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
USCIS to Expand In-Person Interview Requirements for Certain Permanent Residency Applicants
Effective 10/1/17, USCIS will expand in-person interviews for certain permanent residency applicants. USCIS will phase-in interviews for adjustment of status applications based on employment and refugee/asylee relative petitions. USCIS notes it plans to expand interviews to other benefit types.
Trump Administration Endangers Children While Pretending to Fight Trafficking
Children deserve to be safe. When they flee for their lives and come to the United States, our laws require that the government place them in safe situations, usually with family, as they pursue asylum or other humanitarian protection. But right now, the federal government is endangering children a
CA3 Grants Withholding of Removal to Honduran Petitioner on Account of Political Opinion
Based on the entire record, the court granted withholding of removal to the petitioner, finding that it was more likely than not that the petitioner’s life or freedom would be threatened in Honduras on account of his political opinion. (Mendoza-Ordonez v. Att’y Gen., 8/23/17)
How Does U.S. Immigration Law Treat Trafficking Victims?
We have all read the news. Federal prosecutors have charged the driver of a truck with transporting people who are in the country illegally. Tragically, ten people died and dozens were hospitalized as they were trapped in a trailer in the Texas heat with no cooling system, no water, and no fresh air
USCIS Message: Workload Transfer for Some Form I-765
USCIS announced that on 8/17/17, it began transferring Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, filed by some applicants with a pending asylum application seeking a renewal Employment Authorization Document from the NSC to the TSC.
CA4 Says Individuals Subject to Reinstated Removal Orders May Not Apply for Asylum
The court held that an individual subject to a reinstated removal order is ineligible to seek asylum, finding that by enacting the reinstatement bar, Congress intended to preclude individuals subject to reinstated removal orders from applying for asylum. (Calla Mejia v. Sessions, 8/9/17)
ACLU and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies Reach FOIA Settlement Agreement with ICE
The ACLU and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies reached a settlement agreement with ICE in a suit brought regarding delays in the production of information requested via FOIA on ICE’s detention of asylum seekers who are found to have a credible fear of persecution. (ACLU v. ICE, 8/8/17)
Immigration Lawyers Save Lives
I took part in the AILA Annual Conference training for new chapter chairs, and as an ‘icebreaker,' was asked to complete phrases handed out on little slips of paper. Mine read, “The best way to save….“ I immediately responded, “One way to save a life is to be an immigration lawyer.“
USCIS Message: Workload Transfer for Some Form I-765
USCIS announced that on 8/1/17, it began transferring Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, filed by some applicants with a pending asylum application seeking an initial Employment Authorization Document from the NSC to the TSC.
BIA Says Asylum Grantee Who Adjusts to LPR Status Under INA §209(b) Terminates His or Her Asylee Status
The BIA held that a noncitizen who adjusts status under INA §209(b) changes his or her status from that of a noncitizen granted asylum to that of a noncitizen lawfully admitted for permanent residence, thereby terminating his or her asylee status. Matter of N-A-I-, 27 I&N Dec. 72 (BIA 2017)
S. 1720: Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act
On 8/2/17, Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) introduced the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act, which would create a skills-based immigration points system, end the Diversity Visa Program, and reduce the number of family-based immigrants and refugees.
UNHCR: Representing Stateless Persons Before U.S. Immigration Authorities
The UN Refugee Agency provides a legal practice resource to empower immigration lawyers to recognize when a U.S.-based client is stateless and how to zealously represent such clients and the unique challenges and potential eligibilities in the immigration context.
GAO Report: Actions Needed by State Department and DHS to Further Strengthen Refugee Applicant Screening Process and Assess Fraud Risks
The GAO issued a report on the refugee screening process, finding that DOS and USCIS have mechanisms in place to detect and prevent applicant fraud in USRAP, such as requiring DNA testing for certain applicants, but have not jointly assessed applicant fraud risks program-wide.
CA4 Finds Petitioner’s Membership in Her Nuclear Family Was Not a Central Reason for Her Persecution
Where petitioner contended in her asylum petition that her alleged persecution was on account of her status as a member of her nuclear family, the court held that she failed to show that family status was a reason, central or otherwise, for her difficulties. (Velasquez v. Sessions, 7/31/17)
CA8 Finds Substantial Evidence Supported BIA’s Denial of Asylum to Citizen of Togo
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the IJ’s adverse credibility finding was rooted in numerous inconsistencies between the petitioner’s testimony and the record, the implausibility of certain events, and a lack of corroborating evidence. (Kegeh v. Sessions, 7/31/17)
Immigration Law Advisor, July 2017 (Vol. 11, No. 5)
The July 2017 issue of Immigration Law Advisor includes an article on the evolution of the INA’s drug removability statutes pre- and post-Mellouli v. Lynch and a discussion of issues not resolved, as well as summaries of recent circuit court decisions and BIA precedent decisions.
Draft Report on Fiscal Costs of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
The New York Times obtained a draft of a study rejected by Trump administration officials that found that refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenues over the past decade than they cost.
CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum Claim Based on Changed Country Conditions in Mexico
The court held that the record did not support petitioner’s claim that crime and violence perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations in Mexico represented changed conditions from the time of his merits hearing to the time he filed his motion to reopen. (Sanchez-Romero v. Sessions, 7/26/17)
CA7 Finds Salvadoran Asylum Applicant Failed to Show Nexus Between Persecution and Proposed Social Groups
The court held that the Salvadoran petitioner did not meet his burden of demonstrating a nexus between the alleged persecution he faced from gang members in El Salvador and his proposed social groups of wealthy deportees or gang resisters. (Orellana-Arias v. Sessions, 7/25/17)
AILA Statement Opposing Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2017
On 7/25/17, AILA submitted a statement opposing H.R. 391, Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act of 2017, which would dramatically alter U.S. asylum and humanitarian protection law. The bill is scheduled for markup before the House Judiciary Committee on 7/26/17.
Senator Feinstein Seeks Information from DHS on Asylum Process at the Border
On 7/24/17, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) requested that DHS Secretary John Kelly detail the agency’s efforts to follow federal law requiring that those seeking asylum be given the opportunity to appear before an immigration judge.
CA9 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Withholding of Removal and CAT Relief to Former Police Officer in Mongolia
The court upheld BIA’s determination that the Mongolian petitioner was targeted because of his role in a drug-trafficking investigation, and not on account of his political opinion, his purported whistleblowing activity, or his status as a former police officer. (Sanjaa v. Sessions, 7/21/17)
DHS FAQs on Implementation of EO 13780
DHS provided updated FAQs, as of 7/21/17, on the implementation of EO 13780, including who is subject to the suspension of entry, impact on dual citizens, traveling from one of the six affected countries, waivers, unaccompanied minors, USCIS processing of refugee applicants, and more.
There’s Always More to Learn
When I first began practicing law, I thought I knew everything I could ever need to know about immigration. I'd been a business immigration paralegal for several years before law school and had learned a lot about nonimmigrant visas and employment-based green cards. I'd assisted with processing th
Experts Urge Secretary Tillerson to Keep Refugee Program Within DOS
On 7/16/17, former diplomats and national security advisors urged DOS Secretary Rex Tillerson to keep the U.S. refugee admissions program within the Department of State’s (DOS) Bureau of Population.