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
CA8 Affirms BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions in Mexico
The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in determining that the petitioner’s evidence of vague threats by gang members failed to establish past persecution and in finding that he failed to show a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Rivera-Guerrero v. Barr, 6/20/19)
AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Detention During Withholding-Only Proceedings
AILA and other groups submit an amicus brief to the Eleventh Circuit in Radzhabov v. Barr urging the court to affirm the district court’s decision and find that 8 U.S.C. § 1226(a) governs detention during withholding-only proceedings and thus these individuals have a right to a bond hearing.
ICE Expands DNA Testing Pilot Program Along the Southwest Border
ICE announced expansion of its DNA testing pilot program by 120 days and to five additional locations along the southwest border. ICE intends to use DNA testing to identify fraudulent familial relationship claims made by individuals at the border.
TRAC Report Finds That Most Released Families Attend Immigration Court Hearings
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) found that, as of 5/19, of the 47,000 families seeking asylum, almost six out of seven families released from custody showed up for their initial court hearing. For families with legal representation, appearance rates were as high as 99.9 percent.
CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial to Salvadoran Woman Who Stated She Was Unable to Leave Domestic Relationship
The court upheld BIA’s vacatur of the IJ’s decision granting petitioner and her children asylum, holding that the record was insufficient as a matter of law to support the IJ’s factual finding that the petitioner fit within her proposed social group. (Rivas-Durán, et al. v. Barr, 6/17/19)
CA4 Reverses BIA’s Determination on Nexus Requirement for Asylum and Withholding of Removal
The court vacated the denial of petitioner’s asylum and withholding of removal claims, reversed the BIA’s determination that the petitioner had failed to establish the required nexus between her persecution and her proposed protected statuses, and remanded. (Alvarez Lagos v. Barr, 6/14/19)
Press Call: Effective Border Management Begins with Improving the U.S. Asylum System
On a press call on June 13, 2019, experts from AILA, CLINIC, and Human Rights First discussed recommendations for a fair, orderly, and efficient system for processing asylum seekers and other migrants.
AILA Policy Brief: Effective Border Management Begins with Improving the U.S. Asylum System
AILA issued a policy brief with solutions to the recent increase in migration at the U.S. southern border, which will prove to be more effective in providing a fair, orderly, and efficient system for processing asylum seekers and other migrants.
CA1 Upholds Asylum and CAT Denials to Mexican Petitioner Who Filed Untimely Asylum Application
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review the BIA’s ruling on the petitioner’s asylum claim, and found that the petitioner had provided the court with no basis for overturning the BIA’s ruling on his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim. (Rodriguez-Palacios v. Barr, 6/12/19)
Refugee Council USA Publishes Report on the Impacts of Declining Refugee Admissions
Refugee Council USA, a coalition of 24 U.S.-based NGOs, published a report finding that changes to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program have harmed U.S.’s ability to protect refugees, address displacement crises, and protect U.S. national security, foreign policy, and diplomatic interests.
President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” Program Is an Assault on Human Rights
AILA member Isabel Duarte describes a recent immigration court hearing with families impacted by the Remain in Mexico or Migrant Protection Protocols policy, showing how the program harms families and is an assault on human rights and due process.
Supplement Complaint Demands Government Action on Inadequate Medical Care in Colorado Detention Center
On June 11, 2019, the American Immigration Council and AILA supplemented a complaint originally filed in June 2018 highlighting numerous examples of inadequate medical care in the Denver Contract Detention Facility, an immigration detention center in Aurora, Colorado.
U.S. and Mexico Issue Joint Declaration on Border Migration
The U.S. and Mexican governments proclaimed their commitment to address the increase in migrants moving from Central America, including the deployment of the Mexican National Guard to the southern border and the expansion of Migrant Protection Protocols across the entire southern border.
Former IJ Jeffrey Chase Discusses BIA and Selective Dismissal
Former IJ Jeffrey Chase discussed Matter of Andrade Jaso and Matter of Carbajal Ayala, which held that IJs have the authority to dismiss removal proceedings upon finding the filing of a meritless asylum application with USCIS for the sole purpose of seeking cancellation of removal.
Sunlight Foundation Reports on Removal of Asylum Training Documents from USCIS Website
The Sunlight Foundation investigated the removal of asylum lesson plans from the USCIS website, finding the removal of at least 26 separate documents “unusual for their scope and completeness.” Further, the removal of these documents were done at the “explicit direction” of John Lafferty.
AILA Sends Letter to DHS Acting Secretary Detailing MPP’s Barriers to Counsel
On 6/3/19, AILA’s Asylum and Refugee Liaison Committee sent a letter to Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan detailing their concerns with how the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) are effectively denying asylum seekers a right to be represented by counsel and curtailing due process.
BIA Finds IJs Can Dismiss Removal Proceedings If They Find Meritless Asylum Applications for Sole Purpose of Seeking Cancellation
The BIA held that IJs have the authority to dismiss removal proceedings if they determine its a meritless asylum application with USCIS for the sole purpose of seeking cancellation in the Immigration Court. Matter of Andrade Jaso and Matter of Carbajal Ayala, 27 I&N Dec. 557 (BIA 2019)
Tariffs Hurt Americans, Won’t Stop Asylum Seekers
AILA leadership recommended solutions to restore order to the border region, in contrast to President’s Trump’s planned new tariffs on Mexican imports to the United States, calling for improved “processing of migrants without sacrificing fundamental humanitarian values and damaging our economy.”
ACLU of LA and SPLC File Suit Against Trump Administration for Categorically Denying Parole to Asylum Seekers
The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana (ACLU of LA) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for categorically denying release from detention centers to hundreds of asylum seekers. (Heredia Mons, et al. v. McAleenan, et al., 5/30/19)
Updated Credible Fear Lesson Plans Comparison Chart
This chart, co-developed by AILA and CLINIC, compares the last four lesson plans from 2006, 2014, 2017, and 2019—including the April 30, 2019 ,lesson plan—guiding USCIS Asylum Officers’ credible fear determinations.
CA9 Remands for BIA to Reconsider CAT Claim of Christian Chinese Petitioner
The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner had committed a serious nonpolitical offense and was therefore ineligible for asylum and withholding of removal, but remanded to the BIA for further consideration of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief. (Guan v. Barr, 5/30/19)
CA9 Says BIA Does Not Per Se Err When It Concludes Arguments Raised for First Time on Appeal Need Not Be Entertained
Approving the BIA’s practice of refusing to address arguments raised for the first time on appeal, the court found that the BIA did not err when it declined to consider petitioner’s proposed particular social groups that were raised for the first time on appeal. (Honcharov v. Barr, 5/29/19)
CA5 Upholds Asylum Denial to Ex-Law Enforcement Official from Honduras
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that petitioner, who had been a police officer in Honduras, had failed to show a nexus between the alleged persecution he suffered and his membership in a particular social group. (Martinez Manzanares v. Barr, 5/24/19)
CA4 Finds BIA Distorted Record in Denying Asylum to Salvadoran Woman Abused by Partner
The court held that the BIA had disregarded and distorted significant portions of the record when it found that the petitioner had failed to establish that the Salvadoran government was unwilling or unable to protect her from persecution. (Orellana v. Barr, 5/23/19)
USCIS Q&As from Asylum Division Quarterly Meeting (5/20/19)
USCIS provides Q&As from the 5/20/19 Asylum Division Quarterly meeting, including updates, statistics, processing times and scheduling, UACs, training modules and lesson plans, credible fear screenings, Ms. L. v. Sessions, untimely filings, staffing, language services, and more.