HEADLINES:
TOP UPDATES
Bitter immigration fight is no closer to ending after budget deal passes
CNBC: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to fulfill his promise to open debate on an immigration bill next week, but crafting a plan that can pass both chambers of Congress and appease President Donald Trump is no easy task.
Applicant Arrested at Asylum Interview
Caleb Arring: I am an immigration attorney in San Francisco. Today my client was ARRESTED BY ICE AT HIS ASYLUM INTERVIEW for no apparent reason. He has no criminal history, no arrests, no prior orders of removal, no red flags. The only thing that could be remotely considered a red flag is that he is from Sudan, one of the countries on the original travel ban list. I am trying to get the word out about this. I can be contacted at caleb.arring@gmail.com.
ICE Issues Guidance on Enforcement at Courthouses
AIC: After a significant increase in arrests outside of courthouses in 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has finally released new guidance that officially gives its agents permission to conduct civil immigration enforcement at courthouses.
Advocates walk out of Bronx Courthouse after another Courthouse arrest
NY Post: An immigrant brought to the US when he was just 3 years old was arrested outside a Bronx courthouse Thursday by ICE officers who said he was in the country illegally.
Trump’s draft plan to expand the definition of public charge
Vox: The Trump administration is working on new rules that would allow the government to keep immigrants from settling in the US, or even keep them from extending their stays, if their families had used a broad swath of local, state, or federal social services to which they’re legally entitled — even enrolling their US-born children in Head Start or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). See attached draft and talking points. See also State Department redefines public charge standard.
Trump directive establishes new immigration vetting center
Politico: President Donald Trump signed a national security memorandum on Tuesday establishing a vetting center aimed at improving the screening process of those who want to enter the U.S. See also Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen Statement on the National Vetting Center.
VAWA & SIJS Email Hotlines No Longer Operational
NYIC: The VAWA and SIJS email hotlines are no longer operational at the local offices. VSC has a VAWA hotline that can still be used. For any questions on specific cases at the local office, the appropriate Field Office Director should be contacted. This change is due to the fact that operating such hotlines across the four offices that now make up the New York District was too difficult.
Admin Closure v. Status Docket
LSSNY: I had a MC before judge Kolbe this morning where I asked for (via written motion addressing the objections DHS has been making) and got admin closure instead of status docket for an approved 360. I’m sure there would’ve been more hesitance from IJ if it was just a pending 360 but ICE still objected saying they object to a/c unless they see a filed 485.
DHS Acting Press Secretary Statement on January Border Apprehension Numbers
DHS: The administration will continue to work with Congress to pass its responsible, fair and pro-American immigration framework that provides funding for the border wall system, ends chain migration and the diversity visa lottery, and creates a permanent solution for DACA.
Foreign Policy Obtains Draft Report Calling for Long-Term Surveillance of Sunni Muslim Immigrants
This draft report, produced at the request of CBP, obtained by Foreign Policy, looks at 25 terrorist attacks in the United States between October 2001 and December 2017, and called on authorities to continuously vet Sunni Muslim immigrants deemed to have “at-risk” demographic profiles. AILA Doc. No. 18020803
LITIGATION/CASELAW
ICE Is Targeting Political Opponents For Deportation, Ravi Ragbir And Rights Groups Say In Court
Intercept: U.S. IMmigration And Customs Enforcement is unconstitutionally using its power to suppress political dissent by targeting outspoken immigration activists for surveillance and deportation, according to allegations in a federal lawsuit filed on Friday by immigration rights groups.
Litigation Updates from HoldCBPAccountable (ACLU, AIC, NIRP)
- In Doe, et al v. Kelly, the Ninth Circuit upheld the lower court’s preliminary injunction in its entirety, rejecting the government’s argument that the Tucson Sector Border Patrol should not be required to provide detainees with clean bedding and an opportunity to wash themselves and to ensure that each detainee was given basic medical screening.
- In John Doe and Jane Roe v. United States, an FTCA claim seeking damages following abusive conditions in an hielera (CBP short-term detention facilities), the District Court denied the Defendants’ motion to dismiss and the case was later resolved by the parties.
- In Serrano v. CBP, the Institute for Justice brought class action litigation challenging CBP’s practice of seizing U.S. citizens’ property without holding prompt post-seizure civil forfeiture hearings at which the owners can challenge CBP’s actions.
- In Alasaad v. Duke, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU brought suit against CBP’s practice of seizing electronic devices at the border without a warrant or even probable cause.
- In Wilwal v. Kelly, the ACLU brought suit challenging CBP’s abusive detention of a Muslim-American family at the U.S.-Canada border, as well as one family member’s erroneous placement on a terrorism watchlist.
