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
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.
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.”
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.
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)
AILA Report: Cogs in the Deportation Machine
AILA provides a report that surveys policy changes to immigration enforcement made by the Trump administration. Taken together, the reforms constitute a system-wide escalation of the federal government’s authority and capacity to apprehend, detain, and deport noncitizens.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill Heard from AILA Loud and Clear, but there is More to Do!
AILA Associate Director of Government Relations Diane Rish reflects on AILA's National Day of Action and shares how AILA members and the public can continue making their voices heard on important immigration law and policy issues that matter to them.
CA11 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Petitioner Who Supported Gay Rights in Cameroon
The court denied the petition for review, holding that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s findings that the petitioner did not experience past persecution and did not have a well-founded fear of future persecution. (Sama v. Attorney General, 4/19/18)
Retired IJs and Former BIA Members Issues Statement on Strengthening and Reforming America’s Immigration Court System
On 4/18/18, 18 retired immigration judges (IJs) and former members of the BIA submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, stating that the immigration court system is in crisis and asking Congress to remove the immigration court system from the DOJ.
Immigration Law Professors Issue Statement on Strengthening and Reforming America’s Immigration Court System
On 4/18/18, 38 immigration law professors submitted a statement to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration calling on Congress to create an independent immigration court and to defend the court against the DOJ’s attempts to erode due process.
Senate and House Judiciary Democrats Condemn DOJ for Undermining Due Process
On 4/17/18, all Democratic members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees wrote a letter to the Attorney General expressing their opposition to DOJ’s recent termination of the Legal Orientation Program and the imposition of numeric case quotas for immigration judges.
2018 National Day of Action Booklet
AILA encourages members to share this booklet with their representatives during AILA's National Day of Action in Washington, D.C, on April 12, 2018. AILA calls upon Congress and the president to overcome partisan difference and enact laws that update our legal immigration system.
Sign-On Letter Requesting Transparency and Accountability for Immigration Detention
On 4/5/18, AILA joined nine organizations in a letter to Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Thomas Homan, Acting Director of ICE, requesting that they bear accountability for the ongoing mismanagement of the detention system and comply with the limitations on agency spending.
CA8 Denies Petition for Review of Denial of Asylum to Guatemalan Survivor of Gender-Based Violence
The court denied the petition for review of the denial of asylum, finding that the harm inflicted on the petitioner by her husband and by a neighbor did not rise to the level of persecution and that she failed to establish a fear of future persecution. (Lopez v. Sessions, 4/3/18)
John Oliver on Immigration Courts
HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” aired a comedic yet powerful segment on injustices in U.S. immigration courts. Several AILA members were consulted about the piece and helped shape it.
Recent Decisions from 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court Decisions (April 2018)
Summary of recent case law out of the Eleventh Circuit, courtesy of the AILA Georgia-Alabama, Central Florida, and South Florida Chapters. The information was compiled in April 2018 and should be used as a starting point in research.
EOIR Released Asylum Decision Rates in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim
EOIR released the asylum decision rates in cases originating with a credible fear claim from FY2008 through FY2018 (as of 3/31/18). For FY2018, there is a 27.98% grant rate.
EOIR Releases Rates of Asylum Filings in Cases Originating with a Credible Fear Claim
EOIR released rates of asylum filings in cases originating with a credible fear claim for FY2008 through the second quarter of FY2018 (3/31/18), broken down by those referred following a credible fear claim and those referred following a credible fear claim and a filed asylum application.
Attorney General Issues Updates in Matter of A-B-
The Attorney General denied DHS’s request that he suspend the briefing schedules and clarify the question presented, and he granted, in part, both parties’ request for an extension of the deadline for submitting briefs in this case. Matter of A-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 247 (A.G. 2018)
CA2 Finds Petitioner Removable Where CSA Drug Schedules Were Broader at Time of Conviction Than at Time of Removal
The court found that the BIA did not err in determining that the petitioner’s federal drug trafficking conviction made him removable, even though the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) schedules of drugs were broader at time of conviction than at the time of removal. (Doe v. Sessions, 3/29/18)