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
AILA Law Journal, Vol. 8, Number 1, April 2026
The April 2026 edition of the AILA Law Journal is now available.
DHS to Publish IFR with Penalty for Unpaid Annual Asylum Fees and Other H.R. 1 Requirements
DHS will publish an IFR implementing H.R. 1 fees and requirements, effective 5/29/26. It states USCIS will reject asylum applications if the Annual Asylum Fee is not paid within 30 days of notification, limits validity of EADs for TPS-holders to a year, and more. Comments will be due 6/29/26.
Practice Alert: Clarification of Active Biometrics Policies for Various Application Types
AILA National provides a brief overview and clarification on existing, updated, and proposed biometrics policies to date. For fingerprint specific requirements, please reference USCIS Policy Manual, Vol. 1, Part C, Biometrics Collections and Security Checks.
AILA and the Council File Joint Public Comment in Opposition to DHS Proposed Rule on Employment Authorization for Asylum Seekers
AILA and the American Immigration Council submitted a joint comment urging DHS to withdraw its proposed rule which would stop acceptance of applicants’ EAD applications when average affirmative asylum processing time exceeds 180 days and extend the wait to apply to 365 days, among other changes.
CA1 Holds That There Is No Categorical Bar to Political Opinion Claims Based on Opposition to Gangs
Granting the petition for review and remanding, the court held that the BIA erred in applying a categorical rule that opposition to gangs cannot constitute a political opinion and failed to adequately address the petitioner’s religion-based asylum claim. (Lopez Martinez v. Blanche, 4/23/26)
BIA Holds That Political Opinion Must Be Tied to Government and That Opposition to Gangs Is Insufficient
The BIA held that to establish a political opinion under the INA, a noncitizen must have an actual or imputed belief or conviction regarding a discrete cause tied to a government, and that opposition to criminal gangs is insufficient. Matter of D–G–E–A– & N–G–G–E–, 29 I&N Dec. 570 (BIA 2026)
BIA Holds There Is No Right to Closing Argument in Immigration Court Absent Showing of Due Process Violation
The BIA held that parties in Immigration Court have no right to give a closing argument unless they demonstrate that the denial of such argument would constitute a due process violation. Matter of A–M–Z–F–, 29 I&N Dec. 551 (BIA 2026)
AILA and Public Counsel Urge Right to Counsel in Reasonable Fear Interview
The petitioner was forced to proceed in reasonable fear interview and immigration judge review without counsel, despite asking to contact his attorney. AILA and Public Counsel stress the critical role of counsel and the high stakes for pro se detainees. (Amador Canacas v. Bondi, 4/9/26)
AILA Files Amicus Brief in CA9 Defending Right to Counsel in Reasonable Fear Proceedings
AILA argued that meaningful access to counsel is essential in reasonable fear proceedings. Despite requesting counsel, the detained petitioner was forced to proceed pro se at the RF interview and IJ review, undermining statutory and due process protections. (Amador-Canacas v. Bondi, 4/9/26)
CA9 Finds Petitioner Forfeited Merits Arguments and Failed to Exhaust Due Process Claims
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the petitioner had forfeited all exhausted bases to challenge the agency’s decision denying his asylum application and failed to exhaust the procedural due process claims he raised before the court. (Santana-Gonzalez v. Bondi, 4/8/26)
CA6 Upholds Asylum Denial Where Petitioner Forfeited and Failed to Exhaust PSG Claims
The court held that the petitioner forfeited his arguments regarding the four particular social groups (PSGs) he identified before the agency and that he failed to exhaust the three new groups he presented for the first time in his petition for review. (Gamas-Vicente v. Blanche, 4/7/26)
Asylum Cases on Relocation
This issue-specific page lists published asylum cases that relate to the applicant’s ability to relocate. The page includes published federal court and BIA cases from 2008 to the present. Special thanks to AILA member R. Mark Frey.
