🇺🇸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!🏴‍☠️

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

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.

 

EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: EOIR has not yet provided an updated general postponement date for non-detained cases at courts that remain closed. The website still reflects last week’s Nov. 13, 2020 date, but EOIR may still plan to update it later than usual.

 

TOP NEWS

 

Trump’s Public Charge Rule to Deny Immigrants U.S. Entry Vacated

Bloomberg: The rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the statute requires vacatur, the opinion by Judge Gary Feinerman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said.

 

Asylum Denial Rates Continue to Climb

TRAC: Despite the partial court shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, this year immigration jud­ges managed to decide the second highest number of asylum decisions in the last two de­cades. The rate of denial continued to climb to a record high of 71.6 percent, up from 54.6 percent during the last year of the Obama Administration in FY 2016.

 

Trump aide Stephen Miller preparing second-term immigration blitz

Guardian: The hardline adviser is said to be ready to unleash executive orders deemed too extreme for a president seeking re-election…Those items are expected to include attempting to eliminate birthright citizenship, making the US citizenship test more difficult to pass, ending the program which protects people from deportation when there is a crisis is their country (Temporary Protected Status) and slashing refugee admissions even further, to zero. See also Election day preview: Trump v. Biden on immigration.

 

Trump Administration to Put 180-Day Ban on Many Asylum Requests

Bloomberg: The Trump administration is expected to announce a 180-day ban on a range of asylum requests citing the threat posed by the coronavirus, according to two people familiar with the matter, in its latest effort to restrict immigration ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

 

Trump declares 1 November to be ‘national day of remembrance for those killed by illegal aliens’

Independent: With three days left until the election, the presidential proclamation was designed to hammer home his message of law and order, and position himself as the candidate best placed to protect the United States. See also Undocumented immigrants may actually make American communities safer – not more dangerous – new study finds.

 

Border Officials Turned Away Unaccompanied Immigrant Children More Than 13,000 Times Under Trump’s Pandemic Policy

BuzzFeed: The Department of Homeland Security has expelled unaccompanied immigrant children from the US border more than 13,000 times since March, when the Trump administration gave the agency unprecedented powers to close off access at the border during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an internal document obtained by BuzzFeed News.

 

Across The U.S., Trump Used ICE To Crack Down On Immigration Activists

Intercept: Immigration authorities under President Donald Trump’s administration have pursued a widespread campaign of official retaliation against immigrant rights advocates around the country, according to a newly released database and searchable map assembled by the Immigrant Rights Clinic at New York University Law School. See also Black Immigrants in the United States Have Been Targeted by Trump.

 

Deported Marine veteran wins federal lawsuit, earns US citizenship

Military Times: A Belize-born Marine Corps veteran won his battle for U.S. citizenship on Tuesday, completing a naturalization interview that had been on hold for more than a year, according to a release from his attorneys.

 

The Loneliness of the Immigration Lawyer

Prospect: Four years into this migration crisis, there’s a parallel migration under way—of immigration lawyers out of the profession. Survey data and interviews the Prospect conducted with more than a dozen lawyers around the country reveal the physical, mental, and financial toll endured by members of the bar. Given the extreme violence, trauma, and inhumanity their clients often endure, immigration attorneys don’t like to talk about how it affects them. But secondary trauma also leaves a mark, making it impossible to continue for some attorneys.

 

From the travel ban to the border wall, restrictive immigration policies thrive on the shadow docket

SCOTUSblog: In the past three years, much of the shadow docket has been populated by emergency requests from the Trump administration asking the Supreme Court to intervene before the lower courts have reached a final outcome or to override the actions of lower courts without a meaningful review process — or both.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Judge Declares Unlawful and Vacates Government’s Asylum Seeker “Credible Fear” Standards

IRAP: According to Saturday’s order, the “credible fear” lesson plans are vacated in their entirety  and the government must bring back at government expense the two named plaintiffs who had been deported before the case was filed so that they can be rescreened under lawful standards.

 

District Court Vacates DHS Public Charge Rule Nationwide

A district court vacated the DHS final rule on public charge as well as DHS’s request to stay the judgment. This ruling is to take effect immediately thus DHS may not apply the public charge after the date of the order. (Cook County, et al. v. Wolf, et al., 11/2/20) AILA Doc. No. 20110231

 

Notice of Proposed Settlement and Hearing in Lawsuit Challenging DHS’s One-Year Filing Deadline for Asylum Applications

The District Court for the Western District of Washington has scheduled a hearing for 11/4/20 for consideration of a proposed settlement in Mendez Rojas v. Wolf, a suit involving individuals who have filed, or will be filing, an asylum application more than one year after arriving in the U.S. AILA Doc. No. 20082430

 

Lawsuit Seeks to Uncover Secretive Expansion of Judicial Black Sites for Immigration Cases

AILA joined the American Immigration Council and the National Immigrant Justice Center in litigation against EOIR and GSA. The lawsuit requests information on the expansion and creation of immigration adjudication centers, which were established as part of EOIR’s Strategic Caseload Reduction plan. AILA Doc. No. 20103038

 

