THE GIBSON REPORT – 07-02-18 – COMPILED BY ELIZABETH GIBSON, ESQUIRE, NY LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

TOP UPDATES

 

Trump administration plan would bar people who enter illegally from getting asylum

Vox: The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is drafting a plan that would totally overhaul asylum policy in the United States. Under the plan, people would be barred from getting asylum if they came into the US between ports of entry and were prosecuted for illegal entry. It would also add presumptions that would make it extremely difficult for Central Americans to qualify for asylum, and codify — in an even more restrictive form — an opinion written by Sessions in June that attempted to restrict asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence.

 

Trump’s Travel Ban: How It Works and Who Is Affected

NYT: It indefinitely suspends the issuance of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas to applicants from the Muslim-majority countries Libya, Iran, Somalia, Syria and Yemen — plus North Korea and Venezuela… The United States government says it has a comprehensive system for issuing what are known as waivers to people from the affected countries who need visas. See also attached Legal Aid practice advisory.

 

Standby Guardianship Legislation Passes in NY

Daily News: Undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation will now be able to name legal guardians for their children under a bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Cuomo.

 

The Vera Institute of Justice launches Phase One of the Immigrant Connection Project

Vera: The Unaccompanied Children Program of the Vera Institute of Justice is launching Phase One of our Immigrant Connection Project (ICON) to help parents and children who were separated upon apprehension by immigration authorities to begin to reestablish contact and assess their legal options as a family.

 

Matter of NEGUSIE, 27 I&N Dec. 347 (BIA 2018)

An applicant who is subject to being barred from establishing eligibility for asylum or withholding of removal based on the persecution of others may claim a duress defense, which is limited in nature.

 

Man arrested after shouting ‘womp, womp’ and pulling a gun on immigration protesters

WaPo: A Huntsville police spokesman said the man — identified as 34-year-old Shane Ryan Sealy — pushed one of the protesters, who pushed him back and knocked him to the ground, at which point Sealy allegedly produced the weapon.

 

TRAC Report Provides New Details on Border Arrests

TRAC analyzes data on Border Patrol apprehensions, current through April 2018, finding apprehensions of adults with children are lower than last year, most adults arrested are quickly deported, more than half of children arrested with parents in April 2018 were seven years old or younger, and more. AILA Doc. No. 18062739

 

More Students Are Studying Immigration Law Because of President Trump’s Policies

TIME: According to the American Bar Association Journal, student interest in immigration law has increased at many schools in recent years, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association says its student membership has doubled in the past 18 months.

 

Missouri-Kansas Immigration Attorneys Condemn ICE Officer’s Actions

On 6/27/18, the Missouri-Kansas AILA Chapter issued a press statement condemning an ICE officer’s use of force against an immigration attorney and chapter member as she represented her three-year old client. The chapter also calls for a full investigation into the incident. AILA Doc. No. 18062832

 

ICE Agents Issue Letter to DHS Requesting HSI and ERO Become Separate Entities

In a letter obtained by the Texas Observer, 29 ICE HSI agents requested that HSI be separated from ERO, stating “HSI’s investigations have been perceived as targeting undocumented aliens, instead of the transnational criminal organizations… impacting our communities and national security.” AILA Doc. No. 18062800

 

Under Trump, higher immigration bonds mean longer family separations

PBS: Federal judges are setting unusually large bonds for detained immigrants, immigration attorneys say, including for parents who were separated from their children at the border, a shift that has delayed the parents’ release even as the Trump administration insists it is making every effort to bring families back together.

 

Nearly 600 women arrested at immigration protests in Senate building

Vox: Hundreds of women staged a sit-in against family separation and detention Thursday in the Senate’s Hart Office Building. It followed a morning of protests and marching in DC from Freedom Plaza to the Department of Justice to Congress.

 

Sponsors of Migrant Children Face Steep Transport Fees and Red Tape

NYT: Families hoping to win release for the thousands of migrant children being held by federal immigration authorities are finding they have to navigate an exhausting, intimidating — and sometimes expensive — thicket of requirements before the youngsters can be released.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Supreme Court Upholds President Trump’s Third Travel Ban

The Supreme Court upheld President Trump’s September 24, 2017 Proclamation (Travel Ban 3.0), which currently excludes nationals from seven countries, stating that the proclamation was “squarely within the scope of Presidential authority under the INA.” (Trump v. Hawaii, 6/26/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062670

 

Supreme Court Determines Appellate Courts Must Fix Sentencing Errors

The Supreme Court determined that appellate courts should correct sentencing mistakes, finding that such errors will “seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings, and thus will warrant relief.” (Rosales-Mireles v. United States, 6/18/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062635

 

CA1 Rules that BIA Erred in Failing to Analyze Past Persecution Under Childhood Standard

The court vacated the BIA’s order dismissing the petitioner’s appeal and remanded, finding that because the Ecuadorian asylum applicant was a minor at time of mistreatment, IJ and BIA should have taken a child-specific analysis. (Santos-Guaman v. Sessions, 5/23/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062546

 

