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
CA7 Not Impressed with Petitioner’s Ineffective Assistance and Changed Conditions Claims
The court denied the petition for review, finding the petitioner failed to show prejudice from any attorney error or to present any new material evidence of changed country conditions. (Ramos-Braga v. Sessions, 5/21/18, amended 8/14/18)
Hope for Moms in Detention
Karen Lucas, Director of the Immigration Justice Campaign reflects on the challenges faced by mothers in detention and how the actions of volunteers can lift their spirits from despair to hope, with something as simple as a card like those written by Columbia University students recently.
CA8 Rules That Violation of Minn. Third Degree Sex Abuse Statute Is Aggravated Felony
Upholding BIA’s denial of asylum, the court held the law criminalizing sex with 13- to 16-year-old by someone more than two years older qualifies as aggravated felony and was properly applied to 18-year-old who had sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend. (Garcia-Urbano v. Sessions, 5/17/18)
Horrifying and Inspiring – A Look Inside the Stewart Detention Center
Jennie Guilfoyle describes the experience of traveling to Stewart Detention Center and the harsh conditions immigrant detainees are subject to, as well as the inspiration she gathered from the volunteers and staff of the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, the Immigration Justice Campaign projec
DOJ and DHS Decide to Forcibly Separate Families and Prosecute Asylum Seekers
As DHS and DOJ announced new efforts that will result in the forcible separation of vulnerable families seeking protection in the United States under U.S. law, AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson called the decision “a gross injustice.”
LGBTI DACA Recipients and Options for Relief under Asylum Law
As the future of DACA recipients remains uncertain, practitioners who work with DACA recipients should explore permanent relief options for this vulnerable population. This advisory from CLINIC discusses LGBTI claims for asylum, withholding or removal and protection under the CAT.
CA9 Holds INA §241(a)(5) Does Not Deprive Immigration Court of Jurisdiction to Resolve a Motion to Reopen Based on Lack of Notice
The court held that the BIA erred by holding that INA §241(a)(5) deprived the immigration court of jurisdiction to resolve the petitioner’s motion to reopen removal proceedings based on lack of notice of the removal order entered against her. (Miller v. Sessions, 5/8/18)
CA5 Finds BIA Erred in Requiring Asylum Petitioner to Prove Past Persecution and in Recharacterizing Her Social Group
The court held that the BIA erred both in requiring the asylum petitioner to prove past persecution to establish a claim based on a well-founded fear of future persecution and in recharacterizing the petitioner’s claimed social group. (Cabrera v. Sessions, 5/7/18)
CA7 Finds Petitioner Did Not Submit Sufficient Evidence of Changed Country Conditions in Indonesia
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner did not submit sufficient evidence to show changed country conditions in Indonesia in order to qualify for an exception to the 90-day limit for filing a motion to reopen removal proceedings. (Yahya v. Sessions, 5/3/18)
CA7 Holds BIA Erred By Failing to Adequately Consider Petitioner’s Near-Escapes from MS-13 in Deferral of Removal Case
The court held that in dismissing the petitioner’s appeal from the IJ’s decision denying his application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture, the BIA erred by failing to make an adequate inquiry into his near-escapes from the MS-13 gang. (Perez v. Sessions, 5/2/18)
CA4 Holds Individuals Subject to Reinstatement of Removal May Not Apply for Asylum, Even If Changed Circumstances Exist
The court denied the petition for review, holding that an individual subject to a reinstated order of removal may not apply for asylum, even when the factual basis for the asylum claim did not exist prior to the original removal. (Lara-Aguilar v. Sessions, 5/2/18)
USCIS Q&As from Asylum Division Quarterly Meeting (5/1/18)
USCIS provides Q&As from the 5/1/18 Asylum Division Quarterly meeting, including updates, statistics, processing times and scheduling, UACs, EADs and the Clock, biometrics, one-year filing deadline, trainings, terminations, adjustment of status, and more.
EOIR Released Statistics on Motions to Reopen
EOIR released statistics on motions to reopen from FY2008 through FY2018. As of 3/31/18, there were 17,600 motions to reopen filed in immigration courts and 3,138 filed in the BIA.
EOIR Released Percentage of Detained Cases Completed Within Six Months for FY2018
EOIR released statistics on the percentage of detained cases completed within six months. As of 3/31/18, 89 percent of initial case completions were completed in less than six months.
EOIR Releases Circuit Court Case Law Summaries on Reliability of Government Documents
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a 2018 Legal Training Program document with circuit court case law summaries on the reliability of government documents. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
Mass Denials Upend the Lives of Persecuted Iranian Refugees
AILA member Betsy Fisher and Amira Mikhail share information about the mass denials of refugee applications for people fleeing Iran due to religious persecution and the lawsuit filed to ensure the government offers, at the very least, more information about the reasons for denial as required by law.
AILA Files Amicus Brief with Attorney General on Particular Social Group
AILA joined several other organizations to file an amicus brief in Matter of A-B- that addresses whether being a “victim of private criminal activity” constitutes a particular social group. The brief argues that gender alone may define a particular social group under the refugee definition.
BIA Sustains DHS Appeal and Vacates IJ’s Grant of Asylum
The BIA found that DHS has the authority to file a motion to reconsider in Immigration Court and that an applicant in withholding of removal only proceedings subject to a reinstated order of removal pursuant to §241(a)(5) is ineligible for asylum. Matter of L-M-P-, 27 I&N Dec. 265 (BIA 2018)
Retired Immigration Judges and Former Members of the BIA Submit Amicus Brief in Support of Respondent in Matter of A-B-
In response to an invitation for amicus briefs, 16 retired immigration judges and former BIA members submitted an amicus brief in support of the respondent in Matter of A-B-. Brief asserts that this case is “rife with procedural violations and is consequently unripe for agency-head review.”
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for January 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 January 2018.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for February 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 February 2018.
USCIS Asylum Office Workload for March 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 March 2018.
Denied a Day in Court: The Government’s Use of In Absentia Removal Orders Against Families Seeking Asylum
ASAP and CLINIC provides a report that highlights the high rate of unrepresented families, discusses the obstacles these families face in attending hearings, explains how the immigration system fails families seeking asylum, and provides policy recommendations for addressing these shortcomings.
USCIS Statistics on Credible Fear Workload
USCIS provides a credible fear workload report, with information from FY2009 through the first four months of FY2018. Report includes total decisions served, total completions, and percentage of cases that were timely completed.
CA8 Finds Asylum Petitioner Did Not Meet Burden to Show Membership in a Particular Social Group
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the Guatemalan petitioner challenging the IJ’s and the BIA’s denial of asylum did not meet his burden to show membership in a particular social group. (Mayorga-Rosa v. Sessions, 4/24/18)