Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-08-19 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group
TOP UPDATES
Trump administration threatens hefty fines on immigrants who elude deportation
WaPo: The Trump administration is threatening to impose hundreds of thousands of dollars in civil penalties on immigrants who disobey deportation orders by seeking refuge in churches or elsewhere in the United States, federal officials said.
EOIR Releases Statistics on Credible Fear and Asylum Process for FY2019
EOIR released statistics on the percentage of individuals making credible fear claims that are granted asylum. During the second quarter of FY2019 (through 3/31/19), IJs granted asylum to only 13 out of 100 credible fear claimants. AILA Doc. No. 19070532
WaPo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection was aware of the inflammatory Facebook page where alleged Border Patrol agents posted racist, sexist and violent images — and the agency has investigated posts from the group on at least one occasion, an official said. See also CBP Releases Statement on Private Facebook Group Activity.
Daily News: Santiago, who crossed into the United States in 2004, and was hit with an order of deportation after missing a San Antonio court appearance, was busted by federal immigration agents outside Queens Family Court. She was moved to Louisiana last week as her deportation appeared imminent, but lawyers with the New York Legal Assistance Group fought successfully to keep her in the U.S.
DOJ Still Looking To Add Census Citizenship Question, Official Tells Court
NPR: The Justice Department statement came in a court filing released Wednesday. Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt said, “We at the Department of Justice have been instructed to examine whether there is a path forward, consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision, that would allow us to include the citizenship question on the census.”
“We Can’t Help You Here” US Returns of Asylum Seekers to Mexico
HRW: Human Rights Watch found that the program, named the “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) by the US government but known colloquially as “Remain in Mexico,” has thus far had serious rights consequences for returned asylum seekers. We found that the returns program is expelling asylum seekers to ill-prepared, dangerous Mexican border cities where they face high if not insurmountable barriers to receiving due process on their asylum claims.
FBI, ICE find state driver’s license photos are a gold mine for facial-recognition searches
WaPo: A cache of records shared with The Washington Post reveals that agents are scanning millions of Americans’ faces without their knowledge or consent. [Note from Green Light NY: Most importantly, our legislation strictly prohibits disclosure of applicant photos by the DMV without lawful court order, judicial warrant, or subpoena. This means, for example, that if there is an active criminal investigation of an individual, their records could be disclosed to law enforcement… but ICE could not simply conduct a mass search of our DMV photos.]
More Women and U.S. Citizens Impacted by Immigration Enforcement Actions
AIC: The Trump administration’s indiscriminate, aggressive enforcement approach has created new categories of individuals who are more vulnerable to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement encounters, arrest, and potential deportation.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
A district court issued an order in Padilla, ordering the government to give certain detained asylum seekers a bond hearing within seven days of their request and requires
the government to justify continued detention in each case. AILA Doc. No. 19070333
FR: This final rule sets forth the Department’s longstanding position that the regulations providing for an affirmance without opinion (AWO), a single-member opinion, or a three-member panel opinion are not intended to create any substantive right to a particular manner of review or decision. The final rule also clarifies that the BIA is presumed to have considered all of the parties’ relevant issues and claims of error on appeal regardless of the type of the BIA’s decision, and that the parties are obligated to raise issues and exhaust claims of error before the BIA.
Supreme Court Imposes Significant Limitations on Scope of AuerDeference
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the doctrine of Auer deference, under which courts should defer to an agency’s reasonable reading of its own genuinely ambiguous regulations, but limited Auer’s scope in varied and critical ways. (Kisor v. Wilkie, 6/26/19) AILA Doc. No. 19070230
AILA: AG Attempts Power Grab over Immigration Appeals
The administration published a rule which would authorize the attorney general (AG) “to singlehandedly designate Board of Immigration Appeals decisions as precedent—and do so literally overnight, bypassing the necessary legal procedures and without any checks and balances.” AILA Doc. No. 19070236
IRAP and RAICES lawsuit challenging recent CFI Lesson Plan
IRAP: The lawsuit challenges new rules imposed by the Trump Administration that make it far more difficult for asylum seekers to pass their “credible fear interviews.” The interviews, which are conducted by asylum officials to determine whether an asylum seeker has a credible fear of persecution if returned to their home country, represent a life or death scenario for many of those who enter the U.S. in order to reach safety.
