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 Upholds Adverse Credibility, Concedes Other Panel Might Have Found Otherwise
In a Chinese family planning case, the court held that the IJ’s implausibility finding was supported by substantial evidence, but noted that other panels could have decided differently. (Chen v. Gonzales, 1/12/06)
Asylum Officer Basic Training Course: Reading Caselaw
This lesson provides asylum officers with basic information on how to read and interpret precedent decisions, including finding decisions, the components of decisions, and the terms used to discuss decisions.
USCIS Provides Lesson Plan on Decision Writing - Legal Analysis
USCIS provided part two of its Asylum Officer Basic Training lesson plan on decision writing. This lesson explains the legal analysis component of an assessment or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), the components of the analysis itself, and how to correctly write a legal analysis.
CA2 Remands Withholding, Finds IJ Ignored Testimony
The court remanded Petitioner's claim of withholding from the Republic of Georgia because the IJ failed to consider the harm Petitioner suffered. (Ivanishvili v. Gonzales, 1/5/06)
CA2 Says Transporting Women to Forced Abortions Is Assisting in Persecution
The court found that the IJ correctly concluded that Petitioner’s actions in transporting captive women to undergo forced abortions was assistance in persecution and therefore, a bar to asylum. (Xie v. Gonzales, 1/5/06)
CA7 Remands for Consideration of Whether Threatened Deportation Amounts to Persecution
CA7 held that the IJ’s negative credibility determination was not supported by cogent reasons. The court also found that the IJ failed to consider Petitioner’s claim that the Eritrean government’s threat to denaturalize and deport her amounted to past persecution. (Giday v. Gonzales, 1/5/06)
CA7 Upholds IJ’s Negative Credibility Finding and Rejects Due Process Argument
The court held that the IJ’s negative credibility finding was entitled to deference. Although the court found it had jurisdiction to hear Petitioner’s due process claim under the REAL ID Act, it rejected the claim. (Feto v. Gonzales, 1/4/06)
CA11 Holds DHS Failed to Meet Its Burden of Showing Relocation Within Colombia Was Reasonable for Family Fleeing the FARC
The court found that the burden was on DHS to show that internal relocation was reasonable because the BIA presumed past persecution, and concluded that the record compelled a finding that the FARC operates country-wide. (Arboleda v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 1/3/06)
CA9 Finds Likelihood that USC Daughter Would Be Subjected to FGM Requires Remand of Parents’ Claim
The en banc court found that the probability a US citizen child would be subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM) greatly exceeded the threshold required for asylum eligibility, but remanded re whether her parents could derivatively qualify for asylum. (Abebe v. Gonzales, 12/30/05)
CA3 Upholds Asylum Denial Based on Lack of Corroboration
The court found that the IJ clearly identified facts for which it was reasonable to expect corroboration and noted that under the REAL ID Act it could not reverse the IJ’s determination unless it concluded that corroborating evidence was unavailable. (Chen v. Gonzales, 12/29/05)
CA7 Finds Error in Allowing Government’s Document Expert to Testify in Albanian Asylum Case
The court, in finding that the government’s document expert should not have been permitted to testify, held that “junk science” has no place in administrative proceedings.(Pasha v. Gonzales, 12/29/05)
CA2 Uses Airport Interview to Uphold Negative Credibility Finding
The court noted that it exercises caution when reviewing airport statements, but found no indication that Petitioner’s statement was coerced, truncated, or mistranslated. (Guan v. Gonzales, 12/23/05)
CA1 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review One-Year Asylum Deadline
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to decide whether Petitioner timely filed for asylum because the INA bars judicial review and the REAL ID Act only restored jurisdiction for constitutional claims and questions of law. (Mehilli v. Gonzales, 12/22/05)
CA8 Lacks Jurisdiction Over Asylum Denial Based on One-Year Asylum Deadline
The court said it lacked jurisdiction to review the denial of a hardship waiver application. The court also found that “extraordinary circumstances” did not exist to excuse an asylum application filed late. (Ignatova v. Gonzales, 12/19/05)
Top 10 “Poison Pills” in H.R. 4437
AILA’s list of the top 10 “Poison Pills” in the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (HR 4437), as amended and passed by the House on 12/16/05.
House Passes Harsh, Enforcement-Only Bill That Would Criminalize 11 Million Immigrants
On 12/16/05, the House completed consideration of Rep. Sensenbrenner’s (R-WI) enforcement-only bill, the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437). AILA believes this bill is disappointing and disastrous for both immigrants and U.S. citizens.
Congressional Budget Office’s Cost Estimate for H.R. 4437
The Congressional Budget Office has issued a cost estimate for the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (H.R. 4437), as ordered reported by the House Judiciary Committee on 12/8/05.
CA8 Denies Petition for Review of Gay Asylum Applicant from Zimbabwe
The Court upheld the IJ’s decision that Petitioner failed to show past persecution and that Petitioner failed to establish a well-founded fear, despite the Zimbabwean government’s hostility toward homosexuals and the fact that homosexuality is illegal. (Kimumwe v. Gonzales, 12/13/05)
CIS Ombudsman Recommendation that USCIS Utilize I-797 for Asylum Approval Notifications
CIS Ombudsman’s 12/7/05 recommendation to USCIS that the Asylum Division utilize the automated and standardized USCIS Notice of Action Form (I-797) that includes Form I-94 for asylum approval notifications.
CA9 Denies Government’s Request for Rehearing En Banc in Asylum Case Involving Disabled Russian Child
CA9 denied the petition for a rehearing en banc. Seven judges dissented, stating that the case had profound implications and that by allowing the harms suffered by a child to be imputed to the parent, the panel had created a reverse derivative asylum claim. (Tchoukhrova v. Gonzales, 12/5/05)
CA9 Rejects Asylum Claim of Chinese Christian Giving Little Weight to Hearsay Evidence (Updated 9/8/06)
The Court found that Petitioner failed to demonstrate past persecution well-founded fear, and that where an applicant’s testimony consists of hearsay evidence, the statements by the out-of-court declarant may be accorded less weight by the trier of fact. (Gu v. Gonzales, 12/1/05)
USCIS Reminds ABC Class Members of New Address Change Procedures
With the ABC Project Post Office Box now closed, USCIS will no longer accept change of address forms sent to that box. Class members must now use the address listed on Form AR-11 in order to report a change of address.
CA2 on Economic Persecution
The court upheld the IJ’s determination that the economic harm suffered by Petitioner, including dismissal from a university and employment in a factory for over 20 years, did not constitute persecution. (Damko v. Gonzales, 11/30/05)
Minutes of the 11/8/05 Asylum Office Meeting
Minutes of the 11/8/05 Headquarters Asylum Office meeting with NGOs, discussing such topics as interpreter services, material support bar, one-year filing deadline, coercive population control cases, FBI name checks, employment authorization, and more..
CA3 Finds IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination Was Erroneous
The court found that even though it must afford substantial deference to the IJ's adverse credibility finding, the contradiction between the doctor’s note and the petitioner’s testimony was created by the IJ’s own strained interpretation of the note. (Butt v. Gonzales, 11/23/05)