BIA Finds Residential Burglary Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that residential burglary under Cal. Penal Code 459 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Delgadillo Armas, 4/27/17) AILA Doc. No. 18020934
BIA Finds Identity Theft Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that identity theft under 18 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes 4120(a) is not a CIMT because it does not require a specific intent to defraud or deceive. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Benka Coker, 4/28/17) AILA Doc. No. 18020933
BIA Holds Grand Theft by Labor Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that grand theft by embezzlement under Cal. Penal Code 487 is not an aggravated felony theft offense because it criminalizes theft of labor and services and theft by false pretenses. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-D-, 4/26/17) AILA Doc. No. 18020535
CA1 Upholds Denial of Withholding of Removal and CAT Protection to Honduran Petitioner
The court denied the petition for review, finding, among other things, that the evidence did not compel a finding that the petitioner established a nexus between his alleged past persecution or any likely future persecution and his family membership. (Ruiz-Escobar v. Sessions, 2/2/18) AILA Doc. No. 18020900
CA5 Partially Dismisses and Partially Denies Petition for Review of BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen
The court partially dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction and partially denied the petition, finding that the petitioner’s claim that the BIA violated his due process rights was unavailing. (Mejia v. Sessions, 2/2/18) AILA Doc. No. 18020932
CA5 Finds Plaintiff Could Not Prove United States Citizenship
The court concluded that the plaintiff, born in 1969 in Mexico, could not meet the requirements to prove United States citizenship because he could not show that he was legitimated by his United States citizen father before the plaintiff turned 21. (Gonzalez-Segura v. Sessions, 2/6/18) AILA Doc. No. 18020931
CA5 Denies Petition for Review Where Petitioner Failed to Raise the Issue of the Realistic Probability Test
The court found that the BIA did err in its application of the categorical approach to the petitioner’s conviction, but denied the petition for review because the petitioner failed to address the issue of the realistic probability test in his brief. (Rodriguez Vazquez v. Sessions, 2/1/18) AILA Doc. No. 18020937
CA7 Finds Salvadoran Petitioner Did Not Establish Nexus Between Fear of Harm and a Familial Relationship
The court denied the petition for review, holding that the petitioner did not establish a nexus between her fear of harm by gang members and a familial relationship and that the harm was motivated by the gang’s desire to extort money from her. (Villalta-Martinez v. Sessions, 2/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18020901
CA7 Finds Petitioner’s Indiana Conviction for Attempted Sexual Misconduct with a Minor to Be An Aggravated Felony
The court found that the petitioner’s conviction for attempted sexual misconduct with a minor under Indiana Code §35-42-4-9(a) was an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(A). (Correa-Diaz v. Sessions, 1/31/18) AILA Doc. No. 18020941
ACTIONS
- AILA: Call for Examples: Compelling Family Immigration Stories
RESOURCES
(In-person) Tax Prep Options
- The Financial Clinic operates 4 in-person Tax Clinics in Brooklyn, LES, East Harlem, and the Bronx. Schedule online at https://taxesatclinic.youcanbook.me/ or by calling (212) 505-3482. Walk-ins are also welcome at most sites, but t make an appointment to avoid longer wait times.
- If none of those locations are convenient, you can find all NYC Free Tax Prep VITA locations here: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dca/TaxMap/
- For ITIN Certification sites, use the Tax Map and check the box for “I am applying for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number” to search these sites.
- IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Tax Preparation is free for anyone who earned less than $54,000 in 2017
- ITIN applications and renewals must be done in-person. Applicants should bring their current passport and/or visa. See below for in-person VITA sites.
Filing Online
- Turbo Tax Freedom Edition if you earned $33,000 or less in 2017.
- com if you earned $66,000 or less in 2017.
Other
- Legal Aid will show you how to find out if you’re in NYPD’s gang database
- HRF: credible fear and fraud safeguards factsheet (updated)
- HRF: immigration court appearance rates factsheet (updated)
- HRF: Asylum Myth v. Fact
- HRF Asylum flowcharts (attached)
- Free English Classes in Sunset Park (attached)
- AIC: Motions to reopen practice advisory
- AILA: Bite-Sized Ethics: Final Orders, Enforcement Priorities, and Moving to Evade Arrest
- AILA: Asylum Cases on Credibility
- AILA: Asylum Cases on One-Year Filing Deadline
- AILA: Asylum Cases on Political Opinion
- AILA: Crossing State Lines: A Practical Guide for Immigration Lawyers When Volunteering Their Services Out-of-State
EVENTS
- 2/13/18Pointers for Success at Points of Entry on the Northern Border
- 2/17/18Real People. Real Lives. Women Immigrants of New York at Queens Museum
- 2/18/18Black History Month 2018 Race and Immigration Film Series
- 2/21/1 Register for a Free Habeas Corpus Nuts and Bolts Webinar
- 2/23/182018 Immigration and Asylum Law Conference (Federal Bar Association and New York Law School)
- 2/26/18New Sanctuary Coalition ACCOMPANIMENT TRAINING John Bowne H.S.
- 2/27/18Non-Court Removal Orders: Expedited, Stipulated, Reinstated, Oh My!
- 3/1/18 Race and Immigration in the Age of Trump
- 3/14/18Reopening Cases for Justice: Basic Rules and Advanced Strategies for Motions to Reopen in Immigration Cases
- 4/12/18AILA 2018 Removal Defense Conference and Webcast
- 4/30/18 Working with Immigrants: The Intersection of Basic Immigration, Housing, and Domestic Violence Issues in California 2018 (Free)
- 6/20/18 Leadership and Advocacy Training (LAT)intended for emerging advocates from Southeast Asian American and ally communities to learn how to advocate effectively for policy change – Apply by February 28
- 7/1-3/18 National Institute for Trial Advocacy & CLINIC Training in Boulder, CO
- 7/26/18 Defending Immigration Removal Proceedings 2018
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As always, thanks, Elizabeth!
PWS
02-14-18