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
Biden Administration’s Latest Move Does Real Harm to Asylum-Seeking Families
AILA denounced the Biden administration for plans announced to apply expedited removal to families apprehended in the southern border region; AILA is adamantly opposed and urges the administration to rethink this decision.
Attorney General Vacates Matter of A-C-A-A-
The attorney general vacated Matter of A-C-A-A- in its entirety and remanded this matter to the Board for further proceedings consistent with this opinion and with the opinions in A-B- III and L-E-A- III. Matter of A-C-A-A-, 28 I&N Dec. 351 (A.G. 2021)
USCIS Provides RAIO Combined Training Course on Nexus - Particular Social Group
USCIS provided the RAIO Combined Training Course on nexus. This module discusses membership in a particular social group and examines its interpretation in administrative and judicial case law.
Biden Must Quickly Protect Those Who Risked Their Lives for Our Soldiers in Afghanistan
In this blog post, AILA Board of Governors member Ally Bolour highlights the urgent need for the Biden administration to recognize that those who helped our troops in Afghanistan need to be protected and evacuated to safety immediately.
Sample Habeas Brief on Unlawfulness of Detention without Review for Arriving Asylum Seekers
Sample habeas brief (amicus or section of main brief) applying international human rights law and refugee law to argue that the detention of arriving asylum seekers without sufficient individualized determination of the need for detention, with review, is unlawful. (Motion for Injunctive Relief)
Practice Alert: Eligibility for CAM Re-Parole
AILA provides a practice alert after DOS announced the reopening of the Central American Minors (CAM) program. Under CAM, individuals may be granted refugee status. While new applications for the CAM program cannot be filed at this time, re-parole applications are eligible for processing.
CA3 Reverses Denial of CAT Relief Where IJ’s Decision Did Not Refer to Record Evidence
Where the IJ had failed to provide a citation or reference to the record in denying the petitioner’s Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, the court found that the IJ’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence. (Valarezo-Tirado v. Att’y Gen., 7/15/21)
CLINIC: FOIA Disclosures on USCIS Asylum Terminations
CLINIC provided key takeaways from a FOIA request to USCIS seeking information about the numbers of NOITs issued by each asylum office, how many asylum grants were terminated and how many left in place, and the grounds for the asylum offices issuing NOITs.
DHS OIG Issues Report on NTAs to MPP Enrollees
DHS OIG conducted an audit to determine the extent to which DHS provided accurate notices to appear (NTAs) to Migrant Protection Protocols enrollees, finding that out of 106 NTAs issued, 20 that did not meet legal sufficiency standards or contained inaccurate information.
USCIS Announces Update to M-274, Section 6.3 Refugees and Asylees
USCIS announced that it has updated Section 6.3 of the M-274 for refugees and asylees, adding several sentences reminding employers that asylees and refugees may present any acceptable documents in their possession.
Asylum/AILA South Florida Liaison Meeting Minutes (7/14/21)
Minutes from AILA’s Asylum Committee meeting with the Asylum Office. Minutes include various questions posed the Asylum Committee.
