THE GIBSON REPORT — 02-18-19 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group
TOP UPDATES
President Trump issued a presidential proclamation declaring a national emergency along the southern border. AILA Doc. No. 19021539. See also: National Emergency Declaration is Unnecessary and Irresponsible.
William Barr was confirmed as U.S. attorney general. Here’s what to expect on crime, immigration and marijuana.
NBC: Barr has taken uncompromising positions on immigration, and experts say they don’t expect that to change. During Barr’s first term as attorney general, from 1991 to 1993, he made it harder for asylum-seekers to enter the United States. He sent immigration officers to foreign airports to screen people before they boarded planes to America. And he blocked Haitians fleeing a 1991 coup, arranging for them to be detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and screened for HIV and AIDS before they could claim asylum at the U.S. border.
H.J.Res.31: Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019
On 2/15/19, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 to fund the government through the end of FY2019. Among other things, the bill increases funding for immigration detention by at least 12% and includes $1.375 billion for 55 new miles of border fencing. AILA Doc. No. 19021470
DailyNews: Advocacy groups will no longer recommend that undocumented immigrants get a municipal I.D. card if the city goes forward with plans to add a financial services smart-chip to them, several said Monday.
More border surveillance tech could be worse for human rights than a wall
WaPo: Lacking meaningful oversight, there is essentially no limit to the ways the government could abuse this kind of data, which includes personal details like family history and health information. Spending more money on these existing surveillance programs will only increase their scope and their capacity for harm. It seems only defense contractors and big tech companies stand to profit from government contracts by helping to build a “smart wall.”
Importance of Nationality in Immigration Court Bond Decisions
TRAC: The chances of being granted bond at hearings before immigration judges vary markedly by nationality, as do required bond amounts. These differences among nationality groups are striking and are the focus of this report. Currently more than three out of every four individuals from India or Nepal, for example, were granted bond, while only between 11 and 15 percent of immigrants from Cuba received a favorable ruling.
New Report: False “Gang Allegations” Deny NY Teens’ Access to Immigration Status and Bond Services
NYIC: The New York Civil Liberties Union and the New York Immigration Coalition released a new report today documenting how allegations of gang membership, no matter how vague or flimsy, can lead to the denial of immigration relief to immigrant youth. The report finds that gang allegations are used to deny petitions for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, release on bond, and other forms of relief such as asylum, DACA and even U-visas.
Border Towns Are Among the Safest in the United States
AIC: . FBI data shows that border towns have statistically lower violent crime rates than other parts of the country. Former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner David Aguilar even testified that “border communities are safer than the interior locations of each of the border states.”
ICE Is Sending Hundreds of Asylum-Seekers to a Private Prison in Mississippi
MJ: The closest city to Tallahatchie is Memphis, 90 miles to the north. CoreCivic, the private prison giant that runs Tallahatchie, has traditionally used the 2,672-person prison to hold criminals sent by state governments across the country facing space shortages in their own facilities. But when CoreCivic said last year that California would remove its 1,300 inmates from Tallahatchie amid an effort to end its use of out-of-state prisons, the company found a new population of inmates to make up for the shortfall: In June, it signed a contract that allows ICE and the US Marshals Service to incarcerate up to 1,350 people at the prison.
NPR: The U.S. has a big advantage when it comes to a young labor pool — its population of immigrants. David Wessel of the Brookings Institution explains why to NPR’s David Greene.
CMS: The US undocumented population from Mexico fell by almost 400,000 in 2017. In 2017, for the first time, the population from Mexico constituted less than one half of the total undocumented population. Since 2010, the undocumented population from Mexico has declined by 1.3 million.
Wait in Mexico Policy, Access to Counsel, & Crime
Chase: One of my first reactions to the remain in Mexico policy was the impact it would have on access to counsel. I have heard disturbing first-hand reports from individuals who have traveled to Tijuana to provide legal assistance to refugees there. When crossing back to the U.S., American citizens identified by Customs and Border Patrol officers as “activists” have been harassed by being sent to secondary inspection, where they have been questioned and, remarkably, have had the contents of their electronic devices accessed by DHS agents.
Being An Immigration Judge Was Their Dream. Under Trump, It Became Untenable.
BuzzFeed: While some, like Jamil, have resigned, others have retired early in large part because of the policies instituted under Trump, they said. For those remaining at the immigration court, the mood is bleak.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
Groups File Lawsuit Against Trump Policy Forcibly Returning Asylum Seekers to Mexico
CGRS: The American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Poverty Law Center, and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies filed a federal lawsuit [] challenging the Trump administration’s new policy forcing asylum seekers to return to Mexico and remain there while their cases are considered.
Government asks justices to resolve census citizenship case this term
SCOTUSblog: Last week the Supreme Court announced that it would no longer hear oral argument on February 19 in a dispute over evidence in a challenge to the Trump administration’s decision to bring a question about citizenship back to the 2020 census. That announcement came after a federal district court in New York barred the government from using the question. Today the federal government asked the justices to consider right away whether it can include the question, without waiting for the court of appeals to weigh in on the issue first.
