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
Afghanistan and the United States’ Responsibilities
AILA member Manish Daftari shares insights into the situation facing those fleeing from Afghanistan and the urgent need to simplify processing of vulnerable Afghan evacuees, similar to the treatment of Vietnamese evacuees in the aftermath of the Vietnam War.
AILA and Partners Send Letter to Biden Administration with Recommendations on Terminating MPP
AILA and partners sent letter to the Biden administration and DHS opposing MPP and recommendations for the memorandum to clarify why COVID-19 continues to prevent the resumption of MPP hearings and the importance of adequate notice of the date and time of any future scheduled removal hearings.
CA6 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Alleged Economic Persecution by Guatemalan Government
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner, an indigenous K’iche’ woman from Guatemala, had neither suffered, nor had a well-founded fear of economic persecution by the Guatemalan government. (Hernandez-Hernandez v. Garland, 10/4/21)
AILA President Allen Orr Responds to Appeals Court Ruling on Title 42
AILA President Allen Orr stated “The decision of the appeals court to lift the stay on Title 42 expulsions is a travesty, but the fact the Biden administration appealed the original decision was an abandonment of the commitments and principles that the administration pledged to uphold.”
ORR Announcement of Inflationary Increase to Refugee Cash Assistance Program Payment Ceilings
Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) announcement of an inflationary increase to the Refugee Cash Assistance program’s monthly payment ceilings, effective October 1, 2021. (86 FR 54466, 10/1/21)
DHS Announces Intention to Issue New Memo Terminating MPP
DHS issued a statement announcing that it "intends to issue in the coming weeks a new memorandum terminating the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)." However, DHS is moving forward with plans to restart the program pursuant to a district court order.
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief Supporting Termination of MPP
AILA and partners submitted an amicus brief to the Fifth Circuit in Texas v. Biden, requesting that the court reverse the district court order and uphold DHS’s memo to terminate MPP.
Helping Afghan Refugees Brings Me Full Circle
In this blog post, AILA member Spojmie Nasiri shares insights and information about the situation facing Afghan evacuees and how we can help. She was interviewed by Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee Chair Ban Al-Wardi.
CA9 Finds IJ Discounted Probative Evidence on Flimsy Grounds and Displayed Dubious Understanding of How Rape Survivors Should Act
Granting the petition for review of the BIA’s denial of asylum and remanding, the court held that the IJ erred by failing to give specific, cogent reasons for rejecting petitioner’s reasonable, plausible explanations for the discrepancies tied to her declaration. (Munyuh v. Garland, 8/25/21)
CA5 Finds BIA Abused Its Discretion by Entirely Failing to Address Libyan Petitioner’s CAT Claim
The court held that the BIA abused its discretion by entirely failing to address the Libyan petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, where the petitioner had raised his CAT claim several times in his briefing before the BIA. (Abushagif v. Garland, 9/24/21)
CA6 Finds Asylum Applicant Did Not Show Guatemalan Government Was Unable to Protect Women from Persecution by Individuals
The court held that the petitioner did not meet her burden of proving that the Guatemalan government is or was unable or unwilling to protect women from the persecution that she claimed to fear—namely, violence or kidnapping by private individuals. (Ramos Rafael v. Garland, 9/24/21)
Chicago Asylum Office and AILA Minnesota/Dakotas Liaison Meeting Minutes (9/23/21)
Minutes from AILA’s Asylum Committee meeting with Chicago’s Asylum Office. Minutes include various questions posed by the Asylum Committee.
CA9 Says BIA Did Not Abuse Its Discretion in Finding Petitioner’s 2016 Motion Was Untimely or in Declining to Sua Sponte Reopen
The court concluded that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that the petitioner’s 2016 motion to reopen was untimely, nor did it commit legal error in declining to sua sponte reopen her case. (Cui v. Garland, 9/23/21)
CA3 Reverses Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Fled Yemen to Avoid Persecution on Account of Political Opinion
Where the Yemeni petitioner had been kidnapped and tortured before being convicted and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for political opposition to the Houthi regime, the court concluded that the BIA erred in determining that he was ineligible for asylum. (Ghanem v. Att’y Gen., 9/22/21)
AILA and Partners Urge White House to Change Course After Violations to Asylum Rights and Refugee Laws on Haitians
AILA and partners sent a letter to the White House requesting that deportation flights to Haiti stop, restoration for asylum access at ports of entry, rescind the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s expulsion order, and issue a new termination memo for the Migrant Protection Protocols.
CA9 Finds Inconsistencies in Petitioner’s Asylum and Visa Applications Were Sufficient to Support Adverse Credibility Determination
Where the petitioner claimed she was persecuted because of her membership in a house church that was not registered with the Chinese government, the court held that the BIA appropriately relied on two inconsistencies in making its adverse credibility determination. (Li v. Garland, 9/21/21)
AILA: Goal of Resettling More Refugees Promising But Biden Must Do More
AILA welcomed President Biden’s move to increase the refugee “cap” to 125,000 for FY2022, but AILA President Allen Orr hoped, “the administration will recognize the urgency and aim to resettle 200,000 refugees which is consistent with the levels given protection during major refugee emergencies.”
DOS Provides Proposed Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2022
DOS provided the President’s Report to Congress on the proposed Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2022. The report recommends an increase in the refugee admissions target from 62,500 in FY2021 to 125,000 in FY2022, prioritizes admissions, states ORR goals, and more.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Petitioner Whose Family Refused to Give Money to Gangs
The court upheld BIA’s denial of asylum, finding petitioner’s proposed particular social group of “family unaffiliated with any gangs who refuse to provide any support to transnational criminal gangs in Guatemala” lacked particularity and social distinction. (Osorio Tino v. Garland, 9/20/21)
AILA Joins Sign-On Letter Urging the Administration to End Title 42 Expulsions and MPP
After a federal district court held that the government likely does not have authority to implement the Title 42 policy and enjoined the use of the policy against families with young children, AILA urged the administration to stop blocking asylum seekers and restore access at our ports of entry.
BIA Finds Conviction Does Not Bar Respondent from Seeking a 212(h) Waiver
The BIA remanded record to IJ for further proceedings after finding that a person who enters as a refugee and later adjusts is not precluded from establishing eligibility for a 212(h) waiver. Matter of N-V-G-, 28 I&N Dec. 380 (BIA 2021)
Second Extension of Effective Date of USCIS Temporary Final Rule on Interpreters at Asylum Interviews
USCIS temporary final rule extending the expiration date of the temporary final rule on interpreters at asylum interviews published at 85 FR 59655, which was set to expire on 9/20/21, through 3/16/22. (86 FR 51781, 9/17/21)
AILA and Partners Send Letter Urging the Administration to Stop Blocking Asylum Seekers
AILA joined 71 organizations in sending a letter in response to the notice of appeal in the Huisha-Huisha litigation urging the administration to restore access to U.S. asylum at ports of entry and immediately stop blocking and expelling asylum seekers and migrants.
District Court Orders Border Officials to Stop Expelling Certain Families under Title 42
The court granted motions for class certification and preliminary injunction (the PI was stayed for 14 days), to prevent U.S. border officials from using Title 42 to expelling families with young children seeking asylum. (Huisha-Huisha, et al. v. Mayorkas, 9/16/21)
AILA President Allen Orr Responds to Today’s Court Decision on Title 42
AILA President Allen Orr responded to Judge Sullivan’s ruling that the use of Title 42 against families with young children seeking asylum is illegal, noting the U.S. “can and must protect public health while honoring our humanitarian values and policies that offer protection to asylum seekers.”