THE GIBSON REPORT 08-03-20 — 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 08-03-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

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

  • Opening dates for some non-detained courts: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including, August 21, 2020.
  • USCIS Visitor Policy (If requesting telephonic appearance of counsel at an interview, don’t forget to send the client to the interview with a signed G-28 that contains the number where USCIS should call you.)

 

Closures

 

Guidance:

 

TOP NEWS

 

The Trump Administration Will Start Charging Immigrants Fees For Applying For Asylum

Buzzfeed: The US now joins the ranks of Iran, Fiji, and Australia in charging a fee. In the US, there will be a $50 charge on asylum applications starting in October…The asylum fee is just one of many changes included in the rule issued by USCIS, which is primarily funded by immigrants’ applications, such as filing for a green card or work permit. The agency is required to review its fee structure every two years. The final rule will make it so immigrants seeking to naturalize and applying to become US citizens will have to pay upwards of $1,170, a jump from $640. See also Changes to USCIS Fee Schedule; USCIS Pleads for Money to Avoid Furloughs, Democrats Float Making the Funds Contingent on Policy Changes.

 

Trump administration won’t accept new DACA applications

AP: The Trump administration said Tuesday that it will reject new applications and shorten renewal periods for an Obama-era program that shields young people from deportation, taking a defiant stance after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to let it be scrapped completely.

 

DOJ loses bid to nix union for immigration judges

Reuters: A Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) official on Friday rejected the Trump administration’s bid to dissolve a union that represents U.S. immigration judges, saying the judges are not “management officials” who are barred from joining unions.

 

Homeland Security seized $2 billion from travelers, but most were never charged with a crime, report says

WaPo: Federal law allows CBP and other agencies to take cash from travelers as a way to combat drug trafficking and other criminal enterprises, but the new report by the Institute for Justice found nearly 70 percent of such cases are like Nwaorie’s — no arrest accompanies a seizure.

 

Acting ICE chief announces retirement following clashes with Trump officials

Politico: White House officials had accused Albence of favoring humanitarian concerns about the treatment of immigrants over the chance to take more aggressive action.

 

Border Patrol Launches Militarized Raid Of Borderlands Humanitarian Aid Camp

Intercept: For the second time in two years, Border Patrol launched a raid against No More Deaths within days of the group releasing embarrassing information about the agency.

 

Pardoned By Cuomo But Detained By ICE, Bronx Immigrant Marks Three Years In ICE Detention

Gothamist: In an extraordinary move six months ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo pardoned the 26-year-old Gambian immigrant from the Bronx for the one adult criminal conviction on his record — for robbing two gold chains from a female neighbor’s neck, which he said he didn’t do. His attorneys and the legion of activists who are supporting him thought that would pave the way for authorities to release him. That hasn’t happened.

 

Trump To Limit Federal Contractors’ Use Of Foreign Labor

Law 360: President Donald Trump will sign an executive order Monday that will require federal agencies to prioritize U.S. citizens and nationals for contractor roles, expanding on previous orders limiting immigration from June and April.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

District Court Issues Nationwide Injunction on Both DOS and DHS Public Charge Regulations Due to COVID-19

A district judge issued a nationwide injunction on both the DOS and DHS public charge rules due to COVID-19. (Make the Road New York, et al., v. DHS, 7/29/20) AILA Doc. No. 20072935

 

Attorney General Rules on Categorical Approach to Determining Aggravated Felonies

Ruling on the application of the categorical approach to determining aggravated felonies and that respondent’s conviction for grand larceny in the second degree in NY was an aggravated felony, the AG vacated BIA’s decision in Matter of Reyes. Matter of Reyes, 28 I&N Dec. 52 (A.G. 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20073131

 

USCIS Newark Asylum Office to Open Manhattan Branch

The Newark Asylum Office is adding a Manhattan branch which will open for interviews on Aug. 17, 2020…The Manhattan branch will be located in the federal building at 201 Varick Street in lower Manhattan. The main asylum office, currently located in Lyndhurst, N.J., has been closed to the public due to recent, ongoing facility issues.

 

Federal Judge Shuts Down Law Groups’ Intervention in Long-Standing Immigration Case

Courthouse News: A California federal judge denied a motion from nonprofit legal service providers to intervene in a decades-old case that determines the treatment and release of immigration children held by the United States.

 

AILA’s New Jersey Chapter Seek to Enjoin Newark Immigration Court from Compelling In-Person Proceedings

The AILA New Jersey Chapter filed a complaint in district court seeking to enjoin the Newark Immigration Court from forcing immigration attorneys to appear for in-person proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AILA New Jersey Chapter v. EOIR, 7/31/20) AILA Doc. No. 20080301

 

Citizenship requirements a sticking point in CARES Act and COVID Relief Funding

ImmProf: A federal judge for the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction Friday ordering that the Department of Education could not deny funding authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to a Bunker Hill Community College student based on her immigration status.

 

USCIS and EOIR Proposed Rule on Pandemic-Related Security Bars to Asylum and Withholding of Removal

USCIS and EOIR proposed rule allowing DHS and DOJ to consider “emergency public health concerns based on communicable disease due to potential international threats from the spread of pandemics” when determining whether an individual is ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal on security grounds. AILA Doc. No. 20070831

 

USCIS Provides Information on Injunction of the Public Charge Grounds Final Rule

USCIS provided information on how it plans to adjudicate applications or petitions in light of the July 29, 2020, injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York which enjoins the government from enforcing USCIS’s Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule. AILA Doc. No. 20073140

 

DHS Reissues Privacy Impact Assessment for CBP and ICE DNA Collection

DHS updated a previously issued PIA to provide notice to the public of biometric DNA collection from individuals detained by ICE and CBP and the associated privacy risks. DHS reissued the PIA to note that CBP Office of Field Operations is expanding the minimum age for DNA collection from 18 to 14. AILA Doc. No. 20072701

 

ICE Final Rule on Changes Applicable to Surety Bond Companies

ICE final rule which requires surety companies seeking to overcome a bond breach determination to exhaust administrative remedies, and which sets forth “for cause” standards so that ICE may decline bonds from companies that do not cure their deficient performance. (85 FR 45968, 7/31/20) AILA Doc. No. 20073134

 

USCIS Announces Special Instructions for Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Program

USCIS announced that it has added special instructions regarding eligibility requirements, filing, and adjudication of adjustment of status applications based on the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness provision in the NDAA. Individuals should read these special instructions before applying. AILA Doc. No. 20042034

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

Note: Check with organizers regarding cancellations/changes

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, August 3, 2020

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Friday, July 31, 2020

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Monday, July 27, 2020

 

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

Thanks, Elizabeth.

PWS

08-04-20

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