Slate: In a fiery ruling, Gelpí accused the federal government of unconstitutionally discriminating against Puerto Ricans, violating their equal protection rights by withholding disability benefits owed to mainland residents who are from the island. Gelpí concluded that the Supreme Court’s recent marriage equality decision eroded the old, racist precedents, guaranteeing Puerto Ricans the full privileges of citizenship.
2nd Cir.: Ineffective assistance of counsel, including during the plea-bargaining process, is a circumstance compelling the grant of a timely application for coram nobis relief… We therefore direct the district court to grant Doe’s coram nobis petition and vacate both his conviction and his plea.
USCIS Class Action Member Identification Notice
A class was certified in Zhang v. USCIS that includes any individual with a Form I-526 that was or will be denied on the sole basis of investing loan proceeds that were not secured by the individual’s own assets. Contact USCIS if you believe you are a potential class member. AILA Doc. No. 19021300
Presidential Proclamation Extending Proclamation 9822 for 90 Days
President Trump issued a proclamation extending the suspension and limitations from Proclamation 9822 for an additional 90 days. (84 FR 3665, 2/12/19) AILA Doc. No. 19020801
USCIS Announces Guidance on Adjudicating Spousal Petitions Involving Minors
USCIS announced the publication of guidance for its officers to consider when adjudicating spousal petitions involving minors. USCIS has also created a flagging system that sends an alert in the electronic system at the time of filing if a minor spouse or fiancé is detected. AILA Doc. No. 19021532
RESOURCES
- Practice Pointer: Arguing Against Pretermission of Asylum Cases in Immigration Court in the Aftermath of Matter of A-B- and Matter of E-F-H-L-
- The Rapid Evolution of the MS-13 in El Salvador and Honduras from Gang to Tier-One Threat to Central American and US Security Interests
EVENTS
- 2/19/19 The Food Almanac 2019: Immigration in the Food Chain
- 2/19/19 Immigrant Services at New York Police Department
- 2/21/19 Supporting Your Legal Arguments: Techniques for Researching Immigration Remedies for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence
- 2/26/19 Naturalization Challenges and Strategies in the Trump Era
- 3/6/19 Chinese Couplets (Women’s History Month Screening)
- 3/8/19 Asylum & Immigration Conference with the Federal Bar Association at NY Law School
- 3/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference
- 3/13/19 Sanctuary Law: Can Religious Liberty Protect Immigrants?
- 3/28/19 The Rise Of Legal Status Restrictions In American Social Welfare Policy
- 3/28/19 Land of Song: Voicing Immigration; Carnegie Hall’s Migrations
- 3/29/19 Keeping Up with the Nguyens: When Poor Immigrants Return to the Homeland
- 4/11/19 Heating up History: An Exploration of Spice, Hot Sauce, and Immigrant Foods
- 8/4/19 Legal, Cultural, & Historical Approach to Understanding the Complex and Controversial Issue Dominating Our National Dialogue
ImmProf
Monday, February 18, 2019
- What Cities Can Do to Promote Immigrant Integration? An Example from the Central Valley of California
- Immigration And The Economy
- Happy Presidents’ Day!
Sunday, February 17, 2019
- New Immigration Detention Center in Tallahatchie, Mississippi, Far From Immigration Counsel
- Hey, Iowa. What’s Up?
- Detained for Speaking Spanish?
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Friday, February 15, 2019
- Schrödinger’s Immigrant
- US Undocumented Population Continued to Fall from 2016 to 2017 and Visa Overstays Significantly Exceeded Illegal Crossings for the Seventh Consecutive Year
- Trump Issues Emergency Declaration on US/Mexico Border: “The southern border is a major entry point for criminals, gang members, and illicit narcotics.”
- Supreme Court to Hear Citizenship Question on Census Case
- Shutdown Averted, Trump to Declare Border Emergency?
- Lawsuit Challenges Trump Policy Returning Asylum Seekers to Mexico
- William Barr sworn in as attorney general
Thursday, February 14, 2019
- Caribbean Immigrants in the United States
- Congressman Deployed to Border
- Colorado Advisory Committee to the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights to Examine Backlog in Citizenship and Naturalization Applications
- Immigration Article of the Day: Slouching Toward Oblivion: the Divergent Implementation and Potential Exodus of Chevron Analysis in the Supreme Court’s Interpretation of Immigration Law by Amy Moore
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
- Immigration Article of the Day: Migration As Decolonization by Tendayi Achiume
- Deal Appears to be Reached to Avoid Federal Government Shutdown
- 21 Savage Granted Release Pending Immigration Hearing
- “No More Xenophobia”: Calififornia Governor Criticizes Trump On Immigration
Tuesday, February 12, 2019
- Immigration Article of the Day: Conditioning Citizenship Benefits on Satisfying Citizenship Obligations by Michael S. Kirsch
- Detention Center for Migrant Children to be Built on Chemical Landfill
- Breaking News: Deal Reached to Avert Government Shutdown?
Monday, February 11, 2019
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Thanks Elizabeth.
Elizabeth’s “last item” should be required reading for new AG Bill Barr, Deputy AG nominee Jeff Rosen, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and others working on immigration policy in this Administration.
PWS
02-20-19