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
U.S. and Honduras Sign Agreements on Immigration Enforcement and H-2 Visa Programs
U.S. and Honduras signed several agreements on immigration enforcement, data sharing, and H-2 nonimmigrant visa programs. The agreements are geared toward reducing border migration from and through Central America.
DHS OIG Finds CBP Personnel at the Tecate, California, Port of Entry Violated Immigration Laws
DHS OIG found that CBP officials at the Tecate, California, port of entry returned some asylum applicants back to Mexico, instructing them to go to other ports of entry to make asylum claims; practiced “metering;” and did not create records when they instructed individuals to go to other ports.
AILA Sends Letter Requesting Information and Access to Port Courts
AILA sent a letter to various government agencies requesting information and access to tent court facilities to observe immigration court hearings.
The United States and Honduras Sign Asylum Cooperative Agreement
The Los Angeles Times obtained a copy of an agreement signed between the U.S. and Honduras, under which adults and families seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border could be sent to Honduras without the chance to seek asylum in the U.S. The U.S. and Guatemala signed a similar agreement.
District Court Says Asylum Seekers at Buffalo Federal Detention Facility Are No Longer Entitled to Bond Hearings After Six Months
A New York district court held that after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Jennings v. Rodriguez, ICE is no longer required to give individualized bond hearings to noncitizens detained for more than six months and decertified the subclass. (Abdi, et al. v. McAleenan, et al., 9/24/19)
DHS Announces Family Units at Border Who Don’t Claim Fear of Return Will Be Quickly Returned to Home Countries
DHS Acting Secretary McAleenan announced that DHS will return migrant family units arriving at the border without documents to their country of origin instead of releasing them into the U.S. interior unless they claim fear of return. Family units claiming fear will be returned to Mexico under MPP.
Press Call Recording: AILA Experts Report Live from Brownsville After Week in TX Witnessing Lack of Due Process in “Port Courts”
On a press call on September 20, 2019, AILA Senior Policy Counsel Laura Lynch and AILA Policy Counsel Leidy Perez-Davis shared their insights from a week on the ground in Laredo and Brownsville, TX, observing MPP hearings and the government’s use of “port courts.”
U.S. and El Salvador Sign Agreement to Transfer Asylum Seekers to El Salvador
U.S. and El Salvador have signed a cooperative agreement that would transfer asylum seekers who are not nationals or residents of El Salvador to El Salvador in order to seek asylum there.
TRAC Report Finds that Immigration Court’s Active Backlog Has Surpassed One Million
A TRAC report found that the immigration court’s active backload of cases has passed one million. Through the end of August 2019, the backlog was 1,007,155. A total of 384,977 new cases were filed in the first 11 months of FY2019. About 10 percent of these new filings were MPP cases.
EOIR Releases Immigration Court Video Advisals
EOIR released the prerecorded video advisals that it has begun using in some immigration courts. The videos are in English and Spanish and targeted separately to detained and non-detained individuals. EOIR has replaced interpreters at some master calendar hearings with these video advisals.
IJ Terminates Removal Proceedings After Finding DHS Inappropriately Subjected Respondents to MPP Program
The Immigration Judge terminated removal proceedings after finding that DHS inappropriately subjected respondents to the MPP program since they were not arriving aliens. In the Matter of
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Ecuadorian Petitioner Who Said He Was Confused by IJ’s Questioning
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s affirmance of the denial of asylum, finding that the record provided ample support for the IJ’s conclusion that the petitioner’s statements were inconsistent and that his explanation was implausible. (Loja-Paguay v. Barr, 9/16/19)
Reuters Releases EOIR Guidance on Asylum Ban 2.0 Implementation
After the Supreme Court allowed the third country transit rule to go into effect, EOIR issued guidance on who this ruling applies to. On September 16, 2019, Reuters reporter, Kristina Cooke, shared this guidance on Twitter.
Searching for Fairness and Transparency – A Firsthand Look at the Port Courts in Laredo and Brownsville
This week, AILA staff Laura Lynch and Leidy Perez-Davis are on the ground to observe and learn about the newly opened “port courts“ which they are describing as a “Due process disaster in the making“ - follow along all week for updates!
CRS Legal Sidebar: Third Country Asylum Rule and Ongoing Litigation
CRS released a legal sidebar on the third country asylum rule and ongoing litigation against it. As a result of the recent Supreme Court stay, the administration can implement the rule without restriction while litigation concerning its legality moves forward.
SCOTUS Lifts Nationwide Injunction of “Asylum Ban 2.0”
AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson responded to the SCOTUS decision lifting the nationwide injunction on the Trump administration’s “Asylum Ban 2.0.” which puts “the lives of asylum seekers back in the hands of their persecutors, including transnational gangs and cartels.”
Press Call: Immigration Law Experts Offer Debrief of “Port Courts” and Due Process Concerns
On a press call on September 12, 2019, immigration law experts discussed how the Migrant Protection Protocols program has been implemented and what they have seen on the ground in Laredo and Brownsville, TX, as “port courts” are put into use.
Immigration Law Experts Debriefed Press on “Port Courts” and Due Process Concerns
This statement includes quotes from immigration law experts relating to the newly established “port courts” and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) who shared insights on the telephonic press briefing held September 12, 2019.
EOIR Provides AILA with Information on New Port Courts
EOIR provided AILA with responses to some of AILA’s questions on the operations at the new port courts in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas.
CA2 Says INA’s “Changed Circumstances” Exception Allows Applicant to Raise Multiple Claims in Asylum Application
The court held that the plain language of INA §208(a)(2)(D) compels the conclusion that the “changed circumstances” exception to the one‐year deadline for filing an asylum application refers to the entire application, rather than the individual claim. (Yang v. Barr, 7/2/19, amended 9/11/19)
Practice Pointer: DHS’s Public Charge Final Rule Does Not Affect Asylees or Refugees
This practice pointer identifies asylum and refugee-related categories exempt from the public charge ground of inadmissibility.
CA5 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Honduran Woman Who Claimed She Was Unable to Leave Her Relationship
The court held that substantial evidence supported BIA’s finding that petitioner had failed to show that she was harmed by her ex-boyfriend on account of her membership in the particular social group of Honduran women unable to leave their relationships. (Gonzales-Veliz v. Barr, 9/10/19)
USCIS Proposed Rule Removing the 30-Day Processing Provision for Asylum EADs
USCIS proposed rule removing the 30-day processing provision for initial employment authorization applications for those with pending asylum applications. Comments will be accepted until 11/8/19. (84 FR 47148, 9/9/19)
USCIS Proposing Regulation to Remove 30-Day Processing Timeline for EAD Requests from Asylum Applicants
USCIS announced a proposed regulation that would remove the current 30-day timeline for processing EAD requests from those with pending asylum applications. USCIS is also proposing removing the requirement that such applicants file for EAD renewal at least 90 days before the EAD’s expiration.
AILA Policy Brief: DHS and DOJ Are Opening Secretive Port Courts Along the Southern Border
AILA issued a policy brief that shares the little information regarding the DHS and DOJ port courts that has been made publicly available by media reports and elevates the outstanding operational issues of concern that have yet to be addressed by agencies.