CA9 Finds Substantial Evidence Supported BIA’s Implausibility Findings with Respect to Petitioners’ Testimony
Upholding the denial of asylum to petitioners, an Armenian family, the court held that substantial evidence supported the adverse credibility determination as to the husband based on implausibilities in the record, and as to the wife based on evasive testimony. (Lalayan v. Garland, 7/13/21)
CA5 Grants Stay Pending Review of Petition to Political Dissident in India
The court found that the IJ’s incredibly high denial rate for asylum applications, along with her noncompliance with Matter of R-K-K-, presented a substantial likelihood that petitioner would be entitled to relief upon full consideration by a merits panel. (Singh v. Garland, 7/12/21)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum Based on Political Opinion to Ukrainian Petitioner
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the petitioner’s experience in Ukraine did not rise to the level of persecution, and that she had failed to show that the new Ukrainian government would persecute her if she returned. (Chuchman v. Garland, 7/12/21)
CA8 Holds That IJ Articulated Specific and Cogent Reasons for Concluding That Petitioner Was Not Credible
The court upheld the BIA’s affirmance of the IJ’s denial of asylum, finding that the IJ had articulated specific, cogent reasons for concluding that the petitioner’s testimony was not credible, and that those reasons were supported by substantial evidence. (Coto-Albarenga v. Garland, 7/12/21)
CA2 Finds That IJ Considered Sua Sponte the Social Groups Raised by Petitioner on Appeal
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s withholding of removal claim, finding that the IJ sua sponte considered the social groups now identified by petitioner, and that the IJ’s decision to deny withholding was supported by substantial evidence. (Quintanilla v. Garland, 7/9/21)
CA4 Finds Honduran Petitioner’s Membership in Her Nuclear Family Was At Least One Central Reason for Her Persecution
The court held that the BIA and IJ erred in concluding that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate that she was persecuted in Honduras on account of her membership in her proposed particular social group, namely her nuclear family. (Perez Vasquez v. Garland, 7/9/21)
AILA Supports the Fair Treatment of Asylum Seekers Wrongfully Deported Under the Asylum Cooperative Agreements
On 7/9/21, AILA joined other advocates and partners in calling for procedural measures to allow families and individuals deported to danger in Guatemala under the Asylum Cooperative Agreement program to return and seek protection in the United States.
Takeaways from Johnson v. Guzman Chavez
In this blog post, AILA President-elect Jeremy McKinney highlights the recent Supreme Court decision in Johnson v. Guzman Chavez, which he writes offers a takeaway “for practitioners is to push back when an agency employs Auer or Chevron deference as a shield protecting its faulty administrative dec
CA8 Upholds BIA’s Conclusion That Petitioner Could Reasonably Relocate Within Guatemala to Avoid Vigilante Group
Upholding the denial of withholding of removal, the court found that petitioner had failed to establish membership in a particular social group, and that BIA did not err in determining he could reasonably relocate in Guatemala to avoid a vigilante group. (Bautista-Bautista v. Garland, 7/6/21)
Practice Pointer: AG Garland Precedential Decisions in Matter of A-B- and Matter of L-E-A
AILA’s Asylum & Refugee Committee prepared a practice pointer on Matter of A-B- and Matter of L-E-A’s impact on pending asylum cases and important reminders for claims based on membership in a particular social group. Special thanks to committee member Katie Herbert Meyer.
AILA and the Council Express Concern over President Biden’s Continued Use of Title 42 Expulsion Policy
On 6/30/21, 105 organizations, including AILA and the American Immigration Council expressed alarm and disappointment that the Biden administration is considering plans to continue to use the Title 42 expulsion policy.
BIA Finds IJs and the Board Lack Authority to Recognize the Equitable Defense of Laches in Removal Proceedings
The BIA found respondent did not submit sufficient objective evidence to support his fear of torture by the Rwandan government and that IJs and the Board lack the authority to recognize the equitable defense of laches in removal proceedings. Matter of O-R-E-, 28 I&N Dec. 330 (BIA 2021)
Supreme Court Rules That Detained Noncitizens in Withholding-Only Proceedings Are Not Entitled to Individualized Bond Hearings
The U.S. Supreme Court held that INA §241, not INA §236, governs the detention of noncitizens subject to reinstated orders of removal, meaning that such noncitizens are not entitled to a bond hearing while they pursue withholding of removal. (Johnson, et al. v. Guzman Chavez, et al., 6/29/21)
CA4 Remands Claims for Asylum and Related Relief of 15-Year-Old Salvadoran Who Was Threatened by MS-13 Gang
On rehearing en banc, the court held that where a petitioner is a child at the time of the alleged persecution, IJs and the BIA must take the child’s age into account in analyzing past persecution and fear of future persecution for purposes of asylum. (Portillo-Flores v. Garland, 6/29/21)