CA8 Holds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Review DHS Removal Discretion and Finds Petitioner Waived Due Process Claim
The court held that the petitioner waived her due process argument based on IJ bias by failing to meaningfully raise it before the BIA, and found that it lacked jurisdiction to review DHS’s exercise of removal discretion. (Quijano-Duran, et al. v. Bondi, 4/2/26)
Call for Class Members: Arriving Asylum Seekers Detained by ICE in Certain Jurisdictions
Human Rights First is asking for help identifying either (1) potential class members or (2) evidence that the government has enacted a no-release policy. Responses are requested to be submitted by Wednesday April 8.
AILA Congressional Briefing on 3/26: Administration Policies Weaken Asylum System and Immigration Courts
On 3/26, AILA briefed Congress on three policy briefs from the A Better Way on Immigration series focusing on the Administration’s policy changes made over the past year to pursue its mass deportation campaign, weaken the asylum system, and make the immigration courts less efficient and independent.
Take Action: Oppose DHS Rule Restricting Work Authorization for Asylum Seekers
DHS has proposed a rule restricting work permits for asylum seekers that would harm the economy, employers, and communities. Over 2.3 million asylum seekers support critical industries. Submit a comment opposing this rule by April 24, 2026.
CA5 Upholds Denial of CAT Deferral as to Salvadoran Petitioner Based on Lack of Specific Intent and Speculative Torture Risk
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s denial of CAT deferral to petitioner, concluding that El Salvador’s harsh prison conditions were not specifically intended to inflict torture and that the risk of future torture was speculative. (Fuentes-Pineda v. Bondi, 3/24/26)
Policy Brief: Modernizing America’s Asylum System
The changes the Administration has made to the U.S. asylum system have effectively closed all access to asylum abroad, at the border, and in the interior of the U.S. This brief explores these changes and gives possible reforms to improve the asylum system while also maintaining U.S. border security.
DOS Delegation of Authority Under EO 14163, PP 10998, and PP 10949 to PRM Assistant Secretary
On 3/6/26, DOS Secretary delegated authority to Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees, and Migration to determine if allowing a foreign national admittance to the U.S. as a refugee would serve the national interest. (91 FR 12664, 3/16/26)
BIA Finds Respondent a Flight Risk Where Asylum Application Listed Residence Different from Location of Apprehension
The BIA held that the discrepancies in the record as to whether the respondent resided in Oklahoma, where he was apprehended, or California, as claimed in his application, showed that he was a flight risk and did not warrant release on bond. Matter of Z–N–L–, 29 I&N Dec. 511 (BIA 2026)
Template - Asylum Cases
Template for list of asylum cases.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial as to Bisexual Petitioner from Honduras Based on Lack of Persecution and Nexus
The court held that the respondent, a bisexual woman from Honduras, failed to establish past persecution, a nexus to a protected ground, or that the Honduran government was unable or unwilling to protect her from private actors. (Maldonado-Ruiz v. Bondi, 3/10/26)
BIA Holds Generalized Violence Cannot Rebut Past Persecution Presumption and Finds Access Device Fraud Conspiracy a Particularly Serious Crime
The BIA held that an IJ cannot rely on generalized violence to find the presumption of future persecution unrebutted after DHS shows a fundamental change in circumstances and that access device fraud conspiracy is a particularly serious crime. Matter of R-B-E-, 29 I&N Dec. 499 (BIA 2026)
SCOTUS Limits Federal Courts’ Review of BIA Findings on Persecution
The Supreme Court rejected asylum seekers' arguments that federal courts should review de novo the BIA's determination whether their past mistreatment constitutes persecution, holding that they must defer to the BIA's finding using the substantial-evidence standard. (Urias-Orellana v. Bondi, 3/4/26)
AILA and Partners File Amicus Brief in Case on Asylum for Victims of Domestic Violence
This brief filed in Da Silva-Queiroga v. Bondi argues that a domestic-violence victim can gain asylum by virtue of having been persecuted on account of her membership in the particular social group of “Brazilian women,” or “Brazilian women unable to leave a domestic partnership.”