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
CA10 Upholds BIA Denial of Asylum and Withholding for Former Mexican Police Officer
The court held BIA reasonably relied on substantial evidence to find petitioner failed to show that threats he received while an active officer established past or future persecution based on his current status as an incorruptible former police officer. (Aguilar-Perez v. Whitaker, 2/13/19)
Presidential Proclamation Extending Proclamation 9822 for 90 Days
President Trump issued a proclamation extending the suspension and limitations from Proclamation 9822 for an additional 90 days. (84 FR 3665, 2/12/19)
ICE Releases Memo on Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols
ICE released a memo on its implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols.
ICE Releases Guidance on Migrant Protection Protocols
ICE released a memo providing guidance to impacted Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) field offices on implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols.
CA4 Grants Petition for Review After Finding CAT Risk of Torture Must Be Considered from All Sources in the Aggregate
The court held that neither the IJ nor BIA properly aggregated tattooed former gang member’s risk of torture from a combination of police, gangs, and vigilante groups; it also found neither meaningfully engaged with the submitted evidence. (Rodriguez-Arias v. Whitaker, 2/12/19)
AILA Submits Amicus Brief on Motions to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions
AILA submitted a second amicus brief in Hamama v. Homan with a primary focus on the “when” of a Motion to Reopen based on changed country conditions.
Practice Pointer: Arguing Against Pretermission of Asylum Cases in Immigration Court in the Aftermath of Matter of A-B- and Matter of E-F
This practice pointer describes arguments that attorneys may make when immigration judges pretermit asylum applications without affording the applicants an individual calendar hearing at which they can present testimony and other evidence in support of their asylum cases.
AILA Stands with Our Members Against Government Retaliation
In this blog post, AILA President-Elect Marketa Lindt and AILA Treasurer Jeremy McKinney describe recent troubling events which could impact access to counsel for asylum seekers at the border and avow “We stand with our members…We stand ready to fight.“
Matter of A-B- : Case Updates, Current Trends, and Suggested Strategies
Watch this free webinar, provided by AILA National's Asylum Committee, in collaboration with the Immigration Justice Campaign, as expert practitioners discuss the Matter of A-B-, trends at all levels of adjudication, and legal arguments and strategies for a post-A-B-world.
AILA and Advocates Send Letter Urging Secretary Nielsen to End the Migrant Protection Protocols Policy
On 2/6/19, the American Immigration Council, AILA, and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. sent a letter to DHS documenting harm that families served by the Dilley Pro Bono Project faced on the other side of the southern border and demands a reversal of the Migrant Protection Protocols.
AILA Policy Brief: “Remain in Mexico” Plan Sows Chaos, Puts Asylum Seekers at Risk
This policy brief examines how the administration’s cruel and likely illegal “Remain in Mexico” policy will make it nearly impossible for asylum seekers to access the protections they are entitled to under the law and explores the solutions that the administration should implement instead.
CA4 Remands to BIA to Apply Proper De Novo Standard of Review to Determine Whether IJ Erred in CAT Government Acquiescence Finding
The court held IJ’s determination regarding government acquiescence is mixed question of law and fact and public officials’ actions is question of fact while whether those actions qualify as acquiescence is legal determination, triggering de novo review. (Cruz-Quintanilla v. Whitaker, 2/1/19)
Matter of A-B-: Case Updates, Current Trends, and Suggested Strategies
AILA Asylum and Refugee Committee Chair Dree Collopy describes Matter of A-B- and its potential impact on asylum law and previews an upcoming webinar on the topic that is open to interested practitioners.
AILA and NIJC Submit Amicus Brief Challenging the Auer Deference Rulings
AILA and the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in Kisor v. Wilkie, asking for the court of appeals judgment to be reversed and challenging the Auer doctrine that makes an agency’s interpretation of its own regulations controlling.
AILA Analysis Reveals Crisis-Level Delays in USCIS Case Processing
In this blog post, AILA Policy Counsel Jason Boyd shares key points from AILA's recent policy brief and explains how USCIS processing delays have reached crisis levels under the Trump administration.
AILA Quicktake #258: USCIS Delays Reach Crisis Level
AILA’s Policy Counsel Jason Boyd discusses his analysis of recent USCIS data, which reveals a steep increase in the agency’s case processing times.
EOIR Releases Addendum to LOP Cohort Analysis of Phase I: Detention Length with DHS Data
EOIR released an addendum to its Phase I report on the Legal Orientation Program (LOP) as DHS provided EOIR with more granularly precise data regarding detention, including book-in and book-out dates.
EOIR Releases Phase II Analysis of Its Legal Orientation Program Cohort
EOIR released analysis is a follow-up to Phase I with additional analysis of when LOP services are provided, how long hearings last for LOP participants and non-LOP participants, and the difference in applications filed between LOP participants and non-LOP participants.
USCIS Announces Online Case Status Feature for Asylum Applicants
USCIS announced that applicants who have a pending affirmative asylum application with USCIS can now check the status of their applications online at uscis.gov/casestatus. It will not cover defensive asylum applicants whose cases are pending in immigration court.
USCIS Releases Guidance for Implementing Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the INA and the Migrant Protection Protocols
USCIS released a memo with guidance to USCIS officers regarding the implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols, including supporting the exercise of prosecutorial discretion by CBP.
Trump Administration Unveils More Severe Restrictions on Due Process and Asylum in “Remain in Mexico”
AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson raises concerns with new procedures described today by USCIS in which an “assessment” that determines whether Central American asylum applicants can pursue their claims from within the U.S. would be made, but access to counsel would be prohibited.
CBP Releases Its Guiding Principles for Migrant Protection Protocols
CBP released guiding principles for Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) stating that effective 1/28/19, the San Diego Field Office will begin implementing Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and outlining which individuals may be impacted.
CBP Releases Memo on Implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocols
CBP released memo stating that Migrant Protection Protocols began at the San Ysidro port of entry on 1/28/19 and it is anticipated that it will be expanded in the near future.
CBP Releases Guidance on Migrant Protection Protocols
CBP released guidance on Migrant Protection Protocols and the implementation of CBP’s Guiding Principles memo.
Featured Issue: EOIR’s Decision to Transfer Mesa Verde Detention Facility Cases to Van Nuys Immigration Court
EOIR announced that as of February 3, 2020, the San Francisco Immigration Courts would stop hearing cases of detainees at the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Bakersfield, California. Instead hundreds of cases will be moved to a new immigration court in Van Nuys that opened in November 2019.