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
Practice Pointer: EOIR’s Decision to Resume Select Non-Detained Immigration Court Dockets
AILA’s EOIR/ICE Joint Liaison Committee provides a practice pointer on EOIR’s decision to resume select non-detained immigration court cases. Special thanks to chair of the committee, Sui Chung.
CA2 Holds That Changed Circumstances Under INA §208(a)(2)(D) Need Not Arise Prior to the Filing of an Asylum Application
Granting the petition for review, the court held that pursuant to INA §208(a)(2)(D), changed circumstances presenting an exception to the one-year deadline for filing an asylum application need not arise prior to the filing of the application. (Ordonez Azmen v. Barr, 7/13/20)
CA7 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Feared Life as an Openly Gay Woman in Mexico
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of asylum to the Mexican petitioner, who sought relief based on threats of physical violence she had received because of her gay sexual orientation, concluding that substantial evidence supported the agency’s decision. (Escobedo Marquez v. Barr, 7/13/20)
Fighting for Freedom from Detention During COVID-19
National Advocacy Counsel Katie Shepherd of the Immigration Justice Campaign shares the recent work with pro bono counsel Gibson Dunn that aims to free immigrants from the appalling conditions at Joe Corley detention facility.
CA9 Says Conviction for Petty Theft in California Is a CIMT (Withdrawn)
The court held that petitioner’s conviction for petty theft in California was a CIMT, and that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion to reopen to seek asylum based on changed country conditions in the Philippines. (Silva v. Barr, 7/10/20, withdrawn 3/30/21)
USCIS and EOIR Proposed Rule on Pandemic-Related Security Bars to Asylum and Withholding of Removal
USCIS/EOIR proposed rule to let DHS/DOJ consider “emergency public health concerns based on communicable disease due to potential international threats from the spread of pandemics" when determining ineligibility for asylum or withholding of removal. Comments due 8/10/20. (85 FR 41201, 7/9/20)
The Administration is Weaponizing COVID-19 to End Immigration
AILA Past President Ira Kurzban details how the Trump Administration has weaponized the COVID-19 pandemic to implement long-sought immigration policies, banning immigrants and non-immigrants alike.
Administration Plans Unnecessary and Unconscionable Ban on Asylum Seekers Masked Behind False Public Health Premise
AILA and the Council expressed deep concern about the administration’s soon-to-be-published proposed rule that would allow DHS to ban people from seeking asylum or withholding of removal in the United States solely because they traveled from or through a country under threat by a serious disease.
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Baltimore, Detroit, and Newark Immigration Courts
EOIR announced that it will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets involving relatively small numbers of respondents at the Baltimore, Detroit, and Newark immigration courts on 7/13/20. The option to file by email at these courts will end on 9/13/20.
CA8 Finds It Lacks Jurisdiction to Consider Petitioner’s Arguments Concerning Changed Country Conditions in Somalia
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the vast majority of the petitioner’s arguments concerning his motion to reopen his asylum and withholding of removal claims based on changed country conditions in Somalia. (Sharif v. Barr, 7/7/20)
CRS Releases Legal Sidebar on Supreme Court’s Decision to Uphold Limited Review of Expedited Removal
CRS released a legal sidebar on the Supreme Court’s decision in DHS v. Thuraissigiam which upheld restrictions on the ability of an individual in expedited removal to challenge matters other than the detention’s lawfulness. The sidebar explores the decision, its implications, and more.
DOJ’s Immigration Court Practice Manual (Updated on 7/2/20)
On July 2, 2020, the OCIJ updated its Immigration Court Practice Manual, a comprehensive guide on uniform procedures, recommendations, and requirements for practice before immigration courts.
EOIR to Resume Hearings in Non-Detained Cases at the Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Saipan Immigration Courts
EOIR will resume non-detained individual (merits) hearings and master calendar dockets including relatively small number of respondents at the Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Saipan immigration courts on 7/6/20. The option to file by email at these courts and at York will end on 9/6/20.
EOIR Releases Statistics on Affirmative Asylum Applications
EOIR released statistics on the total number of affirmative asylum applications filed and granted from FY2008 through the third quarter of FY2020. In FY2020 (through June 30, 2020), the affirmative receipts to affirmative grants ratio was 9.02:1.
EOIR Releases Statistics on All Pending I-862 Proceedings and Pending I-862 Proceedings Originating with a Credible Fear Claim
EOIR released statistics on all pending I-862 proceedings and pending I-862 proceedings originating with a credible fear claim. As of June 30, 2020, EOIR had a total of 1,199,965 pending I-862 proceedings, out of which 223,118 originated with a credible fear claim.
EOIR Released Asylum Decision and Filing Rates in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim
EOIR released data on asylum decision rates (grants, denials, administrative closure, and other) and asylum filing rates for cases that originated with a credible fear claim for FY2008 through the third quarter of FY2020 (through June 30, 2020).
EOIR Released Statistics on Defensive Asylum Applications
EOIR released statistics on defensive asylum applications from FY2008 through the third quarter of FY2020. In FY2020 (through June 30, 2020), EOIR received 123,615 defensive asylum applications and granted 9,868 applications, for a defensive receipts to grants ratio of 12.52:1.
EOIR Released Rates of Asylum Filings in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim
EOIR released statistics on the rate of asylum filings in cases originating with a credible fear claim, from FY2008 through the third quarter of FY2020. Through June 30, 2020, the rate was 62 percent.
EOIR Released Statistics on Credible Fear Review and Reasonable Fear Review Decisions
EOIR released statistics on credible fear review and reasonable fear review decisions from FY2000 through the third quarter of FY2020.
District Court Vacates Third-Country Transit Ban, Effective Immediately
A federal judge found the government unlawfully promulgated the 2019 interim final rule that categorically disqualified individuals from receiving asylum unless they sought protection in another country before entering the southern border. (CAIR Coalition et al., v. Trump et al., 6/30/20)
EOIR Releases Asylum Decision Rates by Nationality for FY2020
EOIR released asylum rates broken down by nationality for FY2020, including information on asylum grants, denials, administrative closure, and more.
EOIR Releases Asylum Decision Rates by Nationality in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim for FY2020
EOIR released asylum decision rates (grants, denials, administrative closure, and other) in cases that originated with a credible fear claim, broken down by the nationality of applicants for FY2020 (through 6/30/20).
USCIS Hypocrisy Reaches New Levels
Asylum experts Dree Collopy and Lindsay Harris highlight the ways in which asylum adjudication inefficiencies have contributed to USCIS' $1.2 billion budget shortfall and urge that Congress hold USCIS accountable, linking to AILA's Take Action on the issue that members of the public can easily use.
Impact on Rosario Class Members: New Rule Eliminating 30-Day Processing Deadline for Adjudication of Employment Applications Filed by Initia
The American Immigration Council and partners provide a practice alert on Rosario v. USCIS addressing a final rule that eliminates the 30-day processing deadline for the adjudication of EAD applications for first-time asylum applicants.
CA9 Finds Asylum Applicant’s Testimony Alone Was Not Sufficient to Satisfy Social Distinction Requirement for PSGs
The court held that petitioner had failed to establish that his proposed particular social groups (PSGs) comprised of “Mexican professionals who refuse to cooperate with drug cartels” and “agronomists who refuse to help cultivate drugs” were socially distinct. (Diaz-Torres v. Barr, 6/29/20)