THE GIBSON REPORT — 02-08-21 — 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 & Closures

Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information with the government and colleagues.

 

EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including, February 19, 2021 (There has been no change in two weeks, but news may still come later today). There is no announced date for reopening NYC non-detained at this time.

 

USCIS Office Closings, Including Weather

 

TOP NEWS

 

Biden issues new immigration orders, while signaling cautious approach

WaPo: President Biden signed executive actions Tuesday ordering the review and potential reversal of the Trump administration’s deterrent policies along the Mexico border and the barriers they created to legal immigration, calling his predecessor’s actions “very counterproductive to our security.” The directives also create an interagency task force to reunite families separated by former president Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” border crackdown.

 

New Biden rules for ICE point to fewer arrests and deportations, and a more restrained agency

WaPo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to issue new guidelines to agents this week that could sharply curb arrests and deportations, as the Biden administration attempts to assert more control over an agency afforded wide latitude under President Donald Trump, according to internal memos and emails obtained by The Washington Post.

 

ICE Won’t Make Immigration Arrests at Coronavirus Vaccination Sites, DHS Says

U.S. News: Neither ICE nor Customs and Border Protection will conduct immigration enforcement actions at vaccination sites and clinics, the agency said. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will work to set up fixed facilities, pop-up locations and temporary vaccination sites, including mobile vaccination clinics, DHS said.

 

Biden Moves To End Trump-Era Asylum Agreements With Central American Countries

NPR: The Biden administration is ending agreements with the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras that the Trump administration said were meant to help drive down the number of migrants seeking asylum at the U.S. border.

 

Biden signs order to ramp up refugee admissions and plans to allocate 125,000 spots next fiscal year

CBS: In the order, Mr. Biden called for an expansion of the decades-old U.S. refugee program, which was gutted by former President Trump, who frequently portrayed refugees as economic and security risks. After former President Obama set a 110,000-person ceiling before leaving office, Mr. Trump slashed it every fiscal year, allocating a historically low 15,000 spots in 2020.

 

Mayorkas confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security

Politico: Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed on Tuesday to serve as secretary of Homeland Security, putting him in charge of carrying out the Biden administration’s immigration agenda and tackling national security concerns.

 

Bipartisan pair of senators reintroduces immigration reform bill protecting ‘Dreamers’

CNBC: Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Thursday introduced the latest iteration of the Dream Act.

 

Biden Administration Faces Backlog of 380,000 Waiting to Immigrate

NYT: A State Department official said in federal court last month that, as of Dec. 31, more than 380,000 immigrant visa applicants were awaiting a consular interview. Immigration experts said it would take up to a year under normal circumstances to work through that many applications.

 

Border Agents In Texas Have Started Releasing Some Immigrant Families After Mexico Refused To Take Them Back

Buzzfeed: Mexico’s foreign ministry said the country continues to accept Central American nationals expelled by US border officers, but that there had been some changes at the local level in the last few days. The department said this was due to the implementation of the child protection law.

 

Surge of unaccompanied minors at border poses challenge for Biden administration

USA Today: The number of unaccompanied immigrant minors arriving at the U.S. border with Mexico is on a steep rise, posing an early challenge to ambitious plans by President Joe Biden to loosen immigration rules.

 

ICE Says Bergen County Jail Detention Center Is Overcrowded, But At-Risk Detainees Still Aren’t Getting Released

Gothamist: Immigration and Customs Enforcement says its detention center at the Bergen County Jail in New Jersey is about 50% over capacity, raising concerns about the spread of the coronavirus as lawyers continue to struggle to get medically-compromised immigrants out of detention.

 

Mexican police charged in massacre of Guatemalan migrants near U.S. border

WaPo: Mexican police participated in a massacre last month that left 19 people dead, including at least 13 who appear to have been Guatemalan migrants on their way to the United States, a state prosecutor said late Tuesday.

 

US motions expand drug claims against Honduras president

ABC: U.S. federal prosecutors have filed motions saying that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández took bribes from drug traffickers and had the country’s armed forces protect a cocaine laboratory and shipments to the United States.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Two major Supreme Court immigration cases just went up in smoke

Vox: The Court planned to hear two cases — now known as Mayorkas v. Innovation Law Lab and Biden v. Sierra Club — which questioned the legality of anti-immigration policies put in place during the Trump administration.

