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
CA9 Finds IJ Erred by Taking Administrative Notice Without Opportunity to Rebut
The court held that Petitioner was entitled to notice of the IJ’s intent to take administrative notice of a 1999 DOS report on Romania and an opportunity to respond. It found that the report fell into the category of “controversial” fact, not “indisputable” fact. (Circu v. Gonzales, 6/9/06)
CA9 Rejects Yemeni Asylum Applicant’s Due Process and CAT Claims
The court rejected Petitioner’s due process claims because he was not precluded from presenting evidence, the IJ considered his documentary evidence, and the evidence did not compel the conclusion that his expert was credible. (Almaghzar v. Gonzales, 6/8/06)
BIA Denies Relief to Burmese Chin Based on Finding of Material Support
The BIA rejected a “totality of the circumstances” test for whether an organization is engaged in terrorist activity and refused to consider an alien’s intent in making a donation or the recipient’s intended use when deciding “material support”. Matter of S-K-, 23 I&N Dec. 936 (BIA 2006)
AG Remands Material Support Bar Case to BIA
The AG remands case in light of the 2/20/07 determination of the DHS Secretary that INA Sec. 212(a)(3)(B)(iv)(VI) shall not apply with respect to material support provided to the Chin National Front/Chin National Army. Matter of S-K-, 24 I&N Dec. 289 (AG 2007)
CA1 Finds No Well-Founded Fear in Cambodian Asylum Claim
The court held that Petitioners’ political involvement was low-level to nonexistent, and that they failed to establish that political beliefs would be imputed to them or that they were similarly situated to those who suffered abuses. (Sou v. Gonzales, 6/7/06)
CA8 Holds No Jurisdiction to Review IJ’s Findings on Country Conditions
The court held that Petitioner’s challenge of the IJ’s factual determination regarding country conditions in Afghanistan is not a reviewable “question of law” under INA §242(a)(2)(D). (Hanan v. Gonzales, 6/6/06)
CA8: Finds Jehovah’s Witness Failed to Present Credible Evidence of Religious Persecution
CA8 found insufficient credible evidence that Petitioner was a member of a group subject to a pattern of persecution in Eritrea, noting that the issue was whether she was similarly situated to others who had been persecuted. (Woldemichael v. Ashcroft, 6/5/06)
CA2 Remands for Consideration of Imputed Political Opinion
The court held that the IJ and BIA erred in finding that because Petitioner was not directly harmed by the Ethiopian government he did not have a well-founded fear, and that the IJ and BIA failed to take into account imputed political opinion. (Maidal v. INS, 6/5/06)
Office of Immigration Statistics Announces the Release of 2005 Report on Refugees and Asylees
OIS announces the release of *Refugees and Asylees: 2005. This report presents information on the number and characteristics of persons admitted to the United States as refugees or granted asylum in the United States during fiscal year 2005.
Office of Immigration Statistics Releases Report on U.S. Legal Permanent Residents for 2005
The Office of Immigration Statistics releases report of Legal Permanent Residents: 2005. This report presents information on the number and characteristics of persons who became legal permanent residents in the United States during fiscal year 2005.
CA2 Rejects Adverse Credibility Finding
In an unpublished decision, the court held that Petitioner’s testimony was not vague where he provided details about his duties with the police force and his involvement in the Democratic Party in Albania and was not asked for additional details. (Shurdho v. Gonzales, 6/1/06)
CA2 Says Adverse Credibility Rests on Unsupported Assumptions
The court found that part of the IJ’s adverse credibility determination rested on unsupported assumptions about how Burma’s military regime operates. (Htin v. BCIS, 6/1/06)
NSC Teleconference Q & A’s on Asylee/Refugee Products Line (5/25/06)
NSC Q&As (5/25/06) include: derivative I-730s, readjudication of issues, I-765s, non-rolled back refugee I-90s, I-485 rejections, HIV/waivers, 1 year physical presence, refugee adjustment backlog, RFEs for class B medical conditions, CSPA and nunc pro tunc adjustment, and material support.
CA2 Criticizes BIA for Dragging Feet on Chinese Asylum Cases
The court remanded the case for the BIA to determine whether Petitioner’s status as a boyfriend and father would allow him to qualify as a refugee based on China’s coercive population control policies. (Pan v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 5/23/06)
CA3 Finds Harsh Prison Conditions in Haiti Are Not Torture
The court held that the generalized allegations of prison conditions for criminal deportees in Haiti raised by Petitioner do not rise to the level of torture. (Francois v. Gonzales, 5/19/06)
CA2 Finds IJ/BIA Erred in Not Determining Applicant’s Nationality
The court held that an applicant’s nationality is a threshold issue in determining eligibility for asylum and that the IJ and the BIA erred in failing to determine Petitioner’s nationality. (Wangchuck v. DHS, 5/15/06)
CA8 BIA Erred in Finding No Past Persecution
The court found sufficient evidence of past persecution in Liberia. The court noted that Petitioner witnessed his father’s murder, his family home was burned, his personal property was destroyed and he was blacklisted by Charles Taylor’s forces. (Bah v. Gonzales, 5/12/06)
CA3 Finds BIA Erred in Not Reopening Due to Changed Conditions
The court found that the BIA committed an error of law when it held that Petitioners’ motion to reopen based on changed conditions was time barred under 8 CFR §1003.2(c)(3)(ii). (Filja v. Gonzales, 5/12/06)
CA10 Considers Timeliness of Asylum Application under REAL ID Act
The court held that the bar to review of one-year deadline claims was abrogated by the REAL ID Act to the extent a petitioner’s challenge to a timeliness determination raises a constitutional claim or a question or law. (Diallo v. Gonzales, 5/12/06)
CA2 Sets Time Limit for BIA to Issue “Social Group” Decision
Noting that the BIA has not decided whether affluent Guatemalans are a particular social group, the court remanded and gave the BIA 49 days to respond. (Ucelo-Gomez v. Gonzales, 5/9/06)
CA2 Finds Jurisdiction to Review VWP Asylum Claim
The court found jurisdiction to review the denial of Petitioner’s asylum claim even though her visa waiver case did not occur in a removal proceeding because the denial of her claim was the functional equivalent of a removal order. (Kanacevic v. INS, 5/5/06)
CA11 Finds Colombian Failed to Show Persecution “On Account of” Political Opinion
The court held that, viewed in the light most favorable to the findings of fact of the IJ, the record did not compel a finding that Petitioner suffered past persecution on account of her political activity. (Silva v. U.S. Atty. General, 5/5/06)
DOS Explains Waiver of Material Support Bar for Certain Ethnic Karen Refugees
In an exchange at the 5/5/06 DOS Daily Press Briefing, DOS spokesman Sean McCormack explains the waiver of the material support bar for certain ethnic Karen refugees.
DOS on Material Support Bar and Ethnic Karen Refugees
The Secretary of State has declared that ethnic Karen refugees from Burma in the Tham Hin camp in Thailand can be allowed to resettle in the U.S. "even if they have 'provided material support' to the Karen National Union (KNU)."
CA3 Finds BIA Mischaracterized Evidence and Remands Asylum Claim
The court found that the BIA mischaracterized the nature and degree of the threats faced by Petitioner and held that he established a well-founded fear in Guatemala. (Chavarria v. Gonzales, 5/3/06)