Federal Court Enjoins ICE from Courthouse Arrests in Massachusetts
A federal judge blocked ICE from making civil immigration arrests inside Massachusetts courthouses, preventing ICE “from civilly arresting parties, witnesses, and others attending Massachusetts courthouses on official business while they are going to, attending, or leaving the courthouse.” AILA Doc. No. 19070531
The court found that the evidence demonstrated a reasonable probability that, had the lawful permanent resident (LPR) appellant known the true and certain extent of the immigration consequences of his guilty plea, he would have refused it. (United States v. Carrillo Murillo, 6/24/19) AILA Doc. No. 19070234
The court held that, when viewed as an inclusive whole, the government was substantially justified in denying Convention Against Torture protection to petitioners, and the petitioners were ineligible for an Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) award. (W.M.V.C. v. Barr, 6/7/19, amended 6/28/19) AILA Doc. No. 19061800
DHS OIG Issues Report on Dangerous Overcrowding and Prolonged Detention in the Rio Grande Valley
DHS OIG issued an alert after finding dangerous overcrowding at four of the five Border Patrol facilities visited and prolonged detention at all five facilities visited in the Rio Grande Valley. Among other things, the report notes that over 1,500 detainees had been held for more than 10 days. AILA Doc. No. 19070502
ICE Announces the Removal of 37 Cambodian Nationals
ICE announced that 37 Cambodian nationals were repatriated in accordance with their final removal orders. ICE noted that removals to Cambodia increased 279 percent from FY2017 to FY2018 and that there are approximately 1,900 Cambodian nationals in the United States with final orders of removal. AILA Doc. No. 19070500
DOS Announces that the U.S. Supports Extension of Validity for Venezuelan Passports
DOS announced that Interim President Juan Guaido extended the validity of Venezuelan passports for an additional five years past their printed date of expiration and the U.S. recognized this extension for visa issuance and other consular purposes. AILA Doc. No. 19070330
EOIR Final Rule on Administrative Review Procedures
EOIR final rule to amend the regulations regarding the administrative review procedures of the BIA. The rule is effective 9/3/19. (84 FR 31463, 7/2/19) AILA Doc. No. 19070192
HHS Notice of Intent to Fund up to 1,300 Additional Beds to Keep Unaccompanied Children in Custody
HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) notice of intent to issue up to $300,800,000 of funding for up to 1,300 temporary shelter beds to keep unaccompanied children in custody at Carrizo Springs, Texas. (84 FR 31323, 7/1/19) AILA Doc. No. 19070193
USCIS announced it will automatically extend parole, and employment authorization if applicable, for certain residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) due to the Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term Legal Residents Relief Act. AILA Doc. No. 19070194
Trump administration set to deport 1 million targeted undocumented immigrants
Daily News: Trump on Friday had hinted deportations would start “fairly soon,” but the numbers the administration aimed to deport were never revealed.
Drug crimes prosecutions could be taking a back seat as the DOJ focuses on unlawful entry
ABA: Statistics compiled by the ABA Journal suggest that as misdemeanor unlawful entry prosecutions rose between 2017 and 2018 in the five federal districts along the southwest border, federal prosecutions for nonmarijuana drug offenses dropped. That’s while apprehensions of people crossing between official ports of entry reached a 17-year low in fiscal 2017, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection drug seizure statistics were largely up, suggesting no lack of referrals.
‘It Is Our Fault’: El Salvador’s President Takes Blame for Migrant Deaths in Rio Grande
NYT: “People don’t flee their homes because they want to,” President Nayib Bukele said. “They flee their homes because they feel they have to… It is our fault.”
New York State ICE Arrests Skyrocket Under Trump
DocumentedNY: The New York City Area of Responsibility had the third largest increase of ICE arrests in jails and prisons in the nation between 2016 and 2018. In the Buffalo Area of Responsibility, the at-large arrest rate grew about 123 percent, the second highest jump in the country after Philadelphia.
