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 Says IJ Applied Wrong Legal Standard in Albanian Asylum Case
The court found that the IJ’s own words – “the respondent[s have] not met their burden of showing that they would be persecuted upon their return” – demonstrate that he imposed an improperly heightened burden. (Karaj v. Gonzales, 9/5/06)
CA1 Finds Changed Conditions for Politically Active Greek Albanian
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s finding that conditions had changed in Albania, including the 2003 elections, and the fact that a Greek candidate won in Petitioner’s hometown. (Bollanos v. Gonzales, 8/31/06)
CA1 Upholds BIA Denial of Motion to Reopen Pakistani Asylum Claim
The court found that even if the BIA had accepted as true the newspaper articles submitted with Petitioner’s motion, it could reasonably accept the IJ’s conclusion that Petitioner could find refuge elsewhere in Pakistan. (Abdullah v. Gonzales, 8/31/06)
DOS Decides Material Support Bar Inapplicable to More Ethnic Karen Refugees
The Secretary of State has declared that certain ethnic Karen refugees from Burma in refugee camps in Thailand can be allowed to resettle in the U.S. "even if they have 'provided material support' to the Karen National Union (KNU)."
CA7 Holds Thai DEA Informant Denied Statutory Right to Present Asylum Evidence
CA7 held that Petitioner was denied her right to present evidence in support of her asylum request. The IJ’s refusal to consider Petitioner’s rebuttal to evidence that she committed a serious non-political crime in Thailand was unfair. (Pronsivakulchai v. Gonzales, 8/29/06)
CA7 Rejects IJ’s Denial of Togolese Asylum Claim on Several Grounds
The court found a number of errors that required a remand to the BIA, including unreasonable inferences drawn by the IJ, the IJ’s lack of expertise on conditions in Togo, and the IJ’s finding that the harm suffered by Petitioner did not amount to persecution. (Kantoni v. Gonzales, 8/28/06)
SSA Liaison Committee Practice Tip: EADs and SSNs for E and L Spouses
Practice tip from AILA-SSA Liaison Committee discusses evidence of employment authorization for E and L spouses.
CA2 Says IJ Erred in Using Husband’s I-589 to Deny Wife’s Claim
The court found that the IJ erred by preferring assertions in the husband’s application to those in the wife's and then arbitrarily using the assertions to find her not credible. (Bao v. Gonzales, 8/22/06)
CA7 Finds BIA Erred in Denying Iraqi Christian’s Religious Persecution Case
The court found no reason to disagree with the IJ’s denial of Petitioner’s claim of persecution for political opinion, but concluded the BIA erred in denying Petitioner’s religious and ethnic persecution claims without discussion. (Youkhana v. Gonzales, 8/22/06)
CA7 Finds IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding in Togolese Case Speculative
The court held that the IJ’s skeptism, unsupported by any facts in the record, did not form a valid basis for a negative credibility determination. (Ayi v. Gonzales, 8/21/06)
CA9 Finds Reporting of Private Persecution Is Not Prerequisite to Relief
CA9 found that the only evidence that the BIA considered was that Petitioner did not report the abuse to the Mexican police. The court held that the BIA erred in making the reporting of private persecution a prerequisite to a withholding claim. (Ornelas-Chavez v. Gonzales, 8/21/06)
USCIS and ICE Q&A on Procedures Implementing EOIR Regulations on Background and Security Checks
USCIS and ICE issued a Q&A regarding EOIR background check regulations for aliens seeking relief from removal.
USCIS and ICE Fact Sheet: Procedures Implementing EOIR Regulations on Background and Security Checks
USCIS/ICE fact sheet discussing procedures implemented on 4/1/05 in order to facilitate compliance with EOIR regulations prohibiting IJs and the BIA from granting relief from removal or protection benefits to an alien before DHS reports that the identity, background and security checks are complete.
CA1 Upholds IJ’s Finding of Changed Country Conditions in Albania
The court found that the IJ correctly afforded Petitioner a presumption of a well-founded fear based on past persecution, but that substantial evidence indicated that there had been a fundamental change in conditions in Albania. (Tota v. Gonzales, 8/14/06)
CA8 Holds Forensic Evidence of Document Fraud Not Always Necessary
The court upheld the IJ’s determination that Petitioner’s testimony was not credible and that corroborating documentation was fraudulent; holding that forensic evidence was not necessary where the documents bore readily identifiable indications of fraud. (Onsongo v. Gonzales, 8/10/06)
DOJ Press Release on Reforms Intended to Improve Immigration Courts and BIA
Press release from DOJ announcing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' directive to implement 22 measures intended to improve the immigration courts and Board of Immigration Appeals.
CA10 Holds VWP Entrant Has No Right to Contest Removal Through Adjustment of Status
The court held that a VWP entrant who overstays and files for adjustment of status before issuance of a removal order has waived his right to contest the removal order. (Ferry v. Gonzales, 8/8/06)
CA7 Declines to Extend Asylum to Boyfriends of Women Forced to Have Abortions
The court held that the inconsistencies the IJ identified were not significant. The court held, however, that Petitioner had not suffered past persecution and refused to extend refugee status to boyfriends of women forced to undergo abortions. (Chen v. Gonzales, 8/8/06)
CA2 Finds Violation of Asylum Applicant’s Right to Confidentiality
The court held that the government violated 8 CFR §208.6 and rejected its post hoc rationale for the breach. The court also held that the adverse credibility finding, based on a consular report, was not supported by substantial evidence. (Lin v. Gonzales, 8/3/06)
CA4 Remands on Issue of Whether Well-Founded Fear Presumption Was Rebutted
The court held that Petitioner was not eligible for humanitarian asylum, finding that the past persecution he suffered was not “the most atrocious abuse.” The court remanded on the issue of well-founded fear of future persecution. (Naizgi v. Gonzales, 7/31/06)
TRAC Study on Immigration Judges and Requests for Asylum
Study from Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University focuses on the disparities between immigration judges, and between represented and unrepresented cases, in asylum decisionmaking.
CA2 Says Torture Does Not Include Deprivation of Property
The court reviewed the CAT regulations and found no indication that the definition of torture was intended to encompass destruction, thefts, expropriations, or other deprivations of property. (Jo v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
CA7 Remands Asylum Claim For Lack of Analysis of in BIA Decision
The court found that, where the BIA’s one-sentence opinion assumed that Petitioner was credible but found that he had not met his burden of proof, the opinion lacked sufficient analysis to support the conclusion that the IJ and BIA’s errors were harmless. (Pramatarov v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
CA8 Finds Afghan Family Firmly Resettled Despite Expiration of Third Country Status
The court upheld the IJ’s conclusion that the Afghan family was firmly resettled in Australia, finding it irrelevant that the Australian government might not permit them re-entry after the family allowed their status there to expire. (Sultani v. Gonzales, 7/27/06)
CA3 Finds “Criminal Deportees” to Haiti Not a Particular Social Group
The court held that the BIA properly denied CAT protection because Petitioner did not demonstrate the specific intent element for torture and joined other circuits in finding that criminal deportees are not a social group. (Toussaint v. Atty. Gen. of U.S., 7/26/06)