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
CA5 Rejects IJ/BIA Finding that Mann Party Sikh Asylum Applicant Could “Safely and Reasonably Relocate”
The court remanded, holding that DHS did not offer any evidence that the specific petitioner could safely relocate within India, despite the success of others similarly situated, and, thus, failed to meet its burden of proof. (Singh v. Sessions, 8/2/18)
Updated FAQs on Mendez Rojas v. Johnson
The American Immigration Council, Dobrin & Han, PC, and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project provide a FAQ on a court decision that ensures asylum seekers have notice of the one-year filing deadline and an adequate mechanism to timely file applications.
Detaining Families: A Study of Asylum Adjudication in Family Detention
The American Immigration Council released a report that draws on thousands of government records over a 15-year period and highlights the multiple barriers to justice families seeking asylum face while in detention, as well as the important role the courts have played in protecting due process.
CA8 Affirms IJ/BIA Applied Correct Legal Standard to Protected Ground Analysis for Asylum Denial
The court held that IJ/BIA correctly considered whether applicant’s social group (son of police officer) or political opinion was “one central reason” for harm, despite adverse conclusion that they were merely incidental to gang recruitment efforts. (Gomez-Rivera v. Sessions, 7/31/18)
USCIS Provides Statistics on NACARA Cases Through 7/31/18
The USCIS Asylum Division provides cumulative NACARA workload statistics from 6/21/99 through 7/31/18.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for July 2018
USCIS provides statistics on affirmative asylum office workload, including stages of asylum cases (filed, interviews conducted, completed, pending), broken down by office and nationality of applicants for July 2018.
CA9 Remands for Application of Presumption of Future Persecution on Account of Religion
The court held IJ/BIA erred in concluding harm was one incident that did not rise to past persecution; rather, government condition of release preventing petitioner from practicing his religion was ongoing harm that compelled a finding of past persecution. (Guo v. Sessions, 7/30/18)
TRAC Reports that Credible Fear Findings Plummet Amid Widely Disparate Outcomes by Location and Judge
TRAC found that immigration court outcomes in credible fear reviews (CFR) have recently undergone a dramatic change. Starting in January 2018, court findings of credible fear began to plummet. By June 2018, only 14.7 percent of the CFR decisions found the asylum seeker had a "credible fear."
USCIS Postpones Implementation of Policy Memo on Issuance of Notices to Appear
USCIS announced that its components have yet to issue new or updated operational guidance on Notices to Appear (NTAs) and Referrals to ICE (RTIs), as instructed by the 6/28/18 policy memo on NTAs; therefore, implementation of the 6/28/18 memo is postponed until the operational guidance is issued.
Retired IJs and Former Members of the BIA Statement in Response to Latest Attack on Judicial Independence
On 7/30/18, retired IJs and former members of the BIA issued a statement in response to EOIR’s actions on July 26, 2018. EOIR had removed a sitting IJ from the case of Castro-Tum and replaced the IJ with an ACIJ without explanation. The ACIJ ordered Mr. Castro-Tum removed in absentia.
Tearing Families Apart in More Ways Than One
In this blog post, AILA member Ally Bolour highlights how the use of Ryan White Care Act (RWCA) funds for the family separation policy could have an impact on low-income families seeking treatment for HIV.
AILA Philadelphia Attorneys Condemn Administration's Assault on Immigrants and Due Process
The AILA Philadelphia Chapter issued a statement condemning EOIR’s removal of a sitting immigration judge (IJ) from the case of Castro-Tum, replacing the IJ with an Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) without explanation. The ACIJ ordered Mr. Castro-Tum removed in absentia.
CA6 Remands, Holds BIA Erred on Multiple Counts in Overturning IJ’s Grants of Asylum and §237(a)(1)(H) Waiver
The court held that the BIA’s asylum denial went against its own precedent and was an abuse of discretion because it unreasonably weighed one negative factor of visa misrepresentation against the IJ’s finding of many positive factors. (Hussam F. v. Sessions, 7/27/18)
After Matter of A-B- and USCIS Guidance, Don’t Forget to Argue for CAT Protection
AILA’s Asylum and Refugee Committee provides this practice pointer featuring tips, resources, and feedback opportunities for practitioners representing asylum seekers with cases potentially impacted by the Attorney General’s opinion in Matter of A-B- along with USCIS’s implementing guidance.
Supporting And Funding Immigration Services Is Particularly Vital Now
Jennifer Burk, an AILA member from the Northern California Chapter, shares highlights from the recent pro bono clinic at Annual Conference and urges AILA members to get involved and leverage their expertise to help change lives.
CA1 Affirms BIA/IJ Denial of Asylum for Lack of Past Persecution, Likelihood of Future Persecution
The court agreed that three incidents of harassment perpetrated by single persons, without even slight injury, do not rise to the level of past persecution or meet the grounds for objective fear of future persecution. (Martinez-Perez v. Sessions, 7/24/18)
Audio from Telebriefing on Family Separation and Family Reunifications
On a press call, AILA, the American Immigration Council, the Immigration Justice Campaign, and the Dilley Pro Bono Project provided updates on what’s happening to separated parents detained in and around El Paso, Texas, and the latest from the family detention center in Dilley, Texas.
AILA Policy Brief: USCIS Guidance on Matter of A-B- Blocks Protections for Vulnerable Asylum Seekers and Refugees
This AILA Policy Brief examines how USCIS’s memorandum on Matter of A-B- profoundly restricts the ability of vulnerable individuals to obtain asylum or refugee status in the United States and will result in the deportation of bona fide asylum seekers who are fleeing life-threatening danger.
Former Immigration Judge Jeffrey Chase on Attorneys and Credible Fear Review
In a July 22, 2018, blog post, former IJ Jeffrey Chase discusses the application of credible fear interviews conducted by USCIS asylum officers.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for April 2018
USCIS provides statistics on asylum offices’ workload, including stages of asylum cases (filed, interviews conducted, completed, pending), broken down by office, and nationality of applicants for April 2018.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for May 2018
USCIS provides statistics on asylum offices’ workload, including stages of asylum cases (filed, interviews conducted, completed, pending), broken down by office, and nationality of applicants for May 2018.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for June 2018
USCIS provides statistics on asylum offices’ workload, including stages of asylum cases (filed, interviews conducted, completed, pending), broken down by office, and nationality of applicants for June 2018.
USCIS Provides Asylum Statistics Key
USCIS published a key to the abbreviations, acronyms, and terminology used in the agency’s asylum statistics.
Witnessing the Destruction in the Wake of Administration Border Policies
Katie Shepherd, National Advocacy Counsel for the Immigration Justice Campaign, describes the meetings she had with detained parents who had been traumatically separated from their children and needlessly incarcerated in West Texas, highlighting the urgent need for volunteer attorneys.
AILA Insight: Is Parole for Arriving Immigrants Over?
AILA member Matthew Boles discusses parole for immigrants.