THE GIBSON REPORT — 07-06-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

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

COVID-19

Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify the latest policies on the relevant government websites and with colleagues on listservs as best you can.

New

Closures

Guidance:

 

TOP NEWS

 

A Top Immigration Court Official Called For Impartiality In A Memo He Sent As He Resigned

BuzzFeed: The Trump administration selected Tracy Short, previously the lead ICE prosecutor, for the chief immigration judge role. ICE prosecutors often take up roles as immigration judges, but the selection of Short, formerly ICE’s principal legal adviser, left some claiming the move would undercut the appearance of neutrality at the court. Christopher Santoro, the acting chief immigration judge, appeared to signal that in his message to court employees announcing his resignation.

 

New Trump immigration policy would disqualify asylum for people from countries with spreading disease

WaPo: The Trump administration is preparing broad new immigration restrictions that would deny humanitarian refuge to anyone from a country with a disease outbreak, deeming those asylum seekers to be a danger to public safety.

 

The NYPD’s Long History of Targeting Black Immigrants

DocumentedNY: Despite making up only 7.2 percent of the noncitizen population in the US, more than 20 percent of people facing deportation on criminal grounds are Black.

 

The Immigration System Is Set To Come To A Near Halt, And No One Is Paying Attention

BuzzFeed: If Congress does not provide US Citizenship and Immigration Services with emergency funding before Aug. 3, the employees, who make up more than 60% of all staffers, will be furloughed for up to three months due to the budget crisis…While the reasons for the funding shortage are debated — agency officials cite a massive decline in immigration applications due to the pandemic, while immigrant advocates and experts argue that the Trump administration’s policies have played a part in the budget issues — the impact to the immigration system is not.

 

The Shadow Court Cementing Trump’s Immigration Policy

The Nation: The Board of Immigration Appeals, once an impartial appellate court, has become a new front in the Trump administration’s war against migrants.

 

USCIS Announces July Naturalization Drive Before Furloughs

Law360: To clear its backlog before the bulk of its workforce is sent home, the agency must naturalize another 45,500 new Americans this month.

 

Failing Our Liberian Neighbors: Eligibility and Application Rates Under Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness

CLINIC: The report concludes that in light of the large number of potential applicants, USCIS’ failure to successfully adjudicate and approve a single application four months into the program, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Congress should extend the December 20, 2020, deadline for at least an additional year to ensure that all eligible Liberians are able to apply for relief.

 

Inspector General Report Overlooks Serious Medical Care Issues Within Border Patrol Custody

AIC: While the report critiques the agency for not meeting its own standards, it also allows CBP to avoid meaningful accountability for numerous failures in meeting the health needs of those detained.

 

How Biden Plans to Undo Trump’s Nativist Agenda

Slate: In a little-noticed announcement, the former vice president committed to a more ambitious refugee policy than existed under Obama.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

TVPRA Victory in Ramirez v. ICE

NIJC: A federal court has ruled that the failure of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to consider less restrictive settings before transferring unaccompanied immigrant youth to ICE detention on their 18th birthdays violates U.S. immigration laws.

 

District Court Vacates Third-Country Transit Ban, Effective Immediately

A federal judge found the government unlawfully promulgated the 2019 interim final rule that categorically disqualified individuals from receiving asylum unless they sought protection in another country before entering the southern border. (CAIR Coalition et al., v. Trump et al., 6/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070104

 

Immigration judges union suing Justice Dept. over policy restricting public speaking

The Hill: The Knight First Amendment Institute, a legal group at Columbia University, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court on behalf of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ). The suit alleges that the speech restrictions against immigration judges amount to violations of the First and Fifth Amendments and asks the court to impose a preliminary injunction blocking the policy.

 

EOIR Director Rules Amicus Curiae Cannot Seek Further Action Once Decision Has Been Rendered in Recognition and Accreditation Proceedings

The EOIR Director ruled that an amicus curiae is not a party in recognition and accreditation proceedings and has no authority to seek further action following the conclusion of an administrative review. Matter of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., Applicant, 28 I&N Dec. 16 (DIR 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20070208

 

CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial to Salvadoran Who Feared Persecution by His Brother’s Murderers

The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the attackers who threatened the petitioner were motivated by a desire to prevent him from reporting his brother’s murder to the police, and not by the petitioner’s family ties. (Cedillos-Cedillos v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070205

 

CA6 Upholds Denial of Motion to Reopen Where BIA Found Petitioner Had Failed to Overcome Presumption of Receipt of Mailed Notices

Where the evidence was conflicting, the court held that a reasonable adjudicator could conclude that the petitioner had failed to overcome the presumption that he had received notices of his hearing that were mailed to his aunt and uncle’s address. (Valadez-Lara v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070691

 

CA7 Rejects Castro-Tum and Holds That IJs Are Not Precluded from Administratively Closing Cases When Appropriate

Granting petition for review, the court rejected Matter of Castro-Tum’s conclusion that administrative closure is not within an IJ’s authority to take “any action” appropriate and necessary for the disposition of cases pursuant to 8 CFR §1003.10(b). (Meza Morales v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070207

 

CA8 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Denying CAT Relief to HIV-Positive Member of the Begedi Clan in Somalia

The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), finding that the IJ had clearly erred in forecasting that petitioner would more likely than not be tortured if returned to Somalia. (Abdi Omar v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070692

 

CA9 Affirms District Court’s Grant of a Preliminary Injunction Against Third Country Transit Ban

The court upheld a lower court’s injunction preventing the implementation of DHS/DOJ joint interim final rule that categorically denies asylum to individuals arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, et al. v. Barr, et al., 7/6/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070636

RESOURCES

EVENTS

 

Note: Check with organizers regarding cancellations/changes

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, July 6, 2020

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Friday, July 3, 2020

Thursday, July 2, 2020

Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Monday, June 29, 2020

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

Thanks for keeping us informed, Elizabeth!

PWS

07-08-20

Related posts:

  1. KEEP UP TO DATE WITH ALL OF THE REGIME’S LATEST ANTI-IMMIGRANT SCHEMES, GIMMICKS, & SHENANIGANS – THE GIBSON REPORT – 01-06-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group
  2. THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-29-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group  — DHS Suggests Asylum Seekers Should Get Used to ‘Homelessness’ After Stripping Work Permits — See What Other “Crimes Against Humanity” Are Being “Normalized” By The Trump Regime
  3. THE GIBSON REPORT — 10-05-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Federal Judge Rules Trump Not A Monarch; More Intentional Cruelty, Lies, & Threats Of Politically-Inspired Racist Attacks On Ethnic Communities From DHS; Trump Regime Dumps On Refugees & Commies; Cert. Granted In Credibility Case Apparently Seeking To Screw Refugees At Request Of SG; & Other “Interesting & Sometimes Disturbing Stuff”⚖️
  4. 🇺🇸THE GIBSON REPORT — 11-02-20 — Prepared By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Trump/Miller Bogus Public Charge Rule Enjoined Again; CBP Turns Back More Than 13,000 Unaccompanied Kids Using COVID-19 As Cover For Child Abuse; John Oliver With The Incredibly Ugly 🤮 Truth About The Trump-Miller Racist Assault On Asylum & Humanity ☠️⚰️— Other News From America Teetering On The Brink After 4-Years Of Trump Regime Misrule, Cruelty, Corruption, & Undermining Of Democracy!🏴‍☠️