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
CA6 Finds BIA Reasonably Upheld Adverse Credibility Determination as to Argentinian Asylum Seeker
The court concluded that there were at least three valid evidentiary grounds for the BIA’s decision to uphold the IJ’s adverse credibility finding as to the petitioner, a citizen of Argentina who was seeking asylum, and thus denied the petition for review. (Luna-Romero v. Barr, 2/11/20)
An Inside Look – Tips from a Clinical Social Worker Helping Asylum Seekers
Psychological evaluations can be hugely important for vulnerable clients' cases, but attorneys may have some questions about how best to approach having one done. In this blog post, Jocelyn Dyer shares helpful tips from Aimee Miller, a clinical social worker.
Documents Related to Case Challenging Restrictions on the Refugee Program
A settlement agreement was reached where refugees who were being resettled prior to the enactment of new rules banning them from entering the country will have their applications processed in exchange for the dismissal of the case. (Doe v. Trump and JFS Seattle v. Trump, 5/25/18)
BIA Rules on Establishing Particular Social Group Based on Landownership
BIA ruled that landowner status does not automatically render membership into a particular social group for asylum and withholding of removal, and landowners and landowners who resist drug cartels in Guatemala are not particular social groups. Matter of E-R-A-L-, 27 I&N Dec. 767 (BIA 2020)
GAO Finds That DHS’s Process of Information Collection and Sharing Puts Individuals Who May Be Eligible for Relief at Risk of Removal
GAO found that DHS’s fragmented process of identifying, collecting, and sharing information about certain apprehended family members across its components (CBP, USCIS, ICE) puts individuals at risk of removal who may be eligible for relief or protection based on their family relationship.
BIA Rules IJ Should Enter In Absentia Order of Removal if Individual Returned to Mexico Under MPP Fails to Appear for Hearing
BIA ruled that if DHS returns an individual to Mexico to await an immigration hearing under MPP and provides sufficient notice of that hearing, an IJ should enter an in absentia order of removal if individual fails to appear for hearing. Matter of J.J. Rodriguez, 27 I&N Dec. 762 (BIA 2020).
It’s Time for Immigration Court Reform
Join AILA to call for an independent immigration court system, outside the Department of Justice, under Article I of the Constitution.
EOIR Releases Policy Memo on Case Management and Docketing Practices
EOIR issued a policy memo reiterating and clarifying EOIR policy regarding certain case management and docketing practices including for detained cases, removal cases, custody redetermination hearings, credible fear/reasonable fear reviews, unscheduled IJ absences, rescheduled cases, and more.
The Truth About our Immigration Court System
AILA Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney describes why an independent immigration court is so desperately needed and shares resources related to his recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee Immigration Subcommittee about this issue.
After AILA Attends Tour of the Laredo Tent Court, Questions Still Abound
In this blog post, Greg Chen, Leidy Perez-Davis, and Katy Murdza report back on the recently offered tour of tent court facilities in Texas as well as why AILA remains deeply concerned about lack of due process and urges the administration to “end the use of tent courts and the Remain in Mexico prog
Policy Brief: Questions Remain After AILA Joins Laredo Tent Court Tour
On January 24, 2020, at DHS invitation, an AILA delegation attended a tour and briefing of the tent facility in Laredo. This policy brief addresses what AILA learned during that tour of the processes and procedures for migrants, attorneys, and observers.
USCIS and CBP Sign Memorandum of Agreement Allowing CBP Agents to Conduct Credible Fear Interviews
USCIS and CBP entered into a Memorandum of Agreement setting forth terms for a Task Force assignment for the purposes of training CBP officers to hear credible fear claims from asylum seekers and make determinations through the interview process. The pilot program is named “Credible Fear for CBP.”
DHS Expands MPP to Brazilian Nationals
DHS announced that it has begun processing Brazilian migrants for return to Mexico under the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which force asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while awaiting court proceedings in the U.S. DHS states that the MPP program is not limited to any nationality or language.