But the Biden administration rescinded one of these policies and drastically curtailed the other, and asked the justices to remove arguments in both Innovation Law Lab and Sierra Club from its calendar in light of these policy changes.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court granted those requests.

 

Ruling in FOIA Lawsuit Is a Victory for Immigrants, Open Government

NYLAG: In a significant victory for open government advocates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that people can sue to enforce the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requirement that federal agencies post certain documents online so that they are accessible to the public. The decision was issued in New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) v. Board of Immigration Appeals, in which Public Citizen Litigation Group served as lead counsel along with NYLAG as co-counsel.

 

BIA Reopens Proceedings Sua Sponte Following Reentry on Advance Parole

Unpublished BIA decision reopens proceedings sua sponte for respondent from Haiti to adjust status through U.S. citizen wife following reentry under grant of advance parole. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Pierre, 6/11/20) AILA Doc. No. 21020501

 

BIA Equitably Tolls MTR Deadline Following Vacatur of Convictions Due to Misconduct in State Drug Lab

Unpublished BIA decision equitably tolls MTR deadline and terminates proceedings against respondent whose convictions where vacated due to misconduct by a chemist working in the state drug lab. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Santiago, 6/10/20) AILA Doc. No. 21020500

 

BIA Remands to Consider Administrative Closure for Provisional Waiver

Unpublished BIA decision remands for consideration of request for administrative closure in light of intervening decision in Zuniga Romero v. Barr (4th Cir. 2019), to seek provisional unlawful presence waiver. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ventura Santizo, 6/9/20) AILA Doc. No. 21020402

 

BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Entered by Court Different Than That Listed on NTA

Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order entered by Orlando immigration court where NTA indicated that hearing would be held in Miami. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Marrero Soca, 6/5/20) AILA Doc. No. 21020401

 

BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Because NTA Was Sent to Outdated Mailbox

Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order because NTA was sent to UPS mailbox that respondent was no longer renting. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kiss, 6/2/20) AILA Doc. No. 21020400

 

Granados-Benitez v. Wilkinson (1st Cir) (unpublished- Jan. 28, 2021)

ASISTA: The 1st Circuit found that the BIA had abused its discretion in failing to follow Matter of Sanchez-Sosa in adjudicating the U visa petitioner’s Motion to Reopen and ordered remand. Click on the links to access the Amicus Brief and the Decision.

 

White House Issues Executive Order on Enhancing Refugee Resettlement Programs and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration

President Biden issued an Executive Order revoking certain past presidential actions on refugee admissions and resettlement; directing government agencies to take steps to improve URSAP; to complete a review of SIV programs; and to submit a report on climate change and its impact on migration. AILA Doc. No. 21020530

 

White House Issues Executive Order on the Southern Border and the Asylum System

On 2/2/21, the White House issued an executive order to implement a comprehensive three-part plan for safe, lawful, and orderly migration across the southern border, as well as to review the MPP program. The order also directs a series of actions to restore the asylum system. (86 FR 8267, 2/5/21) AILA Doc. No. 21020237

 

White House Issues Executive Order to Restore Faith in Our Immigration System and Promote Integration of New Americans

On 2/2/21, the White House issued an executive order requiring agencies to conduct a review of recent regulations, policies, and guidance that have set up barriers to our legal immigration system, and ordering immediate review of agency actions on public charge inadmissibility. (86 FR 8277, 2/5/21) AILA Doc. No. 21020235

 

White House Issues Executive Order on the Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families

On 2/2/21, the White House issued an executive order establishing a task force to reunite families that remain separated and also revokes the Trump administration’s executive order that sought to justify separating children from their parents (EO 13841). (86 FR 8273, 2/5/21) AILA Doc. No. 21020236

 

CBP to Enforce Face Mask Requirement at Ports of Entry

CBP announced that, effective February 2, 2021, it is enforcing the requirement that travelers wear face masks at all air, land, and sea ports of entry. The new requirement applies to all persons older than two years of age, with limited exceptions, and will remain in effect until further notice. AILA Doc. No. 21020432

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, February 8, 2021

Sunday, February 7, 2021

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Friday, February 5, 2021

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Monday, February 1, 2021

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

Thanks, Elizabeth!

⚖️🗽🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

02-09-21

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