CA3 Says Petitioner’s New Jersey Conviction for Criminal Sexual Contact Is an Aggravated Felony

Denying the petition for review, the court held that the petitioner’s conviction in New Jersey for criminal sexual contact constituted an aggravated felony under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii) that rendered him removable. (Grijalva Martinez v. Att’y Gen., 10/21/20) AILA Doc. No. 20103036

 

CA3 Finds Petitioner’s Conviction Under New Jersey’s Terroristic-Threats Statute Was Not a CIMT

Granting the petition for review, the court held that, under the modified categorical approach, the petitioner’s conviction under New Jersey’s terroristic-threats statute was not a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Larios v. Att’y Gen., 10/14/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102731

 

CA4 Grants Asylum to Salvadoran Petitioner Targeted by Gang Because Her Parents Failed to Comply with Extortive Threats

The court held that the IJ and the BIA had failed to adequately address unrebutted evidence in the record that compelled the conclusion that the petitioner’s membership in her family was at least one central reason for her persecution. (Hernandez-Cartagena v. Barr, 10/14/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102733

 

CA7 Says BIA Erred in Finding IJ Need Not Warn Petitioner of Possible Eligibility for Asylum and Related Relief

Where the petitioner had told the IJ that he feared persecution at the hands of gangs in Honduras because of his relationship to his mother, the court held that the IJ should have advised him that he might be eligible for asylum or withholding of removal. (Jimenez-Aguilar v. Barr, 10/6/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102736

 

CA8 Holds That a TPS Recipient Is Eligible to Adjust to LPR Status

The court held that a noncitizen who entered without inspection or admission but later received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is deemed “inspected and admitted” under INA §245A and thus may adjust to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. (Velasquez, et al. v. Barr, et al., 10/27/20) AILA Doc. No. 20103037

 

CA9 Upholds Adverse Credibility Determination as to Petitioner from the DRC Based on Inconsistencies in the Record

Where there were inconsistencies, an omission, and implausibilities in the record, the court held that substantial evidence supported the denial of asylum to the petitioner, a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), on adverse credibility grounds. (Mukulumbutu v. Barr, 10/13/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102741

 

CA9 Says Oregon’s Former Marijuana Delivery Statute Is Not an “Illicit Trafficking of a Controlled Substance” Offense

The court held that Oregon’s former marijuana delivery statute, Or. Rev. Stat. §475.860, was not an “illicit trafficking of a controlled substance” offense, and thus found that the petitioner’s conviction did not make him removable as an aggravated felon. (Cortes-Maldonado v. Barr, 10/15/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102832

 

CA11 Says There Is No Duress or De Minimis Exception to the Material Support Bar

The court held that its precedent established that no duress exception exists to the material support bar, and that the statutory text showed that any provision of funds to a terrorist organization categorically qualifies as material support. (Hincapie-Zapata v. Att’y Gen., 10/13/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102834

 

BIA Finds EWIs Cannot Be Charged with Inadmissibility Under INA §212(a)(7)

Unpublished BIA decision holds that INA §212(a)(7)(A)(i) is only applicable to respondents who seek admission at a port of entry, as distinct from those who enter without inspection. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ortiz Orellana, 5/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102701

 

BIA Finds Evidence of Prior Fraudulent Marriage Precludes Approval of Subsequent Marriage-Based Visa Petition

The BIA ruled that when there is probative evidence that a beneficiary’s prior marriage was fraudulent and entered into to evade immigration laws, a subsequent visa petition filed on beneficiary’s behalf is properly denied under §204(c) of the INA. Matter of Pak, 28 I&N Dec. 113 (BIA 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20103034

 

BIA Reopens Sua Sponte Because Florida Theft Statute Is No Longer a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte upon finding theft under Fla. Stat. 812.014 is no longer a CIMT under Descamps v. U.S., 133 S. Ct. 2276 (2013), and Matter of Diaz-Lizarraga, 26 I&N Dec. 847 (BIA 2016). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Persad, 5/14/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102603

 

BIA Grants New Bond Hearing Because IJ Conducted All the Questioning

Unpublished BIA decision remands for new bond hearing because the IJ conducted all the questioning and did not give either attorney a chance to ask questions. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of L-R-B-, 5/12/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102602

 

BIA Finds Respondent Who Arrived Late to Hearing Did Not Fail to Appear

Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent did not fail to appear for hearing where he arrived 25 minutes late due to unexpectedly heavy traffic and was in communication with his attorney who was in the courtroom. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Hernandez-Yanez, 5/8/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102601

 

BIA Holds Federal Anti-Kickback Statute Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that receipt of remuneration under 42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b(b)(1) is not a CIMT because it does not require any loss or harm to a person. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Tejeda, 5/28/20) AILA Doc. No. 20103001

 

BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Where Hearing Was Not Reflected on EOIR Hotline

Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order where EOIR hotline did not reflect the existence of a hearing and the DHS attorney confirmed that the respondent was not on DHS’s docket on the date she was ordered removed. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Opondo, 5/21/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102700

 

