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
Lingering Trump Policy Changes Continue Harming Trafficking Survivors
Corie O'Rourke, Cory Sagduyu, and Katherine Soltis reflect on their article in the Spring 2021 edition of the AILA Law Journal focused on USCIS's misinterpretation of the T visa's physical presence requirement and why the policy changes must be reversed so trafficking survivors can be protected.
EOIR Releases Workload and Adjudication Statistics
EOIR released workload adjudication statistics, including statistics on caseload, credible fear, reasonable fear, and asylum rates, detention time frames, in absentia orders, IJ corps, motions, representation rates, UAC, VTC hearings, hearing language, FOIA receipts, OCAHO receipts, and BIA appeals.
EOIR Rescinds and Cancels Policy Memoranda 19-02 and 19-03
EOIR rescinded and canceled the following policy memoranda: PM 19-02, Guidelines Regarding New Regulations Governing Asylum and Protection Claims, and PM 19-03, Guidelines Regarding the Presidential Proclamation Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States.
EOIR Cancels PM 19-12 on Guidelines for Adjudicating Asylum and Protection Claims
EOIR rescinded and canceled PM 19-12, Guidance Regarding New Regulations Governing Asylum and Protection Claims. Per EOIR, the revocation is consistent with existing court orders and Executive Order 14010 of February 2, 2021.
EOIR Cancels PM 20-04 on the Implementation of Asylum Cooperative Agreements
EOIR rescinded and canceled PM 20-04, Guidelines Regarding New Regulations Providing for the Implementation of Asylum Cooperative Agreements. Per EOIR, the revocation is consistent with Executive Order 14010 and the suspension and forthcoming termination of the Asylum Cooperative Agreements.
EOIR Cancels PM 21-09 Setting Policy and Procedures for Asylum, Withholding, and CAT Protection
EOIR rescinded and canceled PM 21-09, Guidance Regarding New Regulations Governing Procedures for Asylum and Withholding of Removal and Credible Fear and Reasonable Fear Reviews. Per EOIR, the revocation is consistent with existing court orders and Executive Orders 14010 and 14012.
CA5 Says Attorney General Interpreted INA §208(b)(2)(A)(iv) in Matter of A-H- Correctly as a Matter of Law
Where the government had ordered petitioner removed after he threatened to commit an act of terrorism, the court held that the Attorney General had interpreted INA §208(b)(2)(A)(iv) correctly, and thus that the government had lawfully terminated his asylum status. (Mirza v. Garland, 5/12/21)
CBP Provides Data on Migrant Protection Protocols
CBP provided data on Migrant Protection Protocols from FY2021, including southwest border enrollments, cases referred to USCIS, data from EOIR related to the outcome of MPP cases, and individuals apprehended entering the U.S. without inspection subsequent to being returned to Mexico through MPP.
Climate Refugees Are Here
AILA member Christine Popp shares more about her recent article in the AILA Law Journal on climate refugees, explaining how she became interested in the intersection of immigration/ asylum law and climate change realities and what she hopes her article offers for practitioners.
TRAC Finds Over 8,000 MPP Cases Transferred into United States Under Biden
TRAC found that as of the end of April 2021, 8,387 individuals under MPP have been able to enter the U.S. since the program was ended. TRAC also provided data on pace of transfers by location, pending case times, and nationality; percent of cases with representation; and hearing locations.
EOIR Provides Information for Individuals Who Have Come to the U.S. After Waiting in Mexico for Hearings Under MPP
EOIR provided a flyer with instructions for individuals who have come to the United States after waiting in Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). The flyer provides information on the individuals’ responsibilities and phone numbers to reach the immigration court helpdesk.
