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
CA2 Finds IJ’s Analysis Deficient in Bangladeshi Asylum Claim
The court held that the IJ’s finding that Petitioners failed to show past persecution was deficient in its consideration of claims in the aggregate and included errors in the analysis of several incidents and economic harm. (Manzur v. DHS, 7/16/07)
CA2 Says No Per Se Refugee Status for Spouses of Family Planning Victims
The en banc court held that IIRAIRA §601(a), which amended the definition of refugee, is unambiguous and clearly does not extend automatic refugee status to spouses or partners of victims of coercive family planning policies. (Lin v. DOJ, 7/16/07)
CA2 Refuses to Exercise Power to Remand Forced Sterilization Claim
The court declined to remand Petitioner’s case using its inherent power, based on new documents from another case regarding forced sterilization of unmarried women. (Ni v. Gonzales, 7/12/07)
CA4 Rejects Asylum for Egyptian Married to Jewish Woman
CA4 found no evidence that the Egyptian government would persecute Petitioner because of his marriage to a woman of Jewish descent, and that DHS’ breach of confidentiality was not a ground for asylum. (Abdel-Rahman v. Gonzales, 7/12/07)
CA1 Overturns IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding in Cambodian Asylum Case
The court reversed the IJ’s adverse credibility finding, where the IJ’s description of Petitioner’s testimony was inaccurate and Petitioner corrected a discrepancy almost immediately, before it was brought to her attention. (Heng v. Gonzales, 7/12/07)
CA7 Finds IJ Denied Right to Present Evidence by Excluding Expert Opinion
The court held that the IJ’s refusal to consider the expert’s testimony was a violation of Petitioner’s right to present evidence, findin the expert could have given his opinion regarding a political issue, and was not testifying as a document expert. (Tadesse v. Gonzales, 7/9/07)
CA11 Finds Attack by FARC Was Motivated by Petitioner’s Political Opinion
CA11 upheld the conclusion that the attack on Petitioner was politically motivated and was not a random criminal act. It later granted the government’s petition for rehearing and amended its decision to find no jurisdiction over one claim. (Lopez v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 7/6/07)
CA8 Finds Albania Applicant Suffered Past Persecution and Remands to BIA
The court held that Petitioner suffered past persecution in Albania based on his political opinion, finding that the IJ did not consider the question of whether the government met its burden of rebutting the presumption of a well-founded fear. (Sholla v. Gonzales, 7/5/07).
BIA Holds Alien Returning to U.S. After Failed Canadian Refugee Application is "Arriving Alien"
The BIA held that an alien who leaves the U.S. and is admitted to Canada to seek refugee status has made a departure and thus is an arriving alien when returning after the denial of an application for refugee status in Canada. Matter of R-D-, 24 I&N Dec. 221 (BIA 2007)
Immigration Law Advisor, June 2007 (Vol. 1, No. 6)
Immigration Law Advisor with articles on the unsettled concept of firm resettlement as a bar to asylum and how EOIR motions are being governed by federal courts, court activity for May 2007, update on recent BIA precedent decisions, a legislative commentary on S. 1639, and a regulatory update.
AILA Liaison/NSC Q & As on Refugee/Asylee Issues (6/28/07)
In a 06/28/2007 conference call, the NSC answered questions on asylee and refugee issues.
Sign-On Letter in Support of Levin-Brownback Amendment to S. 1639
Sign-on letter from NGOs, including AILA, to members of the Senate in support of the Levin-Brownback amendment (division XX, p. 291) to S. 1639. The amendment would protect Iraqi refugees fleeing persecution based upon their membership in minority religious groups.
CA2 Remands for Determination of Whether Defected KGB Agents Constitute PSG
The court noted that it was not its task to determine in the first instance whether “defected KGB agents” constitute a particular social group and remanded to the BIA. (Koudriachova v. Gonzales, 6/26/07)
DOS Requests Comments on Medical Examination Forms for Immigrant or Refugee Applicants
DOS requests comments on Medical Examination for Immigrant or Refugee Applicant Forms DS-2053, DS-3024, DS-3025, and DS-3026. Comments are due in 30 days. (72 FR 34734, 6/25/07)
BIA Discusses “Mixed Motive” Asylum Cases
The BIA held that under the REAL ID Act, in mixed motive asylum cases, race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion must be at least one central reason for the claimed persecution. Matter of J-B-N- & S-M-, 24 I&N Dec. 208 (BIA 2007)
CA2 Remands to Allow Petitioner to Respond to Administratively Noticed Facts
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion in denying Petitioner’s motion to reopen based solely on administratively noticed facts, without giving Petitioner an opportunity to rebut the inferences drawn from those facts. (Chhetry v. DOJ, 6/20/07)
CA3 Holds Husband May Stand in Shoes of Wife in Population Control Case
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that one spouse’s qualifications for asylum may be imputed to the other spouse in coercive population control claims. (Chen v. Att’y Gen. of U.S., 6/20/07)
CA11 Remands Denial of MTR by Chinese Asylum Applicant with 2 USC Children
The court held that in light of the record, it was arbitrary and capricious for the BIA to find that Petitioner failed to establish a prima facie case for asylum or withholding based on the birth of two children in the US. (Li v. U.S. Att’y Gen., 6/18/07)
CA6 Remands Asylum Denial in Iraqi Case and Criticizes Conduct of IJ
The court held that, based on the IJ’s conduct and its effect on Petitioner’s ability to testify accurately, it could not conclude that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was based on substantial evidence. (Elias v. Gonzales, 6/15/07)
CA6 Finds Chinese Labor Activist Was Persecuted for His Political Opinion
In reversing the IJ, the court found that Petitioner was persecuted not merely as a striker protesting his potential loss of employment, but as a political activist attempting to expose corruption by government officials and to protect workers’ interests. (Bu v. Gonzales, 6/15/07)
CA9 Rejects Polygraph Results and Medical Exam in MTR Indian Asylum Claim
CA9 held that polygraph evidence is not evidence that was previously unavailable within the meaning of 8 CFR §1003.2(c). The court also refused to consider a medical report regarding Petitioner’s scars for the same reason. (Goel v. Gonzales, 6/14/07)
CA9 Rejects Negative Inference without Credibility Finding in Asylum Claim
The court found the IJ erred in relying on the negative inference drawn from Petitioner’s refusal to allow access to his Canadian immigration file. The court held that the IJ failed to make an express credibility determination, or to analyze Petitioner’s claim. (Singh v. Gonzales, 6/12/07)
CA4 Finds Withholding Claim Cannot Be Based on Psychological Harm Alone
The court held that a withholding claim cannot rely solely on psychological harm, but must establish injury or a threat of injury to the applicant’s person or freedom. (Niang v. Gonzales, 6/12/07)
CA7 Remands Chinese Claim for Ruling on Severity of Economic Sanctions
The court noted that the BIA is entitled to respond to normal country conditions but remanded the case for consideration of the financial penalties used when couples have two or more children and whether those amount to force. (Chen v. Gonzales, 6/11/07)
BIA Finds Parent with Two Chinese-Born Children May Qualify as a Refugee
The BIA held that a person who fathers or gives birth to two or more children in China may qualify as a refugee if established that the births are a violation of family planning policies that would give rise to a well-founded fear of persecution. Matter of J-H-S-, 24 I&N Dec. 196 (BIA 2007)