THE GIBSON REPORT – 09-29-20 – Compiled by Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group – Another Tone-Deaf, Far Right Justice; Higher Fees For Worse Service; Detained Until Dead (“DUD Policy”)☠️⚰️; Dumping On International Students; & Other Nation-Destroying 🏴‍☠️News From The Trump Regime Twilight Zone! 

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

Reminder: Fee changes go into effect on October 2, 2020.

All applications with old fees/fee waivers must be POSTMARKED on or before October 1. 

CLINIC Fee/Waiver Chart: Selected USCIS Form Fees Beginning Oct. 2, 2020

 

 

COVID-19

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

 

New

  • Opening dates for non-detained courts: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including, October 16, 2020. [Note: Despite the standing order about practices upon reopening, an opening date has not been announced for NYC non-detained at this time.]
  • EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: EOIR has reorganized its operational status website. The list of individual court statuses and standing orders can now be accessed by scrolling down on the new map page:https://www.justice.gov/eoir-operational-status/operational-status-map. This is especially important for NYC given that the 26 Fed Court website still has an incorrect link for one of three standing orders, but the links are correct on the map page.

 

Closures

 

Guidance:

 

TOP NEWS

 

Amy Coney Barrett has a years-long record of ruling against immigrants

Vox: As an appellate court judge, Barrett helped to advance one of Trump’s key immigration policies. She sided with his administration in a case over Trump’s policy imposing a wealth test on the millions of immigrants who seek to come to the US annually. In her whopping 40-page dissent in that case, she laid out why the US has the right to block people who it deems likely to become dependent on public assistance in the future — even if they have never used public assistance in the past.

 

Advocate Groups Challenge Legitimacy of Immigration Fee Hikes

Courthouse News: Immigration advocacy groups have challenged the rule in California, Massachusetts, and in the District of Columbia, where they asked a federal judge for an injunction in a hearing Thursday. On Friday, it was U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White’s turn to hear arguments on whether the rule should be invalidated. In addition to weighing the competing financial interests at stake, White said the fee hike “raises series issues on constitutional checks and balances and the limit to executive power.”

 

Trump administration reimposes “public charge” immigration wealth test following court orders

CBS:  In updated guidance on its website on Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it would apply the 2019 public charge test to all future and pending green card applications filed after February 24, 2020, when the agency implemented the rule following the Supreme Court’s green light. Applications filed after Daniels’ injunction in July that have been approved will not be re-adjudicated, USCIS said.

 

Major Changes to Student Visa Rules Proposed

Inside Higher Ed: Trump administration proposes revamping visas so students would have to apply for an extension after fixed terms of no more than four years. Some students would have to reapply after two years, depending on their country of origin.

 

ICE whistleblower: Mexico investigating US immigrant ‘sterilisations’

BBC: On Monday Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said his government could take legal action against the US if the allegations were confirmed, Mexican newspaper El Universal reports.

 

Immigrants in US custody died after ‘inadequate’ medical care, congressional investigation finds

CNN: Immigrants in US custody faced widespread failures in medical care, including some issues that resulted in death, according to a new congressional investigation released Thursday.

 

Even When They Lost Their Jobs, Immigrants Sent Money Home

NYT: Predictions were that immigrants would stop sending money home when the coronavirus took their jobs. But that did not take into account how determined foreign workers were to help their families.

 

ICE Deports 54 Immigrants From New Jersey

WNYC: Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 54 immigrants — an extraordinarily high number — from the Essex County Correctional Facility Tuesday for deportation. The jail is the largest facility in the region that contracts with ICE to hold immigrants awaiting hearings or deportations. The population fluctuates from day to day, but it’s unusual to see 54 immigrants removed at once.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Attorney General Rules That the BIA Must Examine Asylum Claims De Novo

The AG ruled that, in reviewing asylum claims, the BIA must examine de novo whether facts found by the IJ meet all statutory requirements, and should review each element of the claim before affirming or independently ordering a grant of asylum. Matter of A-C-A-A-, 28 I&N Dec. 84 (A.G. 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20092530

 