CA3 Finds Sri Lankan Army’s Mistreatment of Petitioner Did Not Rise to Level of Past Persecution
The court held that petitioner’s 2007 detention and beating by the Sri Lankan army did not constitute past persecution, and that extortion attempts by the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) of Sri Lanka were not motivated by an imputed political opinion. (Thayalan v. Att’y Gen., 5/10/21)
President Biden Raises Annual Refugee Admissions Cap to 62,500 for FY2021
President Biden issued a memorandum raising the number of refugee admissions permissible for FY2021 to 62,500. The memorandum also readjusts FY2021 allocations. (85 FR 24475, 5/7/21)
Adjectives Matter: What Does “Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship” Mean?
AILA Member Eva Loney writes about the importance of adjectives in immigration law, specifically what “exceptional“ and “extremely unusual“ mean when considered in a removal case, highlighting why her article on the topic in the Spring AILA Law Journal was important to share.
Iranians Forced Into Military Service Face Immigration Blockade
AILA member Scott Emerick details litigation recently filed to ensure Iranian nationals forced to serve in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aren't harmed by the U.S. government's decision to retroactively name it a terrorist organization.
DHS Secretary Ratifies Rule Removing 30-Day EAD Processing Requirement for Asylum Applicants
DHS Secretary Mayorkas ratified prior delegable actions and decisions regarding the approval, issuance, signing, and publication of the Removal of 30-Day Processing Provision for Asylum Applicant-Related Form I-765 Employment Authorization Applications rulemaking.
CA9 Holds That Petitioner’s Asylum Application Was Abandoned Based on Her Failure to Submit Required Biometrics
The court upheld the BIA and IJ’s conclusion that the petitioner’s application for asylum and related relief had been abandoned under 8 CFR §1003.47(c) based on her failure to submit biometrics or establish good cause for her failure to do so. (Gonzalez-Veliz v. Garland, 5/4/21)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Feared Retaliatory Gang Violence in Mexico
The court concluded that the petitioner had raised no arguments against the BIA’s dispositive determination that his asylum application was statutorily time-barred, and found that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal. (Guzman-Garcia v. Garland, 5/3/21)
DHS Announces Family Reunifications to Begin First Week of May
DHS announced family reunifications will begin first week of May. Per DHS, the Family Reunification Task Force has been working to establish a database of separated families, correct inaccuracies in files, and build the process to find every family. The task force’s initial report is due 6/2/21.
DHS Releases Privacy Impact Assessment for Processing Individuals Subject to MPP
DHS Released a PIA to assess the privacy risks associated with the biometric and biographic information collected to process individuals enrolled in MPP. CBP will use technology solutions, including facial recognition technology, to verify MPP enrollment and case status and to streamline processing.
Helping Asylees Find Welcome
In this blog post, AILA Law Journal authors Ben Levey and Rachel Zoghlin of HIAS share how they came to write about the reasons why asylees aren't accessing benefits they are eligible for, and policy recommendations to effect change and help clients.
TRAC Finds 40 Languages Spoken Among Asylum Seekers with Pending MPP Cases
TRAC found that at least 40 different languages are spoken by the nearly 30,000 migrants with pending MPP cases. Ninety-seven percent spoke Spanish, and 1.7 percent spoke Portuguese. Slightly more than one percent, or 337 in total, were recorded as speaking indigenous and other rare languages.
Emergency Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2021
President Biden issued a determination revising the allocations for refugee admissions for FY2021 and maintaining the refugee admissions ceiling at 15,000. The memo notes that a subsequent determination may be issued if the ceiling is reached before the end of the fiscal year. (86 FR 21159, 4/22/21)
TRAC Finds More Than 85 Percent of MPP Cases Still Remain in MPP Courts
TRAC found that even though 4,000 MPP cases were transferred away from the border in February and March, more than 85 percent, or 22,521, of the 26,432 pending cases in MPP courts at the end of January have not been recorded as transferred out of an MPP court by the end of March.
Coercive Population Control and Immigration Law
AILA member Sylvia Miller shares insights into why she wrote for the Spring 2021 edition of the AILA Law Journal, “Ultimately my hope is that this article helps continue and broaden conversations, both within the legal community and between attorneys and our clients“ about coercive population