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
CA11 Remands Asylum Claim of Cuban Petitioner Who Claimed He Was in Severe Danger in Cuba Due to His Political Beliefs
Granting the petition for review, the court held that two purported inconsistencies in the record were not supported by reasonable, substantial, and probative evidence, and thus could not form the basis for an adverse credibility determination as to petitioner. (Serra v. Att’y Gen., 2/15/23)
CA8 Rejects Honduran Petitioner’s Claim That Any Actual or Imputed Political Opinion Was a Central Reason for His Mistreatment
The court found that the BIA’s determination that the petitioner had never expressed any political opinion or anti-corruption sentiment and that the MS-13 gang had never imputed such a position to him when it threatened him was supported by the record. (Aguilar Montecinos v. Garland, 2/10/23)
Sixty Nonprofits, Including AILA, Submit Amicus on Harm of Title 42
Sixty nonprofits, including AILA, submit an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Arizona et al., v. Mayorkas arguing that the Title 42 expulsion policy puts countless people in genuine life-and-death circumstances who merely seek legal process, in the hope that it could bring them safety.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial to Honduran Petitioners Who Received Death Threats as Family Unit
Upholding the BIA’s denial of petitioners’ request for asylum, the court held that petitioners’ receipt of death threats in Honduras as a family unit did not convert the non-protected criminal motivation into persecution on the basis of family connections. (Barnica-Lopez v. Garland, 2/8/23)
CA5 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Had Allegedly Been Arrested and Tortured by Cameroonian Government
The court rejected the Cameroonian petitioner’s argument that the BIA had ignored substantial record evidence, including country-conditions evidence that allegedly corroborated his claims for asylum and related relief. (Mohndamenang v. Garland, 2/6/23)
AILA Statement for House Oversight Committee Hearing on the Southern Border
AILA submitted a statement for the House Oversight Committee’s February 7, 2023, hearing on the southern border. AILA urges Congress and the Biden Administration to take immediate action to build a fair, humane, and orderly asylum process and to improve the entire immigration system.
Practice Alert: Regulations on Government Websites May Be Enjoined
AILA’s Asylum & Refugee Committee provides a reminder that many enjoined regulations relating to asylum law and other areas of immigration law may appear on government websites. Alert includes information on OIL’s Currently Effective Regulations Handout, useful for tracking and citing current law.
USCIS Updates Guidance on Asylee and Refugee Adjustment One-Year Physical Presence Requirement
USCIS updated guidance to clarify that both asylees and refugees must have been physically present in the United States for one year when USCIS adjudicates their I-485, rather than at the time they file it. This applies to all I-485s and N-400s pending on 2/2/23 and those filed on or after 2/2/23.
CA1 Remands CAT Claim of Petitioner Who Was Hospitalized Following Police-Aided Assault in Guatemala
Where the petitioner had fled Guatemala after he had been hospitalized following an assault that appeared to be aided by the police, the court granted the petition for review as to the petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim and remanded. (Hernandez-Martinez v. Garland, 2/2/23)
Practice Alert: Affirmative Asylum Filing Receipt Delays
The AILA Asylum & Refugee Committee issues this practice alert with updates regarding the affirmative asylum filing receipt delays.
AILA Offers Border Solutions Ahead of First Immigration-Related Hearing in the 118th Congress
AILA addresses Congress and urges it to take swift action to update our nation’s immigration system at the border and beyond in advance of a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the southern border.
CA9 Says BIA Erred in Finding Petitioner Who Was Perceived to Be a Lesbian in Guatemala Had Not Suffered Past Persecution
The court held that the BIA erred in finding that the harm suffered by the petitioner—who was verbally and physically harassed and received death threats because her community in Guatemala perceived her to be a lesbian—did not rise to the level of persecution. (Antonio v. Garland, 1/26/23)
DOJ Press Release: Attorneys and Associate Plead Guilty to Participating in Asylum Fraud Scheme
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that two immigration attorneys and a writer pled guilty to conspiring to commit immigration fraud by preparing fraudulent asylum applications and affidavits and coaching clients to lie under oath during immigration proceedings.
CA3 Finds BIA Erred in Denying Withholding and CAT Relief to Indigenous Petitioner from Guatemala Who Feared Persecution by Gang
Vacating the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief, the court held that the BIA erred in finding that the Guatemalan petitioner did not experience past persecution by a local gang due to his indigenous identity. (Saban-Cach v. Att’y Gen., 1/25/23)
CA8 Finds That “Witnesses Who Cooperate with Law Enforcement” Is Not a PSG
The court held that the BIA and IJ did not err in finding that the Guatemalan petitioner had failed to demonstrate that “witnesses who cooperate with law enforcement” constituted a particular social group (PSG) for purposes of asylum eligibility. (Lemus-Coronado v. Garland, 1/23/23)
USCIS Announces that Certain Asylum Applicants Can Now File Form I-765 Online
USCIS announced that, effective immediately, applicants for employment authorization under category (c)(8), Pending Asylum and Withholding of Removal Applicants, and Applicants for Pending Asylum under the ABC Settlement Agreement, may file Form I-765 online.
Asylum Seekers File Class Action Lawsuit Challenging ICE’s Disclosure of Confidential Information in Data Breach
The plaintiffs, asylum seekers who had been detained in ICE custody, filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court alleging that the defendants unlawfully published their private data to ICE’s website. (Asylum Seekers Trying to Assure Their Safety v. Johnson, et al., 1/20/23)
Practice Alert: Issues with Online Filing of Form I-589 - Resolved
USCIS responded to all glitches reported and no further reports have been received at this time. Online filing continues to be encouraged.
Additional Information Relating to Data Breach from ICE
ICE invited stakeholders to an engagement session to discuss its response to the inadvertent disclosure of PII of approximately 6,000 individuals in the credible fear process. As a supplement to that engagement, this additional information was circulated to stakeholders.
DOS Announces New Private Refugee Sponsorship Program
DOS, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services, announced the Welcome Corps, a new private sponsorship program that will enable Americans to directly sponsor refugees arriving through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
AILA’s Asylum & Refugee National Committee Requests a Meeting on I-730 Adjudications
The AILA Asylum & Refugee National Committee sent a letter to USCIS requesting a meeting on I-730 adjudications to discuss issues and recommendations and to provide questions.
ICE Provides FAQs on the Unintentional Disclosures of PII
ICE issued FAQs after unintentionally posting personally identifiable information, along with immigration information, of approximately 6,000 noncitizens in ICE custody. DHS also communicated to Cuba 103 names of individuals previously provided for removal processing were part of the ICE disclosure.
AILA Sends Letter to President Biden Regarding the Proposed New Transit Ban
AILA sent a letter to President Biden expressing concerns in response to an announcement that the Administration would issue a notice of proposed rulemaking that would include a transit ban.
CA1 Upholds IJ’s Denial of Withholding of Removal to Petitioner Who Feared Gang Violence in El Salvador
The court found that the IJ did not err by concurring with an asylum officer’s determination that the petitioner, who claimed that he feared violence from gangs in El Salvador, did not have a reasonable fear of persecution or torture. (Reyes-Ramos v. Garland, 1/13/23)
Practice Pointer: Title 42 and Asylum Processing at the Southern Border
This practice pointer provides a baseline understanding of Title 42 to aid in screening potential clients effectively for implications stemming from how the client crossed the southern border.