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 Upholds Adverse Credibility Finding Based on Inconsistencies Regarding Severity of Attack Against Petitioner in India
The court held that the BIA permissibly inferred that information missing from a physician’s report regarding petitioner’s attack by members of one of India’s political parties showed that the petitioner exaggerated the seriousness of his injuries at the hearing. (Singh v. Garland, 1/2/24)
CA9 Holds That Good-Cause Standard Governs BIA’s Denial of Petitioner’s Motion to Remand to Apply for Asylum
Granting the petition for review, the court found that the BIA abused its discretion in failing to properly evaluate whether the petitioner had established good cause for missing the filing deadline imposed by the IJ. (Alcarez-Rodriguez v. Garland, 12/28/23)
CA1 Finds BIA Erred by Concluding That Guatemalan Petitioner’s PSG Was Circular
The court held that the BIA erred by concluding that the Guatemalan petitioner’s particular social group (PSG) was circular, and also erred by failing to consider whether being a landowning farmer was one central reason for the persecution he experienced. (Espinoza-Ochoa v. Garland, 12/27/23)
Advancing Gender and Sex Equality in Asylum Protections
AILA Law Journal Author Elaine Wood shares a bit about her article entitled “Persecution Taxonomy: Adding Sex and Gender as Protected Grounds for Asylum“ in which she argues persuasively that revising the applicable language is now imperative to address contemporary concerns.
Policy Brief: Border Solutions Are Attainable, But Proposals Under Consideration Fall Far Short
America urgently needs solutions to manage unprecedented migration levels arriving at the U.S. southern border. With volumes exceeding capacity, there is a greater imperative for the country to exercise control over its borders and process migrants more rapidly, efficiently, and fairly.
An Article I Immigration Court
Mimi Tsankov, President of the NAIJ, shares brief highlights of her article on the need for an independent Article I immigration court, featured in the Fall 2023 edition of the AILA Law Journal.
Practice Alert: I-765s in the (c)(8) Category Wrongly Denied with 150 Days on the Asylum Clock
Members have reported USCIS denying (c)(8) I-765s because the applicant has not accrued the required 180 days for employment authorization, rather than holding them, even when the applications are timely filed after the applicant’s asylum application has been pending the requisite 150 days.
CA6 Vacates Asylum Denial as to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Was Abused by Her Husband
The court held that the BIA had failed to consider possible mixed motives relating to the petitioner’s first two proposed social groups, and thus failed to fully consider whether she could prove that her persecution had a nexus to a protected ground. (Sebastian-Sebastian v. Garland, 12/8/23)
AILA Urges Focus on Actual Solutions for Border Security and Management
As negotiators reportedly consider significant changes to America’s asylum system as well as a nationwide expansion of expedited removal, AILA urges the Biden Administration to turn away from destructive proposals and stand by its original funding request.
AILA Law Journal, Vol. 5, Number 2, October 2023
The October 2023 edition of the AILA Law Journal is now available.
Practice Alert: Potential Relief for Asylum Seekers Turned Back at POEs Prior to July 16, 2019
If you have clients who were improperly turned back after the permanent injunction in Al Otro Lado, please reach out ASAP to determine whether they may be eligible to request reopening or reconsideration of asylum claims and, where necessary, return to the United States to pursue their cases.
Policy Brief: What Would Be the Impact of Capping Asylum
AILA provides a policy brief on the idea of limiting the number of people who could receive asylum, which has been proposed as a way to reduce or limit migration at the U.S. southern border. A cap intended to block or limit asylum seekers is not an effective solution to managing border migration.
CA5 Says BIA Erred in Upholding Withholding of Removal and CAT Denial to Salvadoran Petitioner
The court held that the BIA misapplied prevailing case law, disregarded crucial evidence, and failed to adequately support its decisions in upholding the IJ’s denial of the petitioner’s withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) claims. (Argueta-Hernandez v. Garland, 12/5/23)
Congress Should Focus Supplemental Funding Bill on Real Border Solutions
AILA and the Council share a statement urging Congress to focus supplemental funding discussions on solutions that would improve border processing as well as reduce backlogs elsewhere in the immigration system.
BIA Finds Family Membership Incidental to Other Ultimate Goal Is Not One Central Reason for Harm in Asylum Analysis
The BIA held that, for purposes of establishing asylum eligibility, if a persecutor is targeting members of a family as a means of achieving some other goal, family membership is incidental to that goal and not one central reason for the harm. Matter of M–R–M–S–, 28 I&N Dec. 757 (BIA 2023)
AILA Submits Statement to Congress Opposes Proposals Restricting Asylum and Parole in the Supplemental
With federal funding discussions underway on a supplemental budget deal, AILA calls upon lawmakers to reject dangerous immigration proposals that would do grave, irreparable harm to the U.S. asylum system while creating chaos in efforts to manage the border.
Congress Must Not Weaken Asylum System as Part of Budget Negotiations
AILA President Farshad Owji and Executive Director Ben Johnson urge that Senate negotiators reject the severe restrictions on America’s asylum system being entertained in exchange for a supplemental funding deal; the changes would be harmful and ineffective.
Potential Game-Changer Cases for Immigration Law at SCOTUS
AILA Members and litigation experts Brian Green and Stephen Yale-Loehr describe three SCOTUS cases that could have significant implications for the practice of immigration law; the legitimacy of the current U.S. immigration court system could be undermined depending on the rulings.
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Nepali Petitioner Who Was Attacked by Maoist Insurgents
The court held that the Nepali army’s prompt response to the attack on the petitioner and her family in their home reasonably supported the government’s willingness to take action to protect the petitioner from her Maoist persecutors. (Singh v. Garland, 11/27/23)
Policy Brief: The Asylum Credible Fear Standard
Proposed legislation has threatened to further restrict access to asylum. AILA opposes this change. This brief explains the current law governing this part of the asylum process called the credible fear interview.
USCIS Announces that Tampa Asylum Office Moving to New Location
The USCIS Tampa Asylum Office is moving to a new location and the current location will close to the public on November 29, 2023. Mail will be accepted at the new location starting November 29; however, it will not have walk-in hours until December 13, 2023. This move does not affect jurisdiction.
AILA and the Council Seek Information on the Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) Program
AILA and the American Immigration Council filed a FOIA request to obtain documents related to ICE and CBP’s implementation of the Family Expedited Removal Management Program (FERM).
Practice Alert: I-730 Processing and Incorrectly Assessed Fees for Afghan Petitions
AILA’s DOS Liaison Committee provides an updated alert concerning consular selection for Afghan immigrant visa cases, acceptance and processing of I-730 petitions out of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, and incorrectly assessed immigrant visa fees for Afghan immediate relative petitions.
CA4 Grants Panel Rehearing in Ullah v. Garland at Request of Attorney General
At the request of the Attorney General, the court granted the petition for panel rehearing and modified its opinion to the extent that it remanded the case to the Attorney General for further proceedings. (Ullah v. Garland, 10/12/23)
AILA’s VAWA, Us, and Ts Committee Meets with USCIS (11/16/23)
AILA’s VAWA, Us and Ts Committee provides key takeaways, unofficial Q&As and practice pointers, and answers to pre-submitted questions from its engagement with USCIS on November 16, 2023.