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 Urges Litigants to Focus on Statutory and Regulatory Arguments before Raising Constitutional Claims
Rejecting the asylum applicant’s due process claim, CA7 reframed the claim as a denial of his right to a reasonable opportunity to present evidence and denied relief, citing failure to indicate what other evidence would have been presented given more time.(Rehman v. Gonzales, 3/20/06)
CIS Ombudsman Proposes Severe Changes to Asylum Process
A 3/20/06 proposal by Prakash Khatri, CIS Ombudsman, proposing, among other things, to limit the filing of asylum applications with USCIS to persons in nonimmigrant status, charge a fee for asylum applications, and shift authority for credible fear assessments to ICE.
CA2 Finds No Well-founded Fear of Persecution in China
The court denied asylum where Petitioner based his claim on the fear that he would be arrested and sent to a labor camp for twice distributing pro-democracy flyers when he was 16 years old. (Lin v. Gonzales, 3/17/06)
CA5 Upholds Finding of Changed Country Conditions and Denies Humanitarian Asylum to Kosovar Muslim
The court found that the evidence of changed conditions negated Petitioner’s individual fear of future persecution, and concluded that Petitioner’s past harm was not severe enough to merit a grant of humanitarian asylum. (Shehu v. Gonzales, 3/17/06)
CA9 Holds That Applicants for Admission, Including Asylum Seekers, Cannot Be Indefinitely Detained
The court held that the indefinite detention of applicants for admission “is unreasonable, unjustified, and in violation of federal law,” and granted Petitioner’s motion for immediate release under FRAP 23(b). (Nadarajah v. Gonzales, 3/17/06)
Text of the Securing America’s Borders Act
Text of the Securing America’s Borders Act (S. 2454), introduced by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) on 3/16/06.
CA7 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal Based on Changed Conditions in Uganda
CA7 found that the past harm was not sufficient to show entitlement to withholding of removal. It also found that it was impossible to predict that a renewal of hostilities is imminent or that Petitioner would be at risk if country conditions deteriorate. (Kobugabe v. Gonzales, 3/15/06)
CA7 Takes Jurisdiction in One-Year Deadline Case but Upholds IJ’s Denial of Asylum and Withholding of Removal
CA7 concluded that it had jurisdiction under REAL ID for appellate review of constitutional claims and questions of law, but the BIA’s error was harmless because circumstances in Zimbabwe have remained “business as usual.”(Mabasa v. Gonzales, 3/15/06)
CA7 Overrules IJ’s Finding that Albanian Asylum-Seeker Did Not Suffer Past Persecution
CA7 rejected the IJ’s finding that Petitioner was not a victim of persecution on account of his political activity, noting that since past persecution was shown, the burden should have shifted to the government to establish the lack of a well-founded fear. (Cecaj v. Gonzales, 3/15/06)
CA2 Rejects Adverse Credibility Determination in Russian Asylum Claim
The court found that six of the seven bases given by the IJ for his adverse credibility determination were erroneous, and noted that the IJ’s decision contained misstatements of Petitioner’s testimony and flawed reasoning. (Pavlova v. INS, 3/14/06)
CA4 Holds IJ Erred in Requiring Proof that Political Persecution Was the Sole Motive of the Government
CA4 found that the IJ erred in requiring Petitioner to prove that political persecution was the Ethiopian government’s sole motive. The court held that the IJ, by failing to apply the “mixed motive” standard, erred as a matter of law. (Menghesha v. Gonzales, 3/13/06).
CA9 Reverses IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination and Remands Sikh Asylum Case
The court held that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was improper due to her failure to address explanations for a discrepancy, her reliance on inconsistencies that did not go to the heart of the asylum claim, and speculation. (Singh v. Gonzales, 3/10/06)
CA9 Vacates Motion to Reopen Denial Issued Before the End of the 90-Day Filing Period (Updated 4/10/06)
The court struck down the BIA’s summary denial of a skeletal motion to reopen, in which counsel indicated an intention to file a brief and additional documentation, before the end of the 90-day filing window. (Yeghiazaryanv v. Gonzales, 3/10/06)
EOIR's Automated Telephone Case Status Information System
EOIR notice discusses how to access the automated telephone case status information system.
CA7 Grants DOJ’s Motion to Remand Chinese Asylum Case
CA7 held that an agency may request a remand without confessing error to reconsider its previous opinion, noting that it has been critical of recent decisions by the BIA in asylum matters and that DOJ might want to have an opportunity to reconsider some decisions.(Ren v. Gonzales, 3/9/06)
CA7 Holds IJ Improperly Required Corroborating Evidence in Asylum Case
CA7 noted that an asylum claim of a credible applicant cannot be denied solely for lack of corroborating evidence. The court found that the IJ did not make an express credibility finding and never explained why it was reasonable to expect corroborating evidence.(Diallo v. Gonzales, 3/9/06)
CA8 Finds Asylum Applicant Waived His One-Year Deadline Due Process Claim and Failed to Establish a Pattern of Persecution in Indonesia
The court held that under the REAL ID Act it has jurisdiction to review constitutional and legal questions, but that Petitioner waived his due process claim based on the one-year deadline by not raising it with the BIA. (Wijono v. Gonzales, 3/8/06)
NSC Update on the Ngwanyia Lawsuit Email Address
NSC News Flash provides information about the email address for Ngwanyia lawsuit asylee adjustment cases, as affected by the NSC's recent change in e-mail system software.
AILA/TSC Meeting Minutes (3/6/06)
TSC responds to AILA liaison questions on fingerprints; biometrics; RFEs; PERM; Premium Processing; Schedule A; L-1; Conditional Permanent Resident; DOL Dallas Backlog Elimination Center; asylee adjustments; 245(i); divorce; H-1B; Forms I-485, I-797, N-400, I-824, I-129, I-130, I-140, I-751; etc.
Sign-On Letter to Senate Opposing Provisions in Chairman’s Mark That Would Harm Asylum Seekers
Letter signed by 84 organizations and 117 individuals and delivered to the Senate on 3/6/06, opposing provisions in the Chairman’s Mark that would harm “vulnerable populations, including asylum-seekers, children, trafficking victims, and others seeking protection in the United States.”
CA8 Upholds Decision that Catholic Indonesian Did Not Suffer Past Persecution and Does Not Have a Well-Founded Fear
The court held that past persecution does not normally include unfulfilled threats of physical injury. The court also found the IJ did not err with regard to his well-founded fear finding because the harm feared was not nationwide. (Setiadi v. Gonzales, 3/3/06)
CA6 Upholds “Frivolous” Determination by IJ and Finds Asylum Applicant Waived His Due Process Claim
The court held that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was supported by substantial evidence. The court also found that Petitioner waived his due process claim. (Sterkaj v. Gonzales, 3/3/06)
CA2 Says Women Sold into Marriage in China Is a Social Group
The court found that women who have been sold into marriage and who live in a part of China where forced marriages are considered valid and enforceable is a particular social group for purposes of asylum. (Gao v. Gonzales, 3/3/06)
CA2 Discusses Subtle Inconsistencies and Credibility Determinations
In a case of first impression, the court held that where an inconsistency is not self-evident, an IJ may not rely on it without first bringing it to the attention of the applicant and giving the applicant the opportunity to explain. (Xue v. BIA, 2/21/06)
CA2 Says BIA Erred in Denying MTR, But Remand Would Be Futile
The court noted that the BIA erred in denying a motion to reopen by failing to assess whether country conditions had changed, but found that remand would be futile because the BIA addressed the error in denying the motion to reconsider. (Alam v. Gonzales, 2/17/06)