RESOURCES
· Featured Issue: 2019 Large-Scale Enforcement Actions and Raids
· Your Guide to Getting Clients Out of the Unlawful Presence Trap
· Know Your Rights Handouts: If ICE Visits a Home, Employer, or Public Space
· AILA and Partners Submit Amicus Brief on Detention During Withholding-Only Proceedings
· Featured Issue: 2019 Large-Scale Enforcement Actions and Raids
· Practice Pointer: How to Locate Clients that Have Been Apprehended by ICE
· Advocacy Groups Updates Website Exposing Border-Related Abuse and Litigation
· Ethical Issues in Representing Children in Immigration Proceedings
· NY Immigrant Freedom Fund (New Intake)
EVENTS
- 7/9/19 Foreign Students Not Picked in the H-1B Lottery: Options and Strategies
- 7/9/19 USCIS Webinar to Demonstrate Digital FOIA Records System
- 7/11/19 Changes to Public Charge (ONA Sponsored!)
- 7/18/19 2019 DACA Update: Where Are We Now and What Can We Expect?
- 7/19/19 How to Obtain DOJ Recognition and Accreditation (ONA Sponsored!)
- 7/29/19 Arrest Reports in Immigration Matters: Strategies for Responding to Requests for your Client’s Arrest Records
- 7/30/19 The I-864 and the Changing World of Public Charge Inadmissibility
- 8/4/19 Legal, Cultural, & Historical Approach to Understanding the Complex and Controversial Issue Dominating Our National Dialogue
- 9/2/19 Travel Ban: On-the-Ground Updates on the Waiver Process
- 9/19/19 Don’t Let Your I-601A Backfire: Dealing with Multiple Unlawful Entries
- 9/24/19 “But I Am Not a Litigator!” How to Represent Clients in Federal Court
ImmProf
Monday, July 8, 2019
· Fear, Confusion And Separation As Trump Administration Sends Migrants Back To Mexico
· America’s Concentration Camps?
· Immigration Promises to be a Big Issue in the 2020 Presidential Election
· Save Optional Practical Training for Foreign Students
Sunday, July 7, 2019
· Baseballer Sean Doolittle on Syrian Refugees
· Asylum Realothetical: The Chinese Muslims of Xinjiang
· US Communities Uneasy as Trump (Again) Threatens ICE Raids
Saturday, July 6, 2019
· Sexual Abuse of Asylum Seekers – A Worldwide Phenomenon
· ABA Offers Opportunities for Attorneys to Help at the Border
· Immigration Article of the Day: Predicting Danger in Immigration Courts by Emily Ryo
Friday, July 5, 2019
Thursday, July 4, 2019
· Maria Hinojosa Podcast on Kings of Deportation
· Detention of Migrant Children Subject of Public and Government Criticism and Controversy
· District Count Enjoins No Bond Policy, Trump Administration Objects
· Immigration Article of the Day: Universities as Vehicles for Immigrant Integration by Kit Johnson
· Why Immigrants Celebrate the Fourth of July
· MORE BREAKING NEWS: DOJ Reverses Course on Decision to Drop Census Question Per Trump’s Orders
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
· Celebrating Independence Day 2019 with Naturalization Ceremonies
· American University Launches New Defending the AU Dream Initiative
· Immigration Article of the Day: Divorcing Deportation: The Oregon Trail to Immigrant Inclusion
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
· BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Drops Fight to Add Census Citizenship Question, N.Y. Says
· ICE Seeks Hefty Fine on those Seeking Sanctuary
· Human Rights Watch: ‘We Can’t Help You Here’: US Returns of Asylum Seekers to Mexico
· Postion Opening: Duke Law School, Immigration Clinic, Supervising Attorney
Monday, July 1, 2019
· The “Repeal 1325” to “Open Borders” Switcheroo
· Report: Changing Patterns of Interior Immigration Enforcement in the United States, 2016–2018
· Position: Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program: Boston University School of Law
· How The Fight Over The Census Citizenship Question Could Rage On
· Most Immigrants Arriving at Ellis Island in 1907 Were Processed in a Few Hours
· Sitting on Ready: Colleges Brace for Deportation Uptick
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Thanks, Elizabeth.
PWS
07-10-19