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 Prima Facie Showing Not Requred for Certain CAT MTRs
The court found that the CAT regulations on motions to reopen do not require applicants to establish a prima facie CAT case if their case was pending on or after March 22, 1999. (Guo v. Gonzales, 9/7/05)
CA11 Upholds Adverse Credibility Finding in Haitian Asylum Case
The Court upheld the IJ’s decision to deny asylum, withholding of removal and CAT protection. The Court held that Petitioner’s testimony was “too general” and failed to demonstrate a connection between the persecution and Petitioner’s political opinion. (Dolce v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 9/6/05)
CA1 Upholds IJ Denial of Azeri-Armenian Asylum Claim
The court found that Petitioner failed to connect the past harm he suffered to the Armenian government or its inability to prevent the harm, and also found that he had resided safely elsewhere within Armenia. (Harutyunyan v. Gonzales, 9/2/05)
Notice of Allocations of Targeted Assistance Grants to States for Refugee Services
Final notice from HHS regarding availability of funds for fiscal year 2005 Targeted Assistance Program grants to states for services to refugees under the Refugee Resettlement Program. (70 FR 52408, 9/2/05)
CA7 Finds IJ Erred in Making Adverse Credibility Determination & Violated Right to Due Process
The Court held that the IJ relied on irrelevant inconsistencies in reaching his adverse credibility finding. It also held that the IJ violated the Petitioner’s right to due process by barring the testimony of her experts. (Rodriguez Galicia v. Gonzales, 9/2/05)
CA9 Holds BIA Abused Its Discretion in Denying Motion to Reopen Indian Asylum Claim
The Court found that Petitioner established prima facie eligibility for asylum by showing other family members have been harmed since her asylum hearing. The Court rejected the BIA’s characterization of Petitioner’s affidavit as “self-serving.” (Bhasin v. Gonzales, 9/1/05)
CA7 Overturn IJ’s Credibility Determination of Chinese Asylum-Seeker Forced to Abort a Pregnancy
The Court held that the evidence did not support the IJ’s finding that Petitioner’s story was implausible. The IJ also erred in basing his adverse credibility finding on her use of false entry documents. (Dong V. Gonzales, 8/31/05)
CA2 Finds BIA Erred in Denying Remand of Chinese One-Child Asylum Claim
The court found that the new evidence, including the availability of the wife to testify regarding forced abortion, medical records, and a birth certificate for the second child, was material and not available at the time of the hearing. (Cao v. Gonzales, 8/31/05)
ORR Awards Grant to HIAS to Aid in Refugee Marriage Enrichment Projects
The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) announces a program award in the amount of $200,000 to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society to provide additional training and technical assistance to organizations implementing Refugee Marriage Enrichment projects. (70 FR 51357, 8/30/05)
CBP Inspectors Field Manual on Issuance of I-94s to Refugees
Excerpt from CBP Field Manual regarding the process for issuance of I-94's for refugees and derivative or following-to-join asylees. Courtesy of Christina DeConcini.
