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
Detention Ombudsman Reports 52% of Complaints Were About Living Conditions
AILA Policy Counsel Jen Whitlock writes about the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman (OIDO) including the office's history, the data it has shared so far, and some key questions that remain; she urges everyone to use AILA's advocacy tool to tell Congress immigration detention is inhumane
With A Gun To Their Head
In this video blog post, AILA Law Student Member Nathan Hall describes why he decided to dig into the issue of the “serious nonpolitical crime“ bar and its impact on asylum seekers when he wrote his piece for the April 2022 edition of the AILA Law Journal.
Fast Tracking Asylum at the Border will Undermine Due Process
In this blog post, AILA's Amy Grenier walks through the significant due process concerns that have been expressed about the Interim Final Rule on asylum processing from the Biden administration and why having sufficient time, to seek counsel and pull together a substantive claim, is so important.
DHS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on New MPP Disenrollment Request System
DHS 60-day notice and request for comment on a new public-facing Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) Disenrollment Request website. Comments are due 7/22/22. (87 FR 31254, 5/23/22)
CBP Issues Guidance on Processing of Noncitizens Manifesting Fear of Expulsion Under Title 42
CBP issued a memo that clarifies previous guidance implementing the CDC Order to ensure that it is consistent with Huisha Huisha v. Mayorkas decision, which found that the government may expel family units but only to places where they are “not likely to be persecuted or tortured.”
CBP Clarifies Guidance Regarding Expulsion of Family Units Under Title 42
CBP clarified previous guidance on how noncitizens should be screened to determine if they are more likely than not to be persecuted or tortured, stating that CBP should consider all available information within their scope and includes a non-exhaustive list of manifestations of fear.
DHS Provides Privacy Impact Assessment on the MPP Case Request System
DHS provided a PIA on the MPP Case Request System, which individuals can use to review their enrollment in MPP if they believe they should not be included in the program. The PIA analyzes privacy risks associated with the collection of personally identifiable information as part of this effort.
USCIS Announces Availability of New EAD Automatic Extension Calculator
Following the USCIS temporary final rule increasing the automatic extension period for EADs, USCIS created the EAD Automatic Extension Calculator to assist employers and employees with determining the EAD expiration date for eligible employees.
AILA President Allen Orr: Pause on Title 42 Rollback Unsurprising; the Fight Continues
Allen Orr responded to the preliminary injunction keeping Title 42 in place as a border expulsion policy noting, “We are disappointed but in no way surprised by this decision…we will overcome this decision and ensure America’s compassion and commitment to fairness and justice prevail.”
DHS Provides Statement on Louisiana District Court Ruling on Title 42
In response to the Louisiana District Court ruling on Title 42, DHS will continue to enforce Title 42, and increase personnel and resources as needed. DHS has redeployed more than 600 additional law enforcement officers to the border and established a Southwest Border Coordination Center.
CA4 Vacates District Court’s Injunction Mandating Procedural Requirements for INA §236(a) Bond Hearings
The court vacated the district court’s preliminary injunction ordering that the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that a noncitizen is either a flight risk or a danger to the community to continue detention under INA §236(a). (Miranda v. Garland, 5/12/22, amended 5/19/22)
AILA Asylum & Refugee Committee Requests Guidance from DHS on Asylum Applications Processing after the Doyle Memo
The AILA Asylum & Refugee Committee sent a letter to DHS requesting guidance on how the agency will process affirmative asylum applications where the noncitizen had their immigration court removal case terminated under the Doyle memo.
