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
No End in Sight: New Analysis Shows USCIS Case Processing Backlog Keeps Growing
AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson highlights USCIS processing delays, writing, “Even before the COVID-19 virus, backlogs and processing delays were staggering at USCIS. They have continued to grow thanks to burdensome policies and inefficient procedures that needlessly bog down the adjudicati
CRS Releases Legal Sidebar on Supreme Court’s Grant of Stay in MPP Case
CRS released a legal sidebar on the Supreme Court’s order in Wolf v. Innovation Law Lab allowing the Trump Administration to continue enforcing MPP while litigation concerning the policy’s legality continues.
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 3/17/20)
The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before Immigration Courts.
Press Call: Immigration Judges and Attorneys Joined by Public Health Experts Call for Additional Protective Measures Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
On a press call, AILA’s Senior Policy Counsel Laura Lynch and Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney joined representatives from the NAIJ, the ICE Professionals Union, and the Harvard School of Public Health to call on EOIR to implement additional protective measures amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
AILA Sends Letter to CBP Regarding Its Response to COVID-19
AILA sent a letter to CBP concerning the impact of the COVID-19 public health emergency on CBP activities throughout ports of entry and CBP holding facilities.
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Mexican Petitioner Convicted of Possessing Meth in Minnesota
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction in Minnesota for fifth degree possession of a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine, constituted grounds for removal, because the statute was divisible. (Rendon v. Barr, 3/12/20)
CA1 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen of Petitioner Who Feared Gang Violence in Guatemala
The court concluded that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioner’s motion to reopen on the grounds that he did not establish changed country conditions based on his fear of returning to Guatemala due to gang activity. (Molina v. Barr, 3/9/20)
CA8 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Asylum to Mexican Petitioner with Schizophrenia
The court held that the record was not so substantial that a reasonable factfinder would conclude that Mexico’s government targets individuals who belong to the particular social group of “individuals with schizophrenia who exhibit erratic behavior.” (Perez-Rodriguez v. Barr, 3/9/20)
Letter to DHS Requesting MPP Be Stopped Immediately in Accordance with U.S. Law
One hundred and fifty three organizations, including AILA, sent a letter to DHS urging it to uphold U.S. asylum law and to allow asylum seekers currently subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) into the United States so they may seek refuge and protection from within the country.
BIA Rules that Interpol Red Notices May Constitute Reliable Evidence of Serious Nonpolitical Crime
The BIA ruled that an Interpol Red Notice may constitute reliable evidence for the serious nonpolitical crime bar for asylum, and that violation of §345, Salvadoran Penal Code, is “serious” within meaning of the serious nonpolitical crime bar. Matter of W-E-R-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 795 (BIA 2020)
CA9 Lifts Stay on Preliminary Injunction in Transit Ban Border Case
The court lifted the stay on a preliminary injunction thus prohibiting the government from applying the transit ban to individuals who were metered prior to July 16, 2019. (Al Otro Lado, et al., v. Wolf, 3/5/20)
CA8 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Asylum to Nigerian Petitioner Who Supported the Biafran State
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the BIA did not exceed its authority by ruling that the petitioner did not meet his burden of proof with corroborating evidence for his claimed fear of future harm in Nigeria on account of political opinion. (Uzodinma v. Barr, 3/5/20)
CA9 Grants Partial Injunction, Blocking Remain in Mexico in Ninth Circuit Jurisdiction Starting on March 12
The court stopped implementation of RIM inside the Ninth Circuit jurisdiction, but will wait until 3/12/20 for its order to take effect to see "if the Supreme Court has not in the meantime acted to reverse or otherwise modify our decision." (Innovation Law Lab et al., v. Wolf, 3/4/20)
Senators Raise Concerns That DHS-Operated "Tent Courts" Violate Asylum Seekers' Due Process Rights
On 3/3/20, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) sent a letter to DOJ and DHS raising concerns about the lack of access to appropriate legal services and lack of transparency at DHS-operated "tent courts" at the U.S.-Mexico border.
District Court Suspended Two Asylum Policies After Finding Ken Cuccinelli’s Appointment Violated the Federal Vacancies Reform Act
The government dismissed its appeal of a district court’s ruling that the Trump administration had illegally appointed Ken Cuccinelli to serve as the acting director of USCIS and that two immigration directives issued by him were “invalid.” (L.M.-M., et al., v. Cuccinelli, 8/13/20)
CA3 Finds Circumstances Surrounding Threats of Violence to Nicaraguan Petitioner Established Cumulative Pattern of Past Persecution
Where the petitioner, the leader of a political opposition group in Nicaragua, had been subjected to a pattern of threatening words and conduct by the ruling party, the court found she had suffered past persecution, even in the absence of physical harm. (Herrera-Reyes v. Att’y Gen., 2/28/20)
EOIR Proposed Rule Increasing Fees for Filings
EOIR proposed rule increasing the filing fees for forms and motions filed with EOIR. Comments are due 3/30/20. (85 FR 11866, 2/28/20)
CBP Responds to Letter Regarding Concerns over Truncated Asylum Programs Being Piloted in El Paso, TX
CBP responded to a letter from Representative Veronica Escobar (D-TX) that expressed concerns over two new programs, PACR and HARP, that subject vulnerable individuals to truncated asylum review processes. CBP's letter reveals new details about the operation and application of both programs.
New Rule Seems Designed to Halt Valid Immigration Court Petitions By Drastically Hiking Fees
AILA expressed serious concerns about a new proposed rule that would detrimentally impact individuals seeking a fair day in immigration court by drastically increasing fees required for forms submitted to EOIR.
CA9 Lifted Emergency Stay and Affirmed District Court Preliminary Injunction of MPP
The court affirmed a district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction setting aside the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), lifting the emergency stay imposed by the motions panel. (Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf, 2/28/20)
CA9 Affirms District Court’s Preliminary Injunction of Interim Final Rule on Asylum Claims at the Southern Border
The court affirmed a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of a rule and presidential proclamation that strip asylum eligibility from every migrant who enters between designated ports of entry on the southern U.S. border. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant et al. v. Trump, 2/28/20)
Ninth Circuit Defends Asylum in Two Rulings
AILA welcomed two Ninth Circuit decisions; one again halts the “Migrant Protection Protocols,” and the second ensures that the administration cannot block someone from seeking asylum solely due to where they presented themselves, either at a port of entry or elsewhere within the United States.
CA7 Holds Conditions in Indonesia Did Not Materially Change for Ethnic Chinese and Buddhist Minorities Between 2003 and 2017
The court held that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to reopen of the petitioner, an Indonesian citizen of Chinese descent and of Buddhist faith, finding that country conditions had not materially changed since her 2003 removal hearing. (Meriyu v. Barr, 2/26/20)
Attorney General Refers Case to Himself and Then Vacates Board’s Decision on Definition of “Torture”
The AG vacated the BIA’s decision granting deferral of removal under CAT and remanded for review, noting that the BIA should consider de novo respondent’s claim that it is more likely than not that he will be tortured upon return to Mexico. Matter of R-A-F-, 27 I&N Dec. 778 (A.G. 2020)
CA4 Finds BIA Failed to Rebut Future-Threat Presumption Where Asylum-Seeking Honduran Petitioner Feared Abusive Ex-Partner
The court concluded that the BIA erred in finding that the government had rebutted the future-threat presumption, because it had failed to prove the petitioner’s circumstances had fundamentally changed and that she could avoid harm by relocating within Honduras. (Ortez-Cruz v. Barr, 2/26/20)