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
District Court Denies Motion for Temporary Restraining Order Against Rule Barring Asylum Eligibility for Many Migrants
The CAIR Coalition and RAICES filed a complaint in district court seeking relief from the 2019 third-country transit ban. (CAIR Coalition, et al. v. Trump, et al., 7/16/19)
DHS and DOJ Interim Final Rule Barring from Asylum Eligibility Individuals Who Transit Through a Third Country Without Seeking Protection
DHS and DOJ interim final rule establishing a mandatory bar to asylum eligibility for persons who transit through a third country and enter or attempt to enter the southern U.S. border without having applied for protection in a third country. The rule is effective 7/16/19. (84 FR 33829, 7/16/19)
DHS and DOJ Issue Joint Third-Country Asylum Interim Final Rule
DHS and DOJ issued a joint Interim Final Rule revising 8 CFR § 208.13(c) and 8 CFR § 1208.13(c) to add a new bar to eligibility for asylum for an individual who enters or attempts to enter the United States across the southern border.
EOIR Releases Guidelines Regarding New Regulations Governing Asylum and Protection Claims
EOIR issued guidelines that established its policy and procedures for adjudicating asylum claims in the context of migrants who enter or attempt to enter the U.S. across the southern land border after failing to apply for protection while in a third country. This guidance is effective 7/16/19.
AILA: Administration’s New Rule Is the Latest Attempt to End Asylum
As DHS and DOJ attempt to prevent migrants who have not applied for protection in a third country from seeking asylum, AILA Second Vice President Jeremy McKinney offered solutions that would make our asylum system more efficient and live up to our values, noting “This rule isn’t one of them.”
CA3 Finds BIA Erred in Rejecting Nepali Petitioner’s Motion to Remand Where He Established Prima Facie Asylum Claim
The court held that the BIA erred by failing to accept the petitioner’s new evidence as true when evaluating his prima facie claim for asylum relief, and found that the BIA incorrectly analyzed his claim by applying the incorrect standard to his new evidence. (Tilija v. Att’y Gen., 7/12/19)
CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Overlooking Critical Evidence in Support of Dominican Petitioner’s Claims for Asylum Relief
Finding that BIA had failed to grapple with the serious nature of the threats the Dominican petitioner had received on account of his political opinion, the court held that BIA’s reasoning was inadequate to support a finding of no past persecution. (Rodríguez-Villar v. Barr, 7/11/19)
Practice Alert: USCIS Shortens Window Between Entry and Credible Fear Interview
BuzzFeed reported that USCIS changed the window between when an immigrant is detained for crossing into the U.S. and when the credible fear interview occurs from 48 hours to one calendar day.
CA1 Remands Ghanaian Petitioner’s Asylum Claims Due to Ambiguities in BIA’s Decision
The court remanded to BIA for further explanation of its denial of the motion to reopen, holding that BIA had failed to make clear whether it accepted that petitioner had suffered past domestic abuse, which would give rise to a presumption of future persecution. (Twum v. Barr, 7/9/19)
CA5 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Former Salvadoran Police Officer Who Received Threats from Barrio 18 Gang
The court held that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying petitioner’s motion to reconsider because supporting authority was wholly absent from his motion, and found that the evidence did not compel a past or future persecution finding. (Cruz, et al. v. Barr, 7/9/19, amended 9/6/19)
CA6 Remands Motion to Reopen of Indigenous Land-Rights Activist in Guatemala Based on Changed Country Conditions
The court reversed and remanded, finding that the BIA failed to properly evaluate the petitioner’s undisputed, reasonably specific evidence and that it applied the wrong legal standards with respect to his motion to reopen based on changed country conditions. (Pablo Lorenzo v. Barr, 7/9/19)
BIA Holds Changed Circumstances Need Not Occur Before Asylum Application Is Filed
Unpublished BIA decision holds that changed circumstances need not occur before an asylum application is filed to qualify for the exception to the one-year filing deadline. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of J-R-F-F-, 7/9/19)
CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Mexican Petitioner Who Asserted She Was Trapped in Abusive Relationship
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s determination that the Mexican petitioner did not experience past persecution or have a well-founded fear of future persecution from either of her ex-domestic partners. (Wences Godinez v. Barr, 7/8/19)
CRS Releases Report on ICE’s Alternatives to Detention Programs
CRS released a report on ICE’s Alternatives to Detention (ATD) programs—Intensive Supervision Appearance Program III (ISAP III) and the Family Case Management Program (FCMP). The report includes data on active participants in each program, ICE caseload, and program evaluations.
