THE GIBSON REPORT – 07-29-19 — Compiled by Elizabeth Gibson Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

THE GIBSON REPORT – 07-29-19 — Compiled by Elizabeth Gibson Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

 

TOP UPDATES

 

Barr ruling limits asylum claims based on family ties

CNN: Monday’s opinion does not bar all family-based claims, but unless an immediate family has “greater societal import,” it is “unlikely” to qualify for asylum, according to the Justice Department.

 

DHS Notice Expanding the Categories of Persons Eligible for Expedited Removal

DHS notice expanding the categories of persons designated eligible for expedited removal. The notice, including the new designation, is effective on 7/23/19. Comments may be submitted on or before 9/23/19. (84 FR 35409, 7/23/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072200. See also CLINIC’s Expansion of Expedited Removal FAQs.

 

A controversial deal between US and Guatemala could reshape the asylum process

Vox: On Friday afternoon, the US and Guatemala signed an agreement that will direct Central American migrants who pass through Guatemala hoping to seek asylum in the United States to first apply for protection in Guatemala instead. Those who travel to the US without applying for asylum in Guatemala could be removed by US border officials to that country.

 

USCIS Acting Director Instructs Asylum Officers to Consider “Possibility” Instead of “Reasonableness” of Asylum Seekers’ Relocation Within Home Countries

USCIS instructed asylum officers to consider whether it would have been “possible” for asylum seekers to relocate within their countries to avoid persecution rather than flee to the United States, even though the appropriate legal standard is whether such relocation would have been “reasonable.” AILA Doc. No. 19072603

 

TRAC Finds Access to Attorneys Difficult for Those Required to Remain in Mexico

TRAC found that very few asylum seekers forced to remain in Mexico under the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) have been able to secure representation for their immigration court proceedings. Of the total of 1,155 MPP cases decided, only 14 (just 1.2 percent) were represented. AILA Doc. No. 19072990

 

Bipartisan push to grant protected status to Venezuelans fails in House

CBS: The bill’s supporters pushed to suspend the rules of House and pass the bill before lawmakers left for their August recess. The maneuver, usually reserved for non-controversial bills, required the support of two-thirds of the House, meaning at least 55 Republicans would have needed to break ranks and vote for the measure. The move failed after only 37 Republican lawmakers joined the 230 Democrats voting in favor.

 

Immigration courts in NYC largest case backlog in the country, lack staff, resources, and interpreters

NY Daily News: The General Services Administration, which manages federal buildings, confirmed six new immigration courtrooms are under construction at 290 Broadway. The building is also home to offices for the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service.

 

Top CBP Officer Testifies He’s Unsure if 3-Year-Old Is “a Criminal or a National Security Threat”

Slate: Ted Lieu: Sofi is not a criminal or a national security threat to the United States as a 3-year-old, correct? Hastings: I don’t know the background in this case, sir.

 

U.S. citizen says he lost 26 pounds while wrongfully held in ‘inhumane’ conditions

NBC: An 18-year-old U.S. citizen who was held as an undocumented immigrant for more than three weeks in conditions he called “inhumane” says U.S. officials never apologized for wrongfully detaining him.

 

No more immigrant detainees in Albany County Jail

TimesUnion: This time last year, Albany County jail held hundreds of immigrants detained after crossing the southern U.S. border, joining a handful picked up locally.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Attorney General Overrules Portion of Matter of L-E-A- Relating to Particular Social Group

The Attorney General found that the BIA improperly recognized the respondent’s father’s immediate family as a particular social group. Decision notes that all cases inconsistent with this opinion are abrogated. Matter of L-E-A-, 27 I&N Dec. 581 (A.G. 2019) AILA Doc. No. 19072902

 

U.S. District Court for Northern District of California Enjoins Trump Administration from Implementing New Asylum Restrictions

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar issued an order enjoining the government from implementing the 7/16/19 DHS and DOJ joint interim final rule on asylum, pending final judgment or further order of the Court. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, et al. v. Barr, et al., 7/24/19) AILA Doc. No. 19071800

 

District Court Denies Motion for Temporary Restraining Order Against Rule Barring Asylum Eligibility for Many Migrants

In an oral ruling, the district court judge denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order enjoining the implementation of the interim final rule issued by the Trump administration on 7/16/19. (CAIR Coalition, et al. v. Trump, et al., 7/24/19) AILA Doc. No. 19071802

 

Supreme Court says Trump can proceed with plan to spend military funds for border wall construction

WaPo: A split Supreme Court said Friday night that the Trump administration could proceed with its plan to use $2.5 billion in Pentagon funds to build part of the president’s wall project along the southern border.

