TOP UPDATES
Trump to visit U.S.-Mexico border amid shutdown stalemate
WaPo: President Trump will travel to the U.S. border with Mexico on Thursday, the White House announced Monday. The visit comes amid the continuing government shutdown and Trump’s insistence that any funding bill to reopen federal agencies include $5.7 billion for his border wall. See also Shutdown nearly shuts U.S. immigration courts, but deportations continue and ‘I can do it if I want’: Trump threatens to invoke emergency powers to build border wall.
$800 Million in Taxpayer Money Went to Private Prisons Where Migrants Work for Pennies
Daily Beast: A Daily Beast investigation found that in 2018 alone, for-profit immigration detention was a nearly $1 billion industry underwritten by taxpayers and beset by problems that include suicide, minimal oversight, and what immigration advocates say uncomfortably resembles slave labor.
How a Crackdown on MS-13 Caught Up Innocent High School Students
NYT Mag: Under Operation Matador, ICE has arrested 816 people suspected of gang affiliation. About 170, like Alex, came to New York legally as unaccompanied minors, some of whom were also seeking asylum, and several dozen were still minors when they were detained. Roughly a dozen students from Huntington High alone were rounded up. But the evidence behind many of these arrests was unreliable. See also How high schools have embraced the Trump administration’s crackdown on MS-13, and destroyed immigrant students’ American dreams.
A Woman Facing Deportation Says She Was Denied Justice Because She Speaks An Indigenous Language
Buzzfeed: Her attorney, Allison Boyle, said that at multiple points in her client’s case she was denied translations in the language she was fluent in, was denied due process rights, and when she had an attorney, they proved to be ineffective, making it so JGCA never had a chance.
With a Fresh Swipe at Trump, Cuomo Pardons 22 Immigrants
NYT: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo took aim at President Trump’s immigration policies on Monday, issuing pardons to 22 immigrants who were at risk of deportation or blocked from citizenship because of criminal convictions. The governor also commuted the sentences of seven people currently incarcerated.
Washington Trained Guatemala’s Mass Murderers—and the Border Patrol Played a Role
Nation: [I]t was common practice during the Cold War to send former Border Patrol agents, like Longan, to train foreign police through CIA-linked “public safety” programs, since they were more likely to speak Spanish than agents from other branches of law enforcement. In countries like El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, they did the “dirty work” that Reagan’s envoys said needed doing.
Fox News anchor blasts Sarah Huckabee Sanders for lying about terrorists at the southern border
Salon: After playing a clip in which Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen claimed that thousands of so-called “special interest aliens” had been stopped at the border between the United States and Mexico, Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” pointed out that Nielsen’s assertion did not justify the building of a border wall in quite the way that her speech seemed to imply.
Trump’s N.J. golf club shielded undocumented immigrants from Secret Service, report says
NJ.com: A human resources worker at Trump National Golf Club scratched the names of undocumented immigrant employees off a list of kitchen staff due to be screened by the Secret Service, a former employee at the elite club told the New York Times.
Trump used her slain daughter to rail against illegal immigration. She chose a different path.
WaPo: He was the child of Mexican immigrants. For years, his parents had lived and worked beside her daughter’s alleged killer at the same dairy farm on the other side of town, which they fled after the man’s arrest, leaving behind not only Brooklyn, but also Ulises, their 17-year-old son. He’d wanted to finish high school in the only town he’d ever known, and soon, remarkably, he had a new home — the home of Mollie Tibbetts — where Laura had promised to look after him in his parents’ absence.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
Change to the Federal Definition of Marijuana
NIPNLG: Sec. 12619 of the “Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018” changed the federal definition of Marijuana in 21 U.S.C. § 802(16) to explicitly exclude hemp. It also modified the definition of tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) in 21 U.S.C. § 812(c) to exclude THC from hemp. The bill was passed on Dec. 12 and signed by the president on Dec. 20. Therefore, to the extent that a state statute uses the older federal definition of marijuana, we believe those statutes are now overbroad because they do not exclude hemp.
For Undocumented Immigrants, Getting A Driver’s License Could Spell Trouble With ICE
NPR: In Vermont, migrant dairy farmworkers were targeted for deportation after they obtained drivers licenses, according to a federal lawsuit filed by Migrant Justice, a local activist group. The suit cites documents obtained under the state access to public records law that show the state Department of Motor Vehicles forwarded names, photos, car registrations, and other information on migrant workers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Southwest Key to face criminal review, more regulation after incidents caught on video
AZCentral: The sheriff’s office formally asked prosecutors to determine whether criminal charges are warranted against Southwest Key due to a series of incidents in which children were shoved and dragged at the Hacienda Del Sol shelter in Youngtown.