CA2 Rejects Family Planning Claim from Fujian Province
The court found that Petitioner failed to meet his burden of proof where his native Fujian province has a relatively lax family planning policy that permits a second child if the first child is a girl. (Huang v. Gonzales, 8/29/05)
CA7 Criticizes IJ for Unsubstantiated Conjectures and Overrules IJ’s Adverse Credibility Finding
The Court found that the IJ failed to demonstrate an understanding of conditions in Algeria and failed to explain why he believed corroborating evidence would be available. (Hor v. Gonzales, 8/29/05)
CA7 Says IJ Erred in Concluding that Divesting a Person of Citizenship Does Not Amount to Persecution
The Court rejected the IJ’s conclusion that Petitioners, who were stripped of their Ethiopian citizenship, did not suffer persecution, noting that the IJ failed to recognize the distinction between denying someone citizenship and divesting someone of citizenship. (Haile v. Gonzales, 8/29/05)
CA3 Finds CAT Eligibility Is Established If the Cumulative Probability of Torture Exceeds 50%
The court found that the proper application of the CAT regulations merely requires the petitioner to prove it is more likely than not he faces torture and that the cumulative probability of torture exceeds 50%. (Kamara v. Gonzales, 8/29/05)
CA8 Finds Peruvian Homosexual Failed to Establish Eligibility for Withholding of Removal
The Court found that the BIA’s decision that Petitioner had failed to demonstrate a clear probability of persecution was supported by substantial evidence, stating that instances of violence against homosexuals were sporadic.(Salkeld v. Gonzales, 8/25/05)
CA11 Upholds IJ’s Finding that Young Chinese Woman Fleeing an Arranged Marriage Was Not Eligible for Asylum
The Court upheld the IJ’s finding that Petitioner did not suffer past persecution when officials returned her to her home, as well as the finding that she did not have a well-founded fear of future harm from being forced into an arranged marriage. (Chin v. Attorney General, 8/24/05)
CA8 Holds Colombian Asylum Applicants Failed to Show They Would Be Harmed Because of Their Political Opinion or Family Membership
The Court found that the Petitioners failed to discuss their political opinion and how it differed from the FARC, and failed to prove that there was a threat against their family. (Bernal-Rendon v. Gonzales, 8/23/05)
CA8 Finds Changed Conditions in Sierra Leone and Upholds BIA’s Asylum Denial
CA8 found that Petitioner failed to establish past persecution or fear of future persecution in Sierra Leone, upholding the finding of changed conditions based on a 2002 State Department Country Report that noted the end of the civil war and improving conditions.(Jalloh v. Gonzales, 8/18/05)
CA11 Finds Marriage and Pregnancy Do Not Constitute Changed Circumstances for MTR in Chinese Asylum Case
CA11 held the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying Petitioner’s motion to reopen that was filed one day late. It also found that Petitioner’s marriage and his wife’s pregnancy did not occur in China, and thus did not qualify as a changed circumstance. (Zou v. Gonzales, 8/18/05)
CA1 Remands Albanian Asylum Claim for BIA Clarification
The court remanded to the BIA to clarify why it found that Petitioner had not established past persecution or a well-founded fear, where he testified that he was arrested, imprisoned, deprived of food, beaten, and threatened with death. (Halo v. Gonzales, 8/17/05)
CA7 Holds IJ Erred in Excluding Expert Testimony & Finding Ukrainian Mormons Had Not Suffered Persecution
The Court found that the IJ erred in holding Petitioner to an impermissibly high standard of threat to life or freedom for establishing persecution.(Koval v. Gonzales, 8/16/05)
CA2 Says Asylum Process Is Not a Search for Reasons to Deport
The court held that the IJ disregarded relevant evidence and applied the wrong legal standards when reviewing the evidence presented by a part-Jewish family from Belarus. (Poradisova v. Gonzales, 8/16/05)
CA6 Finds Young, Attractive Albanian Women Do Not Constitute a Particular Social Group
Petitioner argued that as a young, attractive woman in Albania she risked being kidnapped and forced into prostitution. The Court found that the group was too generalized for asylum purposes and that it was ill-defined. (Rreshpja v. Gonzales, 8/15/05)
USCIS Releases Document Reiterating USCIS Policy Concerning Derivative Children Who Age Out of an USRAP Priority 3 Case
USCIS released an 8/15/05 memo from former Office of Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Director Joseph Cuddihy containing guidance for adjudicating Priority 3 derivative child applicants who have reached the age of 21.
CA1 Upholds Adverse Credibility Finding in Chinese Asylum Case
The court sidestepped the issue of whether Petitioner was eligible for asylum based on his girlfriend’s forced abortion, and denied the petition, finding the IJ’s adverse credibility determination was supported by substantial evidence. (Chen v. Gonzales, 8/12/05)