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
Ombudsman Recommendation that USCIS Mail All Asylum Decisions
CIS Ombudsman’s 10/12/05 recommendation to USCIS that all asylum decisions should be sent certified return/receipt or regular mail via USPS to all asylum applicants, thus eliminating the existing “pick up” decision delivery process.
CA2 Finds Adverse Credibility Fatally Undercuts CAT Claim
The court upheld the IJ’s adverse credibility finding and found that it was reasonable for the IJ to conclude that Petitioner’s lack of credibility fatally undermined her claims for asylum, withholding, and CAT. (Yang v. Gonzales, 10/11/05)
CA8 Finds Asylum Applicants Failed to Prove the Motive of their Persecutors
CA8 found Petitioners did not establish that the harm from government soldiers was “on account of” an imputed political opinion, noting that one could infer that the soldiers beat Petitioners for their refusal to cooperate in the search for an army deserter. (Gomez v. Gonzales, 10/10/05)
CA11 Eleventh Circuit Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Whether Petitioner Met an Exception to the One Year Asylum Deadline
Agreeing with CA7’s decision in Vasile v. Ashcroft, the court found the timeliness of an asylum application is not a legal or constitutional question which new INA §242(a)(2)(D) authorizes it to review. (Botero v. U.S. Attorney General, 10/6/05)
CA3 Finds BIA’s Rationale for Denying Asylum to Tanzanian Boy Scout Deficient
The court found that the BIA misinterpreted Petitioner’s evidence about street children and gave unwarranted weight to the fact that his parents were not persecuted. (Lusingo v. Gonzales, 8/19/05)
AILA/TSC Liaison Meeting (10/3/05)
TSC responds to AILA questions during the 10/3/05 liaison meeting. AILA Doc. No. 05102662.
CA7 Comments on Role of IJ in Overturning Adverse Credibility Determination
CA7, noting that an IJ is not merely a fact finder and adjudicator, but also has an obligation to establish the record, found that all five reasons cited by the IJ for finding Petitioner not credible were unsupported by substantial evidence. (Tabaku v. Gonzales, 9/29/05)
NSC Teleconference Q & A's on Asylee and Refugee Product Line (9-29-05)
NSC Teleconference Q&As (9-29-05) discussed backlog reduction; RFE's; biometrics; fingerprints; Forms I-485, I-693, I-730, I-643, DS-2053, OF-157, I-602, I-551, I-94, I-89, I-589, I-131; etc.
CA8 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Application
The Court found that the statutory language plainly excludes jurisdiction to review the BIA’s determinations that Petitioner’s application was not filed within one year and that he failed to meet the changed or extraordinary circumstances exception. (Al-Jojo v. Gonzales, 9/27/05)
DHS Extends Comment Period for I-590 Information Collection Request
DHS extends comment period on information collection request regarding Form I-590. Comments due 10/26/05. (70 FR 56181, 9/26/05)
CA2 Rejects Adverse Credibility in Chinese Asylum Claim
The court found that Petitioner’s testimony about his wife’s forced abortion was not, as the IJ claimed, “scant of details,” and that the IJ’s finding that Petitioner’s documents were fabricated was not supported by the evidence. (Chen v. Gonzales, 9/23/05)
CA7 Finds IJ’s Adverse Credibility Determination Was Supported by Substantial Evidence
The Court found that the inconsistencies and implausibilities in Petitioner’s story, pointed out by the IJ, went to the heart of the claim and were sufficient to support an adverse credibility finding. (Hussain v. Gonzales, 9/20/05)
Draft DHS Employee Handbook on Katrina Issues
Draft of handbook being prepared for DHS employees regarding issues arising from Hurricane Katrina.
CA7 Holds BIA Erred in Finding Testimony Inconsistent with Country Reports
The Court found that the BIA erred in denying Petitioner’s motion to reconsider, holding that his testimony about the persecution he suffered was not inconsistent with the background information on conditions for Coptic Christians in Egypt.(Dawoud v. Gonzales, 9/19/05)
CA9 Critical of Own Precedent Decisions & Says REAL ID Act Will Help Clarify Matters in Future Asylum Cases
CA9 held that Petitioner’s testimony was not inconsistent, implausibleor evasive. It expressed concern over its rules that obscure clear standards and stated its relief that the REAL ID Act would clarify the grounds for an adverse credibility determination. (Jibril v. Gonzales, 9/19/05)
CRS Report on Hurricane Katrina-Related Immigration Issues
Congressional Research Service report on whether some immigration laws and benefits policies should be relaxed with respect to foreign nationals who are victims of Hurricane Katrina and what benefits are available.
CA1 Finds No Well-Founded Fear for Chinese Asylum Applicant
The court found that Petitioner failed to exhaust his claim of past persecution and could not establish a well-founded fear of future persecution because he admitted that he could return to China without fear. (Xu v. Gonzales, 9/16/05)
CA7 Says Ethnic Chinese Indonesian With Permanent Residency in Singapore Is Firmly Resettled
Stating that the most important issue in firm resettlement is whether the stopover country made an offer of permanent residency, the court found that Petitioner was ineligible for asylum since Singapore offered permanent residency. (Firmansjah v. Gonzales, 9/16/05)
CA6 Upholds IJ’s Asylum Denial Due to Use of Fraudulent Article and IJ’s Finding that Application Was “Frivolous”
The Court held that Petitioner’s submission of the fraudulent newspaper article in support of a key element in his asylum claim was sufficient support for the IJ’s adverse credibility finding. (Selami v. Gonzales, 9/16/05)
CA7 Holds BIA’s “Very Significant Mistake” As Grounds to Overrule Credibility Determination
The Court overturned the credibility determination, finding that the BIA’s“very significant mistake” that applicant was from eastern, not southern, Uganda, suggested that it was not aware of the most basic facts of the case. (Ssali v. Gonzales, 9/14/05)
CA2 Rules Definitively That Imputed Political Opinion Is a Ground for Asylum
The court, in reversing the IJ’s denial of asylum, found that the IJ erred in failing to consider that a political opinion was imputed to Petitioner by Chinese authorities. (Gao v. Gonzales, 9/9/05)
CA7 Finds Landowning Class of Cattle Farmers in Colombia Constitutes a Particular Social Group
The Court found that Petitioners belonged to the particular social group of the educated, landowning class of cattle farmers. The Court found that they suffered past persecution including the murder of a family member, death threats and extortion. (Tapiero de Orejuela v. Gonzales, 9/8/05)
CA10 Holds Past FGM Constitutes Persecution and Adopts BIA’s Acosta Definition of Particular Social Group
In remanding the asylum claim by Senegalese woman, the court held that past FGM constitutes persecution and adopted the BIA’s definition of particular social group set forth in Acosta and remanded to the BIA to frame Petitioner’s particular social group. (Niang v. Gonzales, 9/8/05)
CA11 Agrees that Colombian Family Had No Credible Fear of FARC
The Court found that Petitioners failed to show it was more likely than not that the FARC would harm them because of Petitioner father’s political activities. (Garcia-Reina v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 9/8/05)
CA9 Reverses IJ & Criticizes Her Predisposition to Discredit Testimony of Asylum-Seekers
The Court held that substantial evidence did not support the IJ’s negative credibility determination. It noted that it had reversed this IJ’s credibility determination in several previous cases and instructed the BIA to remand the case to a different IJ. (Smolniakova v. Gonzales, 9/7/05)