 

CA1 Finds BIA Erred in Concluding Nepali Petitioner No Longer Had Well-Founded Fear of Persecution

The court granted in part the petition for review, finding that substantial evidence did not support the BIA’s decision to deny the Nepali petitioner’s asylum application, because the government did not rebut the presumption of a well-founded fear of persecution. (Dahal v. Barr, 7/18/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072302

 

CA4 Says Conviction for Participation in a Criminal Street Gang in Virginia Is Not a CIMT

The court granted the petition for review, concluding that Virginia’s statute prohibiting participation in criminal gang activity does not categorically qualify as a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) for purposes of INA §237(a)(2)(A)(i). (Rodriguez Cabrera v. Barr, 7/19/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072303

 

CA5 Finds Haitian Petitioner with Schizophrenia Was Not Denied Due Process at Removal Hearing

The court held that the IJ did not violate petitioner’s due process rights by failing to adhere to the procedural safeguards that were put in place after his competency hearing, finding that there was no variance that would amount to due process violations. (Pierre-Paul v. Barr, 7/18/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072304

 

CA7 Upholds Asylum Denial to Mexican Petitioner Who Feared Persecution as the Mother of a Cartel Member’s Child

Where the Mexican petitioner claimed she feared persecution as the mother of a cartel member’s child, the court held there was nothing in the record that required BIA to conclude that she had experienced past persecution or reasonably feared future persecution. (N.Y.C.C. v. Barr, 7/19/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072305

 

CA9 Says Ambiguous Record of Conviction Does Not Bar Eligibility for Cancellation of Removal

The en banc court held that, in the context of eligibility for cancellation of removal, a petitioner’s state law conviction does not bar relief where the record is ambiguous as to whether the conviction constitutes a disqualifying predicate offense. (Marinelarena v. Barr, 7/18/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072307

 

CA9 Grants Mexican Petitioner’s Untimely Motion to Reopen Due to Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

The court held that the BIA erred in finding that the petitioner had failed to show prejudice from his prior attorney’s ineffective assistance with respect to deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and relief under former INA §212(c). (Flores v. Barr, 7/18/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072306

 

BIA Finds IJs Have Authority to Deny TPS Applications in the Exercise of Discretion

The BIA dismissed the appeal, finding that immigration judges (IJs) have the authority to deny applications for temporary protected status (TPS) in the exercise of discretion. Matter of D-A-C- 27 I&N Dec. 575 (BIA 2019) AILA Doc. No. 19072663

 

Appeals court rules against Trump administration on indefinite detention of asylum-seekers

Hill: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled against the Trump administration’s policy allowing for the indefinite detention of certain asylum-seekers, saying a lower court ruling temporarily blocking it can remain in place. See also DHS Interim Guidance on Parole.

 

DHS Notice Expanding the Categories of Persons Eligible for Expedited Removal

DHS notice expanding the categories of persons designated eligible for expedited removal. The notice, including the new designation, is effective on 7/23/19. Comments may be submitted on or before 9/23/19. (84 FR 35409, 7/23/19) AILA Doc. No. 19072200

 

US officials accused of spying on border activists

Guardian: In a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court on Tuesday against Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FBI, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alleges that the US government surveilled three not-for-profit organizers, who were included in a secret US database of more than 50 activists and journalists that was leaked earlier this year.

 

With ICE Not Recognizing Conn. Pardons, the State Defends Them in Federal Court

WBUR reports on a federal court case that will center on whether ICE has the right to deport immigrants for past crimes despite a state pardon. AILA Board member Heather Prendergast said Connecticut is not the only state where a board grants pardons, and in other states, ICE honors them. AILA Doc. No. 19072363

 

Chicago Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Defrauding Hundreds of Immigrants

James Keegan of Cicero, Illinois, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for operating a fraudulent immigration service business that defrauded hundreds of undocumented immigrants. Keegan ran the scheme during a nine-month period in 2017, and falsely claimed that he was a former DHS attorney. AILA Doc. No. 19072662

 

EOIR Releases Statistics on Immigration Judge Complaints

EOIR released statistics on the number of initial receipts of complaints against immigration judges from FY2009 through the third quarter of FY2019. AILA Doc. No. 18102935

 

EOIR Released Family Unit Data for Select Courts

EOIR has released statistics on initial receipts, initial case completions, and initial case completion decisions for family units in select courts—Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, and San Francisco—for the period of 9/24/18 to 7/19/19. AILA Doc. No. 19062134

 

EOIR Released Statistics on Credible Fear Review and Reasonable Fear Review Decisions

EOIR released statistics on credible fear review and reasonable fear review decisions, from FY2008 through the second quarter of FY2019, as of 3/31/19. AILA Doc. No. 18052340

 

Reuters Obtains Guidance Given to IJs on Docketing of Family Unit Cases

Reuters obtained guidance given to immigration judges (IJs) on docketing of family unit cases that directs them to schedule the initial hearing in family unit cases within 30 days. AILA Doc. No. 19072660

 

Reuters Obtains MOU Between EOIR and NAIJ on Implementation of New Performance Measures for IJs

Reuters obtained the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Regarding the Implementation of New Performance Measures for Immigration Judges (IJs) between EOIR and the NAIJ, which includes FAQs on IJ case quotas and defines a status docket, among other things. AILA Doc. No. 19072661

 

The Department Of Justice Won’t Release Data On Prison Deportations

Pacific Standard: Each year, the federal government deports thousands of prisoners who enter the Institutional Hearing Program, but it won’t reveal critical information about its operations.

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

   

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, July 29, 2019

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Friday, July 26, 2019

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Monday, July 22, 2019

 

*******************************************

Thanks, Elizabeth, as always, for keeping us up to date.

 

PWS

08-01-19

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