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
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Immigration Court Practice Manual and Orders
EOIR issued a policy memo clarifying the relationship between the Immigration Court Practice Manual (ICPM) and certain classes of orders that contradict the ICPM or applicable law, as well as rescinding several outdated Operating Policies and Procedures Memoranda.
EOIR Issues Policy Memo on Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes
EOIR issued a policy memo rescinding OPPM 18-02, Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes, dated June 8, 2018, and setting forth updated codes to track the case hearing process.
Senators Press Attorney General for Information on the Politicization and Mismanagement of U.S. Immigration Courts
On February 13, 2020, several U.S. senators sent a letter to Attorney General Barr requesting information about the training and hiring of immigration judges and the mismanagement of immigration courts in order to ensure that immigration laws are being interpreted and applied fairly and impartially.
H.R. 2214: National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act
The NO BAN Act (H.R. 2214) would repeal several iterations of the travel ban and ensure that no future administration could issue similar bans that would block immigrants from entering the United States based on their religion. The House of Representatives passed H.R. 2214 on 7/22/20.
Over 110 House Democrats Call for Immediate End to Remain in Mexico Policy
Congressional leaders called on Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to immediately terminate the Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, otherwise known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, because the program has inflicted irreparable harm to nearly 60,000 asylum seekers.
CA8 Finds Family Membership Was Not a Central Reason for Persecution Feared by Guatemalan Petitioner
Upholding the BIA’s denial of withholding of removal, the court concluded that there was substantial evidence to support the BIA’s finding that the petitioner’s family membership was not a central reason for the persecution she feared in Guatemala. (Silvestre-Giron v. Barr, 2/12/20)
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)