THE GIBSON REPORT 04-22-19 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT — 04-22-19 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

AG Barr Orders Immigration Judges To Stop Releasing Asylum-Seekers On Bail

NPR: In a written decision that overturns a 2005 policy, Barr directed immigration judges not to release migrants on bail once their cases have been approved for expedited removal proceedings — a status granted only after an applicant successfully establishes “a credible fear of persecution or torture” in the home country. See also Border Patrol Holds Hundreds of Migrants in Growing Tent City Away From Prying Eyes.

Rule Keeping Asylum Seekers in Mexico Can Temporarily Proceed, Court Says

NYT: A federal appeals court said Friday that the Trump administration could temporarily continue to force migrants seeking asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while their cases are decided.

How Trump’s Attorneys General are transforming U.S. immigration law

Reuters: Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his successors have been unusually active in this practice compared to their predecessors, a Reuters analysis of Justice Department data shows. The data describe an unprecedented effort by the Justice Department to quietly advance policy goals and transform immigration law from the top down.

White House weighs travel restrictions for countries with frequent visa overstays

Politico: Some of the countries with the highest rates of overstaying temporary visas are in Africa. Chad, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Eritrea, Liberia, Somalia, and South Sudan have among the highest overstay rates for short-term tourist and business visas, although they send relatively small numbers of travelers to the U.S. each year.

Homeland Security Lawyers In Manhattan Are Increasingly Using Video To ‘Appear’ In Immigration Court 20 Blocks Away

Gothamist: On Wednesday, a new judge, Monte Horton, was presiding over one new courtroom at Varick Street for quick procedural hearings known as a master calendar session. At the empty table where a DHS lawyer normally sits, to question each immigrant, there was just a big, white cardboard box for immigration lawyers to submit copies of documents filed with the court. But the video feed to Federal Plaza was broken. (Equipment failures have been a problem in court hearings by video.) After a delay, the DHS attorney appeared by telephone.

No ICE Arrests In Courthouses Without Judicial Warrants, N.Y. Court Directive Says

NPR: The New York State Office of Court Administration issued new rules Wednesday curtailing the ability of federal immigration officials to arrest immigrants in state courthouses without warrants.

Immigrants are being denied US citizenship for smoking legal pot

QZ: US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency in charge of processing visa and citizenship applications, has been rejecting immigrants who work for the marijuana industry or have admitted to using the drug in states where it’s legal, immigration lawyers and advocates say.

Why HUD Wants to Restrict Assistance for Immigrants

CityLab: On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposed a new rule that seeks to vet all members of families applying for subsidized or public housing, even those who have declared themselves ineligible in the application.

Ten-Fold Difference in Odds of ICE Enforcement Depending Upon Where You Live

TRAC: A person’s odds of being arrested and deported vary greatly depending upon where he or she lives. The odds of SC deportations and ICE community arrests showed up to a ten-fold difference among the states. Living in a sanctuary jurisdiction often reduced these odds.

Hundreds of Africans tried to reach the United States. Now they’re stuck in Mexico.

WaPo: After several weeks of waiting for the transit permits, Africans launched a protest outside the immigration office, yelling that Mexican officials were racist. Mexican television broadcast images of the migrants apparently scuffling with security guards in front of the building.

A member of an armed group detaining migrants at the border has been arrested by the FBI

CNN: Earlier this week, videos posted online purported to show migrants being held by a militia known as the United Constitutional Patriots before being turned over to US Border Patrol.

Closing USCIS International Offices Will Leave US Citizens, Military Members, and Refugees Abroad Without Help

AIC: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ international field offices provide critical services to Americans living abroad, as well as refugees and other immigrants. But in a supposed effort to cut costs, the Trump administration plans to close all 23 offices that span 21 countries by the end of 2019.

Honduran transgender woman freed after a year in US detention

Guardian: Nicole García Aguilar was freed from the Cibola County detention facility in New Mexico on Wednesday night, a week after lawyers filed a habeas corpus writ challenging her unjustified and prolonged detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).

‘When Deported, You Become Nothing’

Politico: Last year, we spent 10 days traversing thousands of miles across the state of Puebla, Mexico, and in later months across New York’s five boroughs in a door-to-door search for stories like Jorge’s. We wanted to put names and faces to the story of deportation—a story that is so often told only through statistics.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

AG Finds Individual Who Is Transferred from Expedited Removal to Full Removal Is Ineligible for Release on Bond

The Attorney General found that if an individual is transferred from expedited removal to full removal proceedings after establishing credible fear, he is ineligible for bond and must be detained, unless he is granted parole. Matter of M-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 509 (A.G. 2019) AILA Doc. No. 19041699

Deal Reached In Suit Over Atty Access In Immigration Court

Law360: A legal services nonprofit has agreed to pause a lawsuit challenging a government rule that punishes attorneys who offer limited representation to foreign citizens without formally appearing before the immigration court while the U.S. Department of Justice revises its regulation on attorney representation.

Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Files Second Lawsuit Against Business That Continues to Prey on Immigrant New Yorkers

NY DCWP: DCWP has filed a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court against Angel G. Buitron, Buitron Offices & Associates, Susana T. Abarca, and the Law Office of Susana Abarca, PLLC for allegedly using a multi-part scheme to deceive immigrant consumers. DCWP is seeking a court order to permanently stop the illegal business practices and to prevent Buitron from acting as an immigration assistance service provider. DCWP is also seeking that they return money to consumers, create a consumer restitution fund for other victims, surrender any profits, and pay civil penalties for violations of the City’s Consumer Protection Law.

Argument preview: Must an unauthorized immigrant in possession of a firearm know he is in the country illegally?

SCOTUSblog: The U.S. Supreme Court will puzzle over this classic, yet novel, statutory question of “mens rea,” or criminal intent, when it hears argument on April 23 in Rehaif v. United States.

District Court Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Blocking Termination of TPS for Haiti

A district court judge issued a preliminary injunction finding that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their APA claims and equal protection claim and enjoining the Trump administration from terminating TPS for Haiti, effective immediately. (Saget v. Trump, 4/11/19) AILA Doc. No. 19041530

District Court Judge Issues Order Requiring USCIS to Adjudicate Certain SIJ Petitions

A federal district court judge issued an order requiring USCIS to adjudicate Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions for people between the ages of 18 and 21 issued special findings orders by the New York Family Court. (R.F.M. v. Nielsen, 4/8/19) AILA Doc. No. 19041635

Settlement Reached to Reunite Central American Children with Parents in the United States

A settlement was reached in S.A. v. Trump, the lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s termination of the Central American Minors (CAM) Parole program, that may allow approximately 2,700 children living in Central America to safely reunite with their parents in the U.S. AILA Doc. No. 18121937

BIA Terminates Proceedings After Finding Kidnapping Is Not a Removable Offense

The BIA terminated proceedings and dismissed the government’s appeal after finding that under the plain language of INA §101(a)(43)(H), kidnapping in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a) (2012) is not an aggravated felony. Matter of A. Vasquez, 27 I&N Dec. 503 (BIA 2019) AILA Doc. No. 19041535

CA4 Finds There Is No Right to “Family Unity” Limiting ICE Detainee Transfers

The court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of ICE’s detainee transfer practices, finding that there is no substantive due process right to family unity in the context of immigration detention pending removal. (Reyna v. Hott, 4/16/19) AILA Doc. No. 19041802

CA7 Says BIA Erred in Finding Petitioner’s New Jersey Conviction for Assault with a Deadly Weapon Was a CIMT

The court granted the petition for review and remanded, finding that the BIA committed several legal errors when it concluded that the petitioner’s conviction for assault with a deadly weapon in New Jersey was a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Garcia-Martinez v. Barr, 4/16/19) AILA Doc. No. 19041934

Lawsuit Challenging the Trump Administration’s Remain in Mexico Policy

The Ninth Circuit issued an order temporarily staying the district court’s preliminary injunction order pending resolution of the emergency stay motion, which allowed the Remain in Mexico policy to continue. (Innovation Law Lab v. Nielsen, 4/12/19) AILA Doc. No. 19021561

EOIR Releases Updated Uniform Docketing System Manual

EOIR issued an updated Uniform Docketing System Manual covering the case processing system that governs the management of all cases in the immigration court. Operational procedures are amended or created through OPPM issued by the Chief Immigration Judge. AILA Doc. No. 19041570

DOS Designates Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a Foreign Terrorist Organization

DOS notice of the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (and all aliases) as a foreign terrorist organization pursuant to Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (84 FR 15278, 4/15/19) AILA Doc. No. 19041571

USCIS Announces the Issuance of a Policy Alert on Interview Guidelines for Marriage Involving Minor(s)

USCIS announced the issuance of additional guidance regarding the adjudication of spousal petitions involving minors, following up on guidance issued in February 2019, including instructions to officers to conduct an additional interview for certain I-30 spousal petitions involving a minor. AILA Doc. No. 19041533

Homeland Security Advisory Council’s CBP Families and Children Custody Panel Issues Report on Individuals in CBP Custody

The Homeland Security Advisory Council’s CBP Families and Children Custody Panel released a report that provides findings and recommendations on the best practices from federal, state, and local organizations regarding care for families and children in CBP custody. AILA Doc. No. 19041730

CBP Announces I-94 Numbers Will Become Alphanumeric

CBP announced that beginning in May 2019, I-94 numbers will be alphanumeric. Prior to May 2019, I-94 numbers were 11 digits long and only contained numbers. This change is due to the depletion of numeric-only I-94 numbers and to create a long-term solution for the creation of new numbers. AILA Doc. No. 19041531

USCIS Issues Policy Alert on Controlled Substance-Related Activity and Good Moral Character Determinations

USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that violation of federal controlled substance law, including for marijuana, remains a conditional bar to establishing good moral character for naturalization even where that conduct would not be an offense under state law. AILA Doc. No. 19041930

System Error at the VSC Affecting Approval Notices

AILA received reports from members of multiple-beneficiary petitions approved by the Vermont Service Center (VSC) that are missing the name of the first beneficiary (alphabetically, by surname) from the I-797B approval notice. AILA reached out to the VSC Premium Processing Unit. AILA Doc. No. 19041799

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