antonio CIS, EOIR, ProBAR, Texas Department of Health and Human Services, and other issues.
Presidential Determination on FY2008 Refugee Admissions Numbers
A 10/2/07 Presidential Determination and Memo to the Secretary of State on FY2008 refugee admissions numbers and authorizations of in-country refugee status. (72 FR 58991, 10/18/07)
CA1 Rejects “Disfavored Group” Doctrine in Indonesian Asylum Case
The court rejected the “disfavored group” doctrine, noting that the regulations do not require the agency to automatically credit group discrimination to an individual, and that Congress had not delegated authority to the courts to do so. (Kho v. Keisler, 10/16/07)
CA9 Finds Bangladeshi Bihari Eligible for Asylum and Disfavored Group Member
The court held that the cumulative effect of the harms that Petitioner suffered as a Bihari was so severe that no reasonable fact-finder could conclude that it did not rise to the level of persecution. (Ahmed v. Keisler, 10/16/07)
CA6 Upholds Discretionary Denial of Asylum Due to 3 DUI Convictions
The court held that the IJ may consider an asylum applicant’s convictions for an offense like DUI, regardless of whether it is a crime of moral turpitude or a particularly serious crime. (Kouljinski v. Keisler, 10/16/07)
USCIS FAQ V2 on Receipting Delays (10/12/07)
On 10/12/07 USCIS issued an FAQ with new and revised questions and answers about the receipting delays. This FAQ follows the FAQ on receipting delays previously posted on the USCIS website.
CA1 Rejects Salvadoran Gang-Based Asylum Claim
The court upheld the denial of asylum, finding that the IJ and BIA’s conclusion that the Salvadoran government was willing and able to confront Petitioner’s potential persecutor was supported by substantial evidence. (Ortiz-Araniba v. Keisler, 10/11/07)
CA7 Rejects Pakistani Asylum Claim Based on 1-Year Deadline & Lack of Nexus
The court upheld the IJ findinsg that Petitioner failed to show extraordinary circumstances to excuse his delay in filing for asylum and that that his fear of persecution was on account of a protected ground. (Tariq v. Keisler, 10/9/07)
Immigration Law Advisor, September 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 9)
Immigration Law Advisor with an article on issues arising in coercive population control asylum claims, federal court activity for August 2007, an article on recent developments on the issue of notice and delivery, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, and a regulatory update.
Fact Sheet on Findings Concerning Forms I-867 and I-870
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom fact sheet on findings concerning Forms I-867 and I-870 from a congressionally-mandated study on asylum seekers in expedited removal.
BIA Finds FGM is “Fundamental Change in Circumstances”
The BIA held that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a harm that is inflicted only once, thus the procedure itself will normally constitute a “fundamental change in circumstances” such that asylee no longer has a well-founded fear of persecution. Matter of A-T-, 24 I&N Dec. 296 (BIA 2007)
Fact Sheet on Discretionary Material Support Exemption and the FARC
This 9/26/07 Fact Sheet addresses the DHS Secretary’s discretionary authority to exempt from the material support inadmissibility provision certain individuals who provided material support under duress to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Stakeholder/USCIS HQ Q & As (9/26/07)
The Q & As address asylee and refugee EADs, rejections in error prior to the fee increase, Cuban parolees, fee waivers, EADs for special immigrant religious workers, replacement of I-551 cards without expiration dates, Adam Walsh cases, background check delays, and more.
TRAC Update on Immigration Judge Asylum Decisions
A Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) report indicating that asylum disparities persist, regardless of court location and nationality.
TRAC Report on Asylum Decision Disparities
A report by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows large disparities in asylum decisions among the nation's immigration judges, based on information from hundreds of thousands of asylum applicants in removal proceedings that were obtained from the Immigration Court under FOIA.
EOIR Responds to New York Times Article
A letter to New York Times Letters Editor Thomas Fayer from EOIR Director Kevin Ohlson in response to the 9/20/07 article “ Judge Who Chastised Asylum Seeker is Taken Off Case.”
CA11 Remands CAT Claim of Haitian with AIDS who Fears Torture in Prison
The court found that the BIA erred in failing to consider Petitioner’s argument that he is entitled to CAT relief because he would be singled out for torture in Haitian prisons because of his AIDS-related mental illness. (Jean-Pierre v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/19/07)
CA3 Finds BIA’s Denial of MTR Asylum Claim “Irrational and Arbitrary”
The court held that the BIA acted arbitrarily in rejecting the MTR despite granting an earlier motion in an unpublished decision that was materially indistinguishable. (Shardar v. Att’y Gen. of U.S., 9/19/07)
CA3 Finds Fabrication in Time-Barred Asylum Application Was Not “Material”
The court held that because the asylum application was time-barred, the falsehood had neither the natural tendency, nor the capability of influencing the decision of the IJ or the BIA. (Luciana v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 9/17/07)
CA1 on Due Process and the 1-Year Asylum Deadline
The court joined its sister circuits in holding that the bar to judicial review of a determination that an asylum application was not timely filed does not violate due process. (Hana v. Gonzales, 9/17/07)
CA7 Finds IJ/BIA Failed to Address Critical Evidence in W/H & CAT Claim
The court upheld the IJ’s finding that a Yemeni citizen did not suffer past persecution, but found that evidence on well-founded fear was overlooked, including testimony, DOS reports, and a letter from the Yemeni Human Rights Watch. (Binrashed v. Gonzales, 9/14/07)