CA5 Finds BIA’s Affirmance of IJ’s Credibility Determination as to Cameroonian Petitioner Was Not Supported by Record
The court held that BIA erred by affirming the IJ’s credibility determination, where the IJ relied on petitioner’s CBP and asylum credible fear interviews that were not entered into the hearing record of the removal proceeding or raised in that hearing at all. (Nkenglefac v. Garland, 5/18/22)
CA9 Remands Asylum Claim for Clear Explanation of BIA’s Nexus Determination After Finding There Was Past Persecution
Remanding the petitioner’s asylum claim, the court held that the harm the petitioner had suffered in Cameroon—including physical injury, specific death threats, and evidence of the country’s political and societal turmoil—compelled a finding of past persecution. (Fon v. Garland, 5/18/22)
DOS Provides Guidance for Ukraine Nationals
DOS provided updated guidance for nationals of Ukraine seeking to enter or entering the United States. The guidance clarifies information on the Uniting for Ukraine program, nonimmigrant visas, immigrant visas, humanitarian parole, refugee status, and more.
CA3 Says Haitian Petitioner’s Former Counsel Provided Ineffective Assistance in Failing to Submit Readily Accessible Evidence
Where the petitioner’s former counsel had failed to present important and easily available evidence going to the heart of the petitioner’s claims, the court held that the BIA erred in denying his motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel. (Saint Ford v. Att’y Gen., 5/16/22)
CA11 Says That Noncitizen Who Was Denied Right to Counsel in Reasonable Fear Proceedings Must Show Substantial Prejudice
Denying the petition for review, the court held that even if petitioner had a right to counsel during his reasonable fear proceedings before the IJ under INA §238, he had failed to show that any purported due process violations caused him substantial prejudice. (Priva v. Att’y Gen., 5/12/22)
CA8 Upholds Asylum Denial to Guatemalan Petitioner Who Had Violent Encounter with Gang Members
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the Guatemalan petitioner had failed to establish a nexus between his alleged persecution and either of his proposed social groups or a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Tojin-Tiu v. Garland, 5/12/22)
CA11 Concludes That BIA Provided Reasoned Consideration to Petitioner’s Racial Persecution Claim for Asylum
The court held that the BIA had provided reasoned consideration to the petitioner’s racial persecution claim, and that petitioner had failed to exhaust his claim that he was entitled to advance notice of the IJ’s need for specific corroborating evidence. (Lopez Morales v. Att’y Gen., 5/11/22)
CA7 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Reweigh Factors IJ Considered in Making Particularly Serious Crime Determination
The court dismissed petitioner’s applications for adjustment of status and withholding of removal, finding that it was beyond its jurisdiction to reweigh the factors the IJ considered in determining that petitioner’s conviction was a particularly serious crime. (Kithongo v. Garland, 5/9/22)
Attorney General Overrules Matter of G-G-S-
The AG overruled Matter of G-G-S- and found immigration adjudicators may consider the respondent’s mental health in determining whether an individual convicted of a particularly serious crime constitutes a danger to the community. Matter of B-Z-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 563 (A.G. 2022)
CA1 Finds BIA Failed to Consider Petitioner’s Evidence That He Would Be Tortured by Private Militias and Armed Criminals in Somalia
The court vacated the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s denial of deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), holding that BIA erred by not addressing petitioner’s argument that he would face torture from private militias and armed criminals in Somalia. (Ali v. Garland, 5/5/22)
Featured Issue: Use of Video Teleconferences During Immigration Hearings
Find resources related to the use of video teleconferencing (VTC) during immigration hearings. AILA believes that the use of this technology undermines the quality of communications during immigration hearings and threatens due process. Learn more now.
CA9 Finds BIA Erred in Deeming Homosexual Nigerian Petitioner’s Asylum Application Frivolous
The court held that the BIA erred in affirming the IJ’s frivolous asylum application determination and denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief to the petitioner, who asserted a fear of persecution or torture in Nigeria based on his status as a gay man. (Udo v. Garland, 5/4/22)
Knowing the History of “The Huddled Masses”
In this blog post, AILA member and Law Journal author John Medeiros introduces his piece featured in the recent special edition of the AILA Law Journal celebrating AILA's 75 years; his piece “Huddled Masses“ chronicles the history of U.S. immigration and the development of U.S. immigration la