CA2 Remands Where Record Failed to Support BIA’s Inconsistency Findings
Vacating the removal order and remanding, the court held that the BIA erred by mistaking two discrepancies in the wording of the Nepali petitioner’s testimony as inconsistencies upon which the agency partly based an adverse credibility finding. (Gurung v. Barr, 7/8/19)
Continuing to Build Vital Bridges
In this blog post, adapted from her speech as outgoing AILA president, Anastasia Tonello reflects on the past year and the bridges AILA and our members have built and the impact we have had.
No, Out of Sight Doesn’t Mean Out of Mind This Time
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson shares four concrete steps the administration should take to improve the asylum process rather than try and strong-arm Mexico into helping deny asylum seekers the due process mandated by our laws.
CA7 Remands for a Second Time Withholding and CAT Claims of Former MS-13 Gang Member from El Salvador
The court held that the IJ and BIA must take fair notice of the corroboration found in the evidence that the petitioner had submitted and take that corroboration into account in evaluating his withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture (CAT) claims. (Arrazabal v. Barr, 7/3/19)
CA1 Finds Venezuelan Petitioner Showed Reasonable Likelihood He Would Face Persecution Based on Political Opinion
The court reversed BIA’s denial of the petitioner’s untimely motion to reopen his removal proceedings and remanded, holding that country conditions in Venezuela had worsened in a manner that was material to the petitioner’s asylum and withholding of removal claims. (Cabas v. Barr, 7/1/19)
EOIR Releases Statistics on Decision Outcomes for Third Quarter of FY2019
EOIR released statistics on outcomes of initial case decisions for the third quarter of FY2019 (through 6/30/19). Statistics cover removal, deportation, and exclusion cases; asylum-only and withholding-only cases; and credible fear reviews, reasonable fear reviews, and claimed status reviews.
CBP to Open Temporary Facility in Response to Sustained Large Volumes of Family Units in Yuma, AZ
CBP announced the opening of a new facility in Yuma, Arizona. The soft-sided facility will accommodate up to 500 individuals in U.S. Border Patrol custody while they await transfer to ICE or ORR. The temporary structures are weatherproof and climate-controlled.
CA5 Denies Recovery of Attorneys’ Fees Where Government Was Prevailing Party on Majority of Petitioners’ Claims
The court held that, when viewed as an inclusive whole, the government was substantially justified in denying Convention Against Torture protection to petitioners, and the petitioners were ineligible for an Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) award. (W.M.V.C. v. Barr, 6/7/19, amended 6/28/19)
Congress Should Pass the Northern Triangle and Border Stabilization Act
AILA welcomed the introduction of H.R. 3524, the “Northern Triangle and Border Stabilization Act” which offers comprehensive solutions to address the violence and instability in Central America while also increasing the federal government’s capacity to manage the situation at the southern border.
AILA Quicktake #268: AILA Provides Update and Solutions on Border Situation
This week, both the Senate and the House passed emergency border spending bills that would be used primarily by CBP and ICE for the custody, transport, and care of migrants. AILA’s Director of Government Relations Greg Chen provides an update and discusses the need for a more comprehensive solution.
AILA Responds to Emergency Border Spending Bills
AILA responded to the passage of House and Senate bills to provide humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border.