BIA Rules on Expert Witness Testimony

The BIA ruled that in assessing whether to admit expert witness testimony, an IJ should consider whether it is sufficiently relevant and reliable, and if it is admitted, how much weight it should receive, and how probative and persuasive it is. Matter of J-G-T-, 28 I&N Dec. 97 (BIA 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20092532

 

USCIS Temporary Final Rule on Interpreters at Asylum Interviews

USCIS temporary final rule providing that, from 9/23/20 through 3/22/21, asylum applicants who cannot proceed with the interview in English must ordinarily use DHS-provided telephonic interpreters, due to COVID-19. (85 FR 59655, 9/23/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092202

 

USCIS Provides Update on Public Charge Rule Following Second Circuit Decision

USCIS announced that following the Second Circuit decision, it will apply the public charge rule and related guidance to all petitions submitted on or after 2/24/20. USCIS will not readjudicate any petitions that were approved following issuance of the 7/29/20 injunction continuing until 9/22/20. AILA Doc. No. 20092204

 

ICE Proposed Rule Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission for F, J, and I Nonimmigrants

ICE proposed rule to change the admission period of F, J, and I nonimmigrants from “duration of status” to an admission for a fixed time period. Comments are due 10/26/20. (85 FR 60526, 9/25/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092401

 

Visa Bulletin for October 2020

DOS posted the October 2020 visa bulletin. In addition to final action dates and dates for filing for family and employment-based petitions, it contains notes on the DV category, movement of the October final action and application filing dates, visa availability in the coming months, and more. AILA Doc. No. 20092400

 

CBP Notification of Temporary Travel Restrictions Applicable to Land Ports of Entry and Ferries Service Between the United States and Mexico

CBP issued a notification of the continuation of temporary travel restrictions limiting travel of individuals from Mexico into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States-Mexico border through 10/21/20 due to COVID-19. (85 FR 59669, 9/23/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092331

 

CBP Notification of Temporary Travel Restrictions Applicable to Land Ports of Entry and Ferries Service Between the United States and Canada

CBP issued a notification of the continuation of temporary travel restrictions limiting travel of individuals from Canada into the United States at land ports of entry along the United States-Canada border through 10/21/20 due to COVID-19. (85 FR 59670, 9/23/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092330

 

Resources for National Interest Exceptions Under Presidential Proclamations Suspending Entry of Certain Immigrants and Nonimmigrants, as Well as Individuals from Certain Countries

This page contains resources for members concerning national interest exceptions under President Trump’s June 22, 2020, proclamation (10052) and April 22, 2020, proclamation (10014), and the country-specific COVID-19 travel bans. AILA Doc. No. 20092205

 

DHS OIG Releases Report on Cybersecurity Incident at CBP Involving Traveler Images

DHS OIG released a report on a 2019 incident that compromised about 184,000 traveler images from CBP’s facial recognition pilot, known as the Vehicle Face System, at ports of entry. Per OIG, CBP “did not adequately safeguard sensitive data on an unencrypted device” using during the pilot program. AILA Doc. No. 20092333

 

DHS Ratification of Actions by Acting Secretary Chad Wolf

DHS ratification of actions taken by Acting Secretary Chad Wolf between 11/13/19 and 9/10/20, to “resolv[e] any potential defect in the validity of those actions” due to challenges to the legality of his service. (85 FR 59651, 9/23/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092137

 

DOJ OIG Releases Report on EOIR’s Recognition and Accreditation Program

DOJ OIG released a report on EOIR’s Recognition and Accreditation Program, finding that OLAP should improve program oversight and administration due to weakness in its controls for approving or rejecting applications, monitoring activities of accredited representatives, and investigating misconduct. AILA Doc. No. 20092233

 

House Committee on Homeland Security Releases Report Saying ICE Detention Facilities Fail to Meet Basic Standards of Care

The House Committee on Homeland Security released a report finding that DHS fails to effectively identify and correct deficient conditions at ICE detention facilities, and that facilities frequently fail to meet basic standards of care, including mental and physical care of the migrants in custody. AILA Doc. No. 20092201

 

ACTIONS

 

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

   

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, September 28, 2020

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Friday, September 25, 2020

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Monday, September 21, 2020

 

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

PWS

09-29-20

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