BIA Holds Aggravated Felony Bar in 212(h) Does Not Apply to Refugees Who Adjusted Status
Unpublished BIA decision holds that respondent was not “admitted” as an LPR when he adjusted from refugee status and states that it is not bound by contrary Eighth Circuit decision. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-N-, 1/8/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010406
BIA Equitably Tolls Motion to Reopen Deadline By More Than a Decade
Unpublished BIA decision equitably tolls motion to reopen deadline for respondent ordered removed in 2003 because he pursued his rights with reasonable diligence in 2014 after learning of a favorable Supreme Court decision. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Lugo-Resendez, 12/28/17) AILA Doc. No. 18123102
BIA Holds Iowa Drug Schedules Are Overbroad and Indivisible
Unpublished BIA decision holds possession of controlled substance under Iowa Code 124.401(5) is not a controlled substance offense because state drug schedule is overbroad and identity of the substance is not an element. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Moreno-Gallegos, 12/29/17) AILA Doc. No. 19010332
BIA Holds California Vandalism Statute Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that vandalism under Cal. Penal Code 594(a) is not a CIMT and statute is not divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of J-G-F-, 12/29/17) AILA Doc. No. 19010400
BIA Finds IJ Acted In Improperly Hostile Manner Toward Respondent’s Attorney
Unpublished BIA decision grants new hearing where IJ went off the record and was alleged to have screamed at the respondent’s attorney, mimicked her voice, and called her several disrespectful names. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-D-M-, 1/2/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010401
BIA Holds Georgia Theft By Shoplifting Is Not an Aggravated Felony
Unpublished BIA decision holds that theft by shoplifting under Ga. Code Ann. 16-8-14 is not an aggravated felony theft offense because it prohibits the appropriation of property for one’s own use. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gonzalez-Velasquez, 1/3/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010404
BIA Finds Failure to Comply With Sexual Registration Requirements Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds failure to comply with sexual registration requirements under Tex. Code Crim. Proc. 62.102 is not a CIMT because defendants need only act in reckless manner and need not be informed of the requirements. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Paez Juarez, 1/5/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010405
BIA Holds Florida Grant Theft Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision holds that grand theft under Fla. Stat. 812.014(2)(c)(ii) is not a CIMT because it encompasses temporary takings and DHS failed to demonstrate that the statute was divisible. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Similien, 12/29/17) AILA Doc. No. 18123101
BIA Reverses Dangerousness Finding Based on Reckless Driving Arrest
Unpublished BIA decision reverses IJ bond determination that respondent was a danger to the community based on an arrest for reckless driving for which authorities declined to pursue charges. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of J-O-N-G-, 12/16/17) AILA Doc. No. 18123100
USCIS Announces Updates to Civics Test Answers
USCIS announced updates to the acceptable answers to four questions on the U.S. history and government (civics) test for individuals seeking naturalization as U.S. citizens. The revised answers to the questions are effective immediately. AILA Doc. No. 19010407
President Trump Sends Letter to Congress on Border Security
President Trump sent a letter to all members of Congress about border security that also included a presentation DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen planned to deliver during a meeting with congressional leadership. AILA Doc. No. 19010432
RESOURCES
- CGRS sent out some great updates to resources for Matter of A-B- cases (register cases with CGRS to receive them)
- ‘Men Kill Women Because They Can’: Inside El Salvador’s Devastating Femicide Crisis
- Practice Alert: The Deposit of Filing Fees by Federal Agencies
- Featured Issue: Presidential Proclamation Limiting Asylum Seekers
EVENTS
- 1/8/19 #ValueOurFamilies Campaign Webinar coalition working to reunite and keep families together
- 1/9/19Infopass Services Modernization Briefing
- 1/9/19For Pro Bono: Preparing for the Hidden Policy Changes Threatening Immigrant Communities (attached)
- 1/12/192019 Crimes & Immigration In New York City
- 1/15/19The June 2018 RFE and NOID Guidance: How to Avoid Case Denials in 2019
- 2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas
- 2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019
- 3/8/19 Asylum & Immigration Conference with the Federal Bar Association at NY Law School
- 3/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference
ImmProf
Monday, January 7, 2019
- More AALS: Immigration Law Values Program, Michael Olivas Honored
- Immigration Article of the Day: Doing Better for Child Migrants by Susan Frelich Appleton
Saturday, January 5, 2019
Friday, January 4, 2019
- Death Shines Light on Australia’s Undocumented Population
- Hlass: “Our Immigration System Must Treat Immigrant Children as Children”
Thursday, January 3, 2019
- Prosecutors Mull ‘Assault’ Charges After Videos Show Children Being Dragged and Hit at Arizona Immigration Detention Center
- Immigration Article of the Day: The Constitutionality of Immigration Sanctuaries and Anti-Sanctuaries: Originalism, Current Doctrine, and a Second-Best Alternative by Nelson Lund
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
- Should the House Democrats Block Funding of the Border Wall?
- How a Crackdown on MS-13 Caught Up Innocent High School Students
- Steve Legomsky: “Gender-related violence should be grounds for asylum. Congress must fix this for women”
- Ending the Budget Impasse: “Let’s Make a Deal?” — Congressional leaders invited to White House for meeting on border security
Tuesday, January 1, 2019
Monday, December 31, 2018
- Trump Lays Responsibility For Child Border Deaths At Feet of Democrats
- 2018 Began With Death of U.S. Soldier Who Emigrated from Latvia
AILA NEWS UPDATE
*****************************
Thanks, Elizabeth.
PWS
01-09-19