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
CRS Releases Legal Sidebar on Matter of M-S-
CRS released a Legal Sidebar on the statutes and regulations governing expedited removal and the detention of individuals placed in formal removal proceedings, including how the AG’s ruling in Matter of M-S- modified immigration authorities’ prior interpretation of these legal authorities.
CRS Report on “Migrant Protection Protocols”: Legal Issues Related to DHS’s Plan to Require Arriving Asylum Seekers to Wait in Mexico
CRS provided an updated analysis of the Migrant Protection Protocol, discussing recent litigation, the rollout of the policy, expedited removal, statutory authority for the policy, and other legal issues.
Immigration Judge Grants Motion to Reopen In Absentia Order of Removal
Immigration Judge finds that if a party does not receive Notice of Hearing and is removed in absentia, said party may re-open proceedings to hear the case on its merits. The court relied on lack of evidence produced by the government in coming to its conclusion. Courtesy of Roopal Patel.
EOIR Releases “Myths vs. Facts About Immigration Proceedings”
EOIR released a purposed “Myths vs. Facts About Immigration Proceedings” factsheet.
CA5 Rules in Favor of Government Where Asylum-Seeking Appellants Were Separated from Children and Deported
The court affirmed the district court’s judgment in favor of the government, holding that nothing in INA §235(b)(1)(A)(ii) prevents the government from initiating a criminal prosecution before or during the mandated asylum process. (United States v. Vasquez-Hernandez, et al., 5/8/19)
CA9 Allows “Remain in Mexico” Policy to Continue While Court Case Is Pending
The court held that the government was entitled to have the preliminary injunction stayed, thus allowing DHS's policy of returning certain asylum seekers to Mexico while they wait for an immigration court to decide their cases to continue. (Innovation Law Lab v. McAleenan, 5/7/19)
A Spotlight on Misinformation
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson details recent misinformation from the president about the border, immigrants, and asylum seekers, and notes, “Sadly, the Trump administration's border enforcement strategy remains largely unchanged even as the nature of the challenge has changed dramatically.R
CA5 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Declining to Evaluate Reformulated PSG
The court affirmed the BIA’s order denying the petitioners’ applications for asylum and withholding of removal, finding that the BIA did not err by refusing to consider the petitioners’ reformulated particular social group (PSG) on appeal. (Cantarero-Lagos, et al., v. Barr, 5/6/19)
Michelle Angela Ortiz: Illuminating Injustice Through Art
AILA Senior Legal Editor Rizwan Hassan highlights a visual artist and community educator, Michelle Angela Ortiz, who has brought attention to families detained in Berks, PA, writing “we must use whatever skills and talents we have at our disposal to battle the injustices we see.“
CBP Opens Two Temporary Facilities on the Southwest Border
CBP announces that it has opened two temporary facilities in El Paso and Donna, Texas, near McAllen. These two soft-sided structures will house families and unaccompanied children.
Acting Director of OMB Sends Congress FY2019 Emergency Supplemental Request
On 5/1/19, OMB Acting Director Russell T. Vought requested from Congress additional appropriations for processing asylum seekers at the southern border.
CLINIC Provides Overview of Matter of M-S-
CLINIC provided an overview of the Attorney General decision in Matter of M-S-, which limits immigration judges’ custody redetermination, or bond, authority for asylum seekers who enter between ports of entry. The overview includes information on the impact and challenges to the decision.
USCIS Updates Officer Training on Credible Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations
USCIS updated its Refugee, Asylum, and International Operations (RAIO) Directorate Officer Training course on credible fear of persecution and torture determinations, to explain how to determine whether an individual subject to expedited removal or an arriving stowaway has a credible fear.
AILA: Presidential Memo Seeks to Deny Asylum Seekers Fundamental Human Rights
AILA responded to the White House memo of April 29, 2019, raising concerns that while the memo itself does not change asylum policy, it directs the DHS and DOJ to issue regulations that would dramatically alter how asylum seekers obtain protection and dilute their rights during that process.
AILA Quicktake #264: White House Releases a Presidential Memorandum on Asylum
On April 29, 2019, the White House released a presidential memorandum in response to the large numbers of people apprehended at the southern border this year. AILA Policy Counsel Leidy Perez-Davis discusses the three major changes to asylum law that the memo proposes.
USCIS Acknowledges That Its Own Policies Compound Case Processing Delays
AILA Policy Counsel Jason Boyd highlights data from a recent USCIS response to Congress, noting evidence that “USCIS policies are undermining the agency's statutory mandate to efficiently process applications and petitions for immigration benefits“ and calling for USCIS to be held to account.
White House Releases Presidential Memo with Changes to How the U.S. Handles Asylum Seekers
The White House released a memo titled, “Additional Measures to Enhance Border Security and Restore Integrity to Our Immigration System,” with dramatic changes to how the United States treats individuals seeking asylum. Memo calls on DOJ and DHS to develop policies within 90 days.
ICE Reallocates Resources to Investigate Use of Fraudulent Documents at Southwest Border
ICE announced the reallocating resources to investigate the use of fraudulent documents to “create fake families seeking to exploit U.S. immigration laws.” During April 2019, HSI conducted about 100 family unit interviews and have found evidence of fraud in “more than a quarter of cases.”
CA3 Grants Motion to Reopen Where BIA Ignored Petitioner’s Evidence of Materially Changed Country Conditions
The court vacated the BIA’s order denying the motion to reopen and remanded, holding that the BIA abused its discretion when it failed to meaningfully consider evidence and arguments presented by the Christian Indonesian petitioner and to explain its conclusions. (Liem v. Att'y Gen., 4/19/19)
CA7 Grants Asylum to Mexican Man Persecuted After Refusing to Allow Cartel Leader to “Possess” His Wife
The court found that the record compelled a finding that the torture and persecution the petitioner had suffered in the past and feared in the future were and would be because of his membership in the particular social group of his wife’s family. (Gonzalez Ruano v. Barr, 4/24/19)
ABA Sends Letter to Attorney General Urging Reconsideration of Matter of M-S-
The American Bar Association (ABA) sent a letter to Attorney General William P. Barr urging him to reconsider Matter of M-S-, stating that it “will result in an increase in length and unnecessary detention of vulnerable asylum seekers at significant cost to the government.”
CA2 Upholds Asylum Denial to Petitioner Convicted of First-Degree Assault in Connecticut
The court held that the petitioner’s conviction for first-degree assault in Connecticut was an aggravated felony, and that the invalidation of 18 USC §16(b) in Sessions v. Dimaya did not necessitate a remand to the BIA for consideration of this issue. (Banegas Gomez v. Barr, 4/23/19)
Former IJ Jeffrey Chase Discusses a Better Approach to “Unable or Unwilling” Analysis
Former Immigration Judge Jeffrey Chase discussed the Sixth Circuit decision in K.H. v. Barr and the insurmountable hurdle for K.H. to establish that the government of Guatemala was unable or unwilling to control the gang members who had persecuted her.
CA9 Vacates Nearly $1 Million Award of Attorneys’ Fees in Sexual Battery Lawsuit Against Asylum Officer
The court held that because the district court did not have the benefit of the Supreme Court’s decision in Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Haeger when it issued an award of attorneys’ fees, it failed to apply the appropriate legal framework in the case. (Lu v. United States, 4/17/19)
Practice Pointer: Completing Form I-589, Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal
AILA’s Asylum and Refugee Committee provided this practice pointer with tips to help ensure proper completion of Form I-589, Application for Asylum and Withholding of Removal.