TRAC Issues Report on Use of Video in Immigration Court Hearings
During the first quarter of FY2020, TRAC reports, one out of six final immigration court hearings that concluded a case was held by video. Video hearings were more likely if the immigrant was detained. Video hearings in MPP tent courts appear not to be identified as video hearings in court records.
CA4 Upholds Denial of Asylum Based on BIA’s Determination That “Merchants in the Formal Honduran Economy” Is Not a Particular Social Group
The court held that the BIA’s ruling, which found that the petitioner’s proposed social group—merchants in the formal Honduran economy—did not constitute a particular social group, was not manifestly contrary to the law nor an abuse of discretion. (Canales-Rivera v. Barr, 1/27/20)
CA9 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Citizen Who Reported Gang’s Criminal Activity to Police
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s decision that the record did not establish that Guatemalan society recognizes people who report the criminal activity of gangs to police as a distinct social group for purposes of withholding relief. (Conde Quevedo v. Barr, 1/24/20)
CBP, EOIR Host Open House at the Laredo Immigration Hearing Facility for NGOs
CBP and EOIR officials hosted an open house at the Laredo Immigration Hearing Facility (IHF) for individuals representing Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) on January 24, 2020. The open house featured a tour of the facility and an overview of the processes involved at the IHF.
CA2 Finds BIA Failed to Consider Salvadoran Woman’s Claim of Persecution Based on Political Opinion
The court held that the BIA erred in failing to adequately consider the petitioner's claim that she would be persecuted on account of her political opinion—resistance to the norm of female subordination to male dominance that pervades El Salvador. (Hernandez-Chacon v. Barr, 1/23/20)
CA6 Upholds Finding That Petitioners Failed to Provide Material Evidence of Changed Country Conditions in Senegal
The court upheld the denial of petitioners’ motion to reopen their application for asylum, finding that the BIA did not abuse its discretion when it found that the petitioners had failed to provide material evidence of changed country conditions in Senegal. (Dieng, et al. v. Barr, 1/22/20)
AILA Policy Brief: Proposed Asylum Rule Blocks Asylum Seekers from Humanitarian Protection
AILA issued a policy brief on the Trump administration’s notice of proposed rulemaking on bars to asylum eligibility, noting that it would undermine the protections currently available to people who flee to the United States to escape persecution, torture, or even death in their home countries.
TRAC Reports That Immigration Court Backlog Continues to Grow
TRAC reports that the immigration court backlog continues to grow, standing at 1,089,696 cases at the end of 12/19, up 65,929 compared to end of FY2019. Fastest growing segments of the backlog are Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans. Majority are from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.
TRAC Reports EOIR Restores Some Records, Others Continue to Go Missing in Greater Numbers
TRAC reports that EOIR has restored close to a million applications for relief to its latest public data release. The number of disappearing records of other kinds from EOIR’s master database that were in previous monthly shipments, however, continues to grow.
AILA Submits Comments on Proposed Rule on Bars to Asylum Eligibility
AILA submitted comments in response to USCIS and EOIR’s joint notice of proposed rulemaking on bars to asylum eligibility. AILA raises concerns regarding the insufficient 30-day comment period and the suggestion that CAT and Withholding of Removal are adequate substitutes for asylum.
Fearless Lawyering Toolkit
This toolkit, developed by the Immigration Justice Campaign, is a growing collection of resources to help you develop and hone your removal defense skills. Receive the tools you need to vigorously advocate for clients in immigration court, before the BIA, and before federal courts, if necessary.
District Court Blocks President Trump’s Executive Order Allowing Local and State Jurisdictions to Refuse Refugees
A U.S. District Court judge from Maryland issued a preliminary injunction that reinstates the status quo immediately preceding the issuance of the refugee resettlement proclamation of the Order on 9/26/19, pending further order of the Court. (HIAS, Inc. et al., v. Trump, 1/15/20)