CA1 Finds No Jurisdiction to Review Denial of Claim for Deferral of Removal

The court denied the petition for review, finding that the petitioner did not show that the record compels the conclusion that he is entitled to deferral of removal and that evidence of official acquiescence in torture was too speculative. (Morris v. Sessions, 5/30/18) AILA Doc. No. 18070264

 

CA2 Holds that Petitioner With Stay of Removal Is Not Held Pursuant to INA §241

The court held that when a stay of removal has been issued by the circuit court, an immigrant is not held pursuant to INA §241 because they are not in the “removal period” contemplated by the statute until the appeal has been resolved. (Hechavarria v. Sessions, 5/16/18, amended 5/22/18) AILA Doc. No. 18051760

 

CA3 Finds Counsel’s No-Show at Reasonable-Fear Screening Didn’t Warrant Relief

The court denied the petitions for review, determining that the petitioner failed to demonstrate that his due process rights were violated when an immigration judge reviewed a negative reasonable fear determination without his attorney present. (Bonilla v. Sessions, 3/15/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062638

 

CA4 Upheld Removability of LPR Under §237(a)(2)(A)(ii) and (iii)

The court held that the petitioner’s 1995 conviction for unlawful possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell constitutes a conviction of both an aggravated felony and a CIMT. (Guevara-Solorzano v. Sessions, 5/24/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062702

 

District Court Judge Orders Reunification of Parents and Children

A U.S. District Court Judge granted a preliminary injunction, ruling that U.S. immigration agents could no longer separate immigrant parents and children caught crossing the southwest border and must reunite those families that have been separated. (Ms. L.; et al., v. ICE, 6/26/18)

AILA Doc. No. 18060800. See also helpful Twitter thread from HRW.

 

District Court Grants Habeas Relief to Person Not Taken Immediately into ICE Custody

A U.S. District Court ruled that INA §236(c) does not apply to an individual not taken into custody immediately upon release from criminal custody, finding that a nearly five-year delay is “clearly unreasonable” under §236(c). (Sall v. ICE, 5/24/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062904

 

ICE Must Get Warrants, Pa. Judge Says In Sanctuary City Suit

Law360: A Pennsylvania federal judge said Thursday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement needs a court order to transfer a “criminal alien” to a federal detention center after the immigrant is released from city custody in Philadelphia, diving into a key issue at the core of the national debate on sanctuary city policies.

 

Matter of NEGUSIE, 27 I&N Dec. 347 (BIA 2018)

(1) An applicant who is subject to being barred from establishing eligibility for asylum or withholding of removal based on the persecution of others may claim a duress defense, which is limited in nature.

(2) To meet the minimum threshold requirements of the duress defense to the persecutor bar, an applicant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that (1) he acted under an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself or others; (2) he reasonably believed that the threatened harm would be carried out unless he acted or refrained from acting; (3) he had no reasonable opportunity to escape or otherwise frustrate the threat; (4) he did not place himself in a situation in which he knew or reasonably should have known that he would likely be forced to act or refrain from acting; and (5) he knew or reasonably should have known that the harm he inflicted was not greater than the threatened harm to himself or others.

 

BIA Solicits Amicus Briefs on Validity of a Conviction for Immigration Purposes

The BIA solicits amicus briefs on, among other things, the question of whether the Board is required to give full faith and credit to a judgment issued under Cal. Penal Code §1203.43 in light of the conviction definition found at INA §101(a)(48)(A). Comments are due by 7/27/18. AILA Doc. No. 18062731

 

BIA Dismisses Appeal and Sets Forth Standard for Evaluating Claims of Duress

The BIA found applicant had not established he was under duress when assisting in the persecution of prisoners persecuted under his guard in an Eritrean prison camp and sets forth a standard for evaluating claims under the duress exception. Matter of Negusie, 27 I&N Dec. 347 (BIA 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18062901

 

IJ Terminates Removal Proceedings, Finding NYPL §265.03(3) Overbroad

Posted 6/29/2018

Immigration Judge granted motion to terminate finding respondent’s New York conviction for possession of a weapon under NYPL §265.03 categorically overbroad in comparison to the federal definition of “firearm,” and indivisible. Courtesy of Michael Goldman.

AILA Doc. No. 18062900

 

NWIRP Files Lawsuit Challenging Forcible Separation of Parents and Children

The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of three Central American women held in federal custody in Washington state, contending the government is unnecessarily prolonging the separation of parents from their children. (Padilla, et. al., v. ICE, 6/25/18) AILA Doc. No. 18062734

 

Documents Related to Lawsuit Challenging Termination of TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras

17 state attorneys general filed an amicus brief in support of the immigrant organizations and a group of 14 individuals affected by the Trump administration’s efforts to end the TPS designations of El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras. (Centro Presente v. Trump, 6/22/18) AILA Doc. No. 18051036

 

Former ICE Chief Counsel Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft Scheme

DOJ announced that former Chief Counsel Raphael A. Sanchez of the ICE Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) was sentenced to 48 months in prison for a wire fraud and aggravated identity theft scheme involving the identities of numerous foreign nationals. AILA Doc. No. 18062932

 

Other

 

ACTIONS

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

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Lots going on! Thanks, Elizabeth, for keeping us all informed!

PWS

07-03-18

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