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
Former IJ Jeffrey S. Chase Responds to Matter of A-B- in Blog Post
Former immigration judge (IJ) Jeffrey S. Chase published a blog post, Women Need Not Apply, about the Attorney General’s Decision in Matter of A-B-, calling it “shockingly tone deaf” and discussing how it will influence IJs future decisions in asylum cases involving domestic violence.
Vox Obtains USCIS Interim Guidance on Matter of A-B-
Vox obtained an email written by John L. Lafferty, Chief of USCIS’s Asylum Division, with interim guidance regarding the Attorney General’s 6/11/18 decision in Matter of A-B-, as well as the Office of Chief Counsel’s summary of the decision.
Statement of Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program on Matter of A-B- Issued by Attorney General Sessions on June 11
Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program release statement in response to the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of A-B-, calling it “deeply flawed” and an effort to “set back the clock on decades of development of the law to provide protection to women.”
USCIS Provides Guidance on Nexus and the Protected Grounds
USCIS provided the RAIO Combined Training Course on the five protected grounds for refugees and their interpretation in administrative and judicial case law and how to determine whether an applicant has established harm on account of one of the five protected grounds.
RAIO Combined Training Course: Sources of Authority
This module describes the legal sources that provide officers in the RAIO Directorate with the authority to make case decisions and determinations. It also describes the sources of law you must follow when making those decisions and determinations and demonstrates how to properly cite to them.
CA6 Declines Jurisdiction to Review Changed Country Condition Challenge for Chaldean Iraqi Christian
The court denied the petition for review, finding that the motion to reopen CAT claim was barred. Even if BIA erred in concluding that the exception does not apply to CAT, its alternative holding of a lack of a prima facia case was dispositive. (Shabo v. Sessions, 6/11/18)
Attorney General Delivers Remarks to EOIR Legal Training Program
AG Jeff Sessions delivered remarks on 6/11/18 to the EOIR Legal Training Program, discussing the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy and immigration judge case quotas, alleging abuse of the asylum system, and announcing plans to issue a decision today to “restore sound principles of asylum.”
Attorney General Narrows Criteria for Asylum Seekers
In a case he referred to himself, Attorney General Jeff Sessions narrowed the criteria for demonstrating membership in a particular social group and overruled Matter of A-R-C-G-. Matter of A-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018)
Retired IJs and Former Members of the BIA Issue Statement in Response to Matter of A-B-
On June 11, 2018, retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the BIA issued a statement in response to the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of A-B-. The statement characterizes the decision as “an affront to the rule of law.”
Attorney General Pushes Immigration Judges to Deny Asylum to Victims of Violence
AILA responds to the Attorney General's precedent decision in which he vacated the BIA decision in Matter of A- B and announced that in his view, domestic violence victims and other victims of crimes perpetrated by private, non-government actors do not generally qualify for asylum.
CA8 Rejects Gang Murder Witness’ Purported Social Group
The court upheld the BIA’s finding that “former taxi drivers from Quezaltepeque who have witnessed a gang murder” was not socially distinct and thus could not qualify as “particular social group.” (Miranda v. Sessions, 6/11/18)
EOIR Memo on Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-Up, and Case Identification Codes
On 6/8/18, EOIR issued Operating Policies and Procedure Memorandum (OPPM) 18-02, Definitions and Use of Adjournment, Call-up, and Case Identification Codes, which sets forth updated codes used to track the case hearing process, is effective immediately, and rescinds OPPM 17-02.
Taking the Battle for Humane Treatment of Detainees from Dilley to Colorado
As she shares details about the complaint filed demanding the government address the inhumane conditions and inadequate medical assistance at the Aurora facility, Immigration Justice Campaign National Advocacy Counsel Katie Shepherd urges readers to take action and help vulnerable detainees.
Lawsuit Filed Against CBP, Alleging CBP Turned Away Asylum Seeker and Falsified Paper Trail
The American Immigration Council, along with partners, filed a lawsuit involving a Mexican national who feared persecution based on sexual orientation. Border Patrol officers deprived him of an opportunity to articulate his fear of return. (Cagnant v. U.S., 6/7/18)
S. 3036: Keep Families Together Act
On 6/07/18, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Keep Families Together Act (S. 3036) to limit the separation of families at or near ports of entry. This is the Senate companion bill to H.R. 6135.
BIA Finds Forced Labor to Be Material Support to a Terrorist Organization
BIA remanded the record after finding that the respondent afforded material support to the guerillas in El Salvador in 1990 because the forced labor she provided in the form of cooking, cleaning, and washing their clothes provided aid to them. Matter of A-C-M-, 27 I&N Dec. 303 (BIA 2018)
Former Immigration Judge Jeffrey Chase on 3rd Generation Gangs and Political Opinion
In a 6/3/18 blog post, former IJ Jeffrey Chase discusses how attorneys representing asylum applicants should consider whether clients may alternatively claim a well-founded fear of persecution based on political opinion under a “third-generation gang” theory, supported by country condition evidence.
AILA Policy Brief: New Barriers at the Border Impede Due Process and Access to Asylum
AILA issued a policy brief explaining recent policy changes that have eroded the due process rights of asylum seekers and other migrants at ports of entry and in border regions.
Practice Alert: USCIS No Longer Accepting I-765 Service Requests at the 75-Day Mark
AILA members have reported that USCIS is no longer accepting service requests for I-765s pending beyond 75 days if they are still within posted processing times. USCIS has confirmed to AILA that this change was implemented when the agency updated its processing times webpage earlier this year.
Vindicating the Rights of at the Border and Beyond: A Guide to Representing Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal and Reinstatement of Removal Proceedin
The Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project at the Urban Justice Center provided a guide to assist those working with individuals who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum. This guide is limited to the civil immigration proceedings including expedited removal and reinstatement of removal.
CA9 Declines to Review BIA’s Denial of Asylum and Withholding
The court denied a petition for review, finding substantial evidence supported BIA’s finding that applicant’s testimony was not persuasive, and that he failed to provide any meaningful corroborative evidence, despite receiving sufficient notice of the need to do so. (Liu v. Sessions, 6/1/18)
USCIS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Changes to Form I-602
USCIS 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Inadmissibility Grounds. Comments are due by 7/30/18. (83 FR 25026, 5/31/18)
The Reality is Even Worse Than the Coverage Suggests
AILA Executive Director Benjamin Johnson writes about unaccompanied children and family separation, urging readers to fight against the administration's “callous, systematic disregard for those seeking asylum at our southern border and a disdain for the principles of due process…“
EOIR Releases Training Materials on the One-Year Bar and One Central Reason Standard in Asylum Law
Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released a 2018 Legal Training Program presentation on the one-year bar and one central reason standard in asylum law. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock.
CA2 Holds IJ Gave Undue Weight to Asylum Seekers’ Omission of Facts
The court granted petitions for review, after finding that IJs and the BIA erred by substantially relying on the fact that applicants for asylum and related relief testified during removal proceedings to certain details not included in their initial applications. (Gao v. Sessions, 5/25/18)