BIA Finds Ninth Circuit TPS Decision Constitutes Fundamental Change in Law

Unpublished BIA decision holds that Ramirez v. Brown, 852 F.3d 954 (9th Cir. 2017), represents fundamental change of law justifying sua sponte reopening for TPS holders to apply for adjustment of status. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Larios Andrade, 5/27/20) AILA Doc. No. 20103000

 

DHS OIG Says ICE Needs to Address Concerns About Detainee Care at the Howard County Detention Center

DHS OIG released a report saying that, during an inspection of the Howard County Detention Center, it identified violations of ICE detention standards that threatened the health, safety, and rights of detainees, including excessive strip searches and failure to provide two hot meals a day. AILA Doc. No. 20103031

 

USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Dates for November 2020

USCIS determined that for November 2020, F2A applicants may file using the Final Action Dates chart. Applicants in all other family-sponsored preference and employment-based preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart. AILA Doc. No. 20102991

 

USCIS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Creating Wage-Based Selection Process for H-1Bs

USCIS notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) which would change the H-1B registration selection process from a random process to a wage-based selection process. Comments on the proposed rule are due 12/2/20, with comments on associated form revisions due 1/4/21. (85 FR 69236, 11/2/20) AILA Doc. No. 20102930

 

USCIS Adjustment of Status Filing Dates for November 2020

USCIS determined that for November 2020, F2A applicants may file using the Final Action Dates chart. Applicants in all other family-sponsored preference and employment-based preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart. AILA Doc. No. 20102991

 

USCIS Notice of Extension of the Designation of South Sudan for TPS

USCIS notice extending the designation of South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from 11/3/20 through 5/2/22. The re-registration period runs from 11/2/20 through 1/4/21. (85 FR 69344, 11/2/20) AILA Doc. No. 20110230

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, November 2, 2020

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Saturday, October 31, 2020

Friday, October 30, 2020

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Monday, October 26, 2020

 

 

 

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

The last item on Elizabeth’s list from John Oliver is a great (if enraging) explanation of how Trump & Miller, aided by complicit Supremes and a corrupt do-nothing GOP Senate, have rewritten American asylum laws by Executive fiat to enact a deadly, immoral, illegal, racist, White Nationalist, restrictionist agenda that tortures, maims, kills, and otherwise punishes refugees, including many women and children, without any due process and in violation of our international obligations (not to mention human decency). The stain on America will long outlast the Trump regime. Much of the harm is irreversible.

How do you know when you have entered the “Twilight Zone of American Democracy?” When the biggest threat to free and fair democratic elections in the United States of America is the President! Today’s national news reports were largely dedicated to state election officials assuring Americans that the President was lying, and that their votes cast in accordance with the rules would be counted, no matter how long it takes. 

Vote ‘em out, vote ‘em out! For the good of America and the world, get out the vote and vote ‘em out!

Every vote for a Democratic candidate is a vote to save our nation, our world, our souls, and the lives of our fellow humans of all races and creeds, and to finally achieve Constitutionally required Equal Justice Under Law!🇺🇸

Due Process Forever!⚖️🗽👍🏼🇺🇸

PWS

11-03-20

Related posts:

  1. 👹🎃HALLOWEEN HORROR 🏴‍☠️☠️🤮⚰️👎🏻REICHSREPORT: GRUPPENFUHRER MILLER REVEALS “REICHSPLAN” FOR EXTERMINATION OF IMMIGRATION, ASYLUM, REFUGE BY EXECUTIVE DECREE!  — “The Final Solution??”  — Parents, Protect Your Kids, Families, & Your Country From This Grotesque Un-American Monster!
  2. 🤮NO PEACE ON EARTH GOODWILL TOWARD MEN (WOMEN, OR ESPECIALLY CHILDREN) FROM REGIME OF “BAD SANTAS” 🦹🏿‍♂️🎅🏻— Illegally Separated Families Continue To Suffer Irreparable Trauma, 😰 Volunteer Groups 😇🗽⚖️ Left To Pick Up Pieces — A Reminder That Defeated Regime Has Mocked, Disparaged, & Trashed Christ’s Values & Assaulted Humanity Over Four Christmases!🏴‍☠️🤮☠️⚰️👎🏻
  3. 😰NO HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR FAMILIES IN “THE NEW AMERICAN GULAG”☠️⚰️ — As Kakistocracy Of War Criminals 🤮🏴‍☠️ Departs, Will President Biden Have The Wisdom & Guts To Move Beyond “The Dem Border Alarmists” & Get The Progressive Leaders 🦸🏽‍♂️⚖️ From The NDPA In Place To Bring Due Process & Order To The Border?🗽🇺🇸
  4. 🏴‍☠️☠️⚰️🤮👎🏻THE TRUMP REGIME & A CORRUPT SOLICITOR GENERAL HAVE CONDUCTED A WAR OF ATTRITION AGAINST AMERICAN LAWYERS ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE BATTLE TO SAVE DEMOCRACY — John Roberts & His GOP Buddies On The Supremes Have Aided, Abetted, & Encouraged It! — Constant Improper & Ethically Questionable Interference With Thoughtful, Legally Correct Lower Court Rulings Holding The Regime Accountable Have Demoralized The Profession’s Best & Bravest! — The Answer Is Better Judges For A Better America!