Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
NEWS
Dems bet their political chips on party-line immigration reform
Politico: With bipartisan immigration talks stalled, the White House and congressional Democrats are pushing to add a path to legal residency for 8 million immigrants to their sprawling social spending plan this fall. In order to steer that help for Dreamers, essential workers and those with Temporary Protected Status past a filibuster, though, the party has to win over the Senate parliamentarian, the chamber’s non-partisan rules arbiter.
Immigration Court Struggling to Manage Its Expanding Dedicated Docket of Asylum-Seeking Families
TRAC: Alongside the growing number of asylum-seekers assigned to the new Dedicated Docket, new questions emerge about whether these cases will be completed fairly and within the promised timeline, whether Immigration Judges will be able to manage large Dedicated Docket caseloads, and whether the Court is reliably tracking these cases as promised.
US steps up effort to unite families separated under Trump
AP: A federal task force is launching a new program Monday that officials say will expand efforts to find parents, many of whom are in remote Central American communities, and help them return to the United States, where they will get at least three years of legal residency and other assistance.
Former immigration judges: appellate review crucial to fix errors
Reuters: Nearly three dozen former immigration judges have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that federal appeals courts have the power to review immigration court rulings on whether individuals are eligible for relief from deportation.
What It’s Like Inside The U.S. Processing Center Welcoming Thousands Of Afghans
NPR: The Dulles Expo Center outside Washington, D.C., is usually reserved for home and garden or gun shows. Now the cavernous center hosts thousands of Afghan refugees. See also US gives 1st public look inside base housing Afghans.
Families Of Undocumented Immigrants Lost On 9/11 Continue To Search For Closure
NPR: The workers who’d gathered at Tepeyac started compiling a list, which in the next few days grew to 700 missing people. Almost all immigrants, many undocumented.
FBI Pressured U.S. Resident To Sign Away His Green Card, Forcing Him Into Exile
Intercept: Djumaev himself has never faced any criminal charge nor even been brought before an immigration court. When he later booked travel to the United States, the authorities blocked his return.
Jail ending agreement deputizing staff as ICE agents
AP: Massachusetts is the only state in New England where the contracts are in place; Barnstable County and the state Department of Corrections are the remaining entities with the agreements. See also Biden Ended Contracts with Private Prisons. So One May Turn To House Immigrants.
U.S. extends deportation relief for immigrants from 6 countries
Reuters: The renewals for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan will last until Dec. 31, 2022, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and were required as part of ongoing litigation over former President Donald Trump’s attempts to end most enrollment in the program.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
Full 1st Circ. Won’t Weigh Removal Relief For Venezuelan Man
Law360: A majority of the First Circuit’s judges declined on Wednesday to rehear a request for deportation relief from a Venezuelan man who said he was forced to smuggle drugs into the U.S., with one judge writing in her dissent that the full panel’s decision not to rehear the case is a “dangerously slippery slope.”
2nd Circ. Says Abuse Ruling Is Retroactive In Removal Case
Law360: A Dominican Republic immigrant who pled guilty to endangering a child in 2006 lost his deportation fight on Tuesday when the Second Circuit ruled in favor of the retroactive application of a 2010 decision, which found such crimes a removable offense.
Debate Over Immigrants’ Gun Rights Ignites In 2nd Circ. Case
Law360: As he walked down a Brooklyn block with a loaded gun in his hand on a dry, hot summer evening in 2016, Javier Perez didn’t know he was about to trigger a constitutional dilemma.
AILA: The court held that the petitioner, who spoke “Pidgin” English, was denied due process, because the IJ did not conduct an adequate initial evaluation of whether an interpreter was needed and took no action even after the language barrier became apparent. (B.C. v. Att’y Gen., 9/1/21)
AILA: The court held that, because the petitioner was a naturalized citizen at the time of his conviction for a felony relating to conspiracy to illicitly traffic controlled substances, he was not removable under INA §237(a)(2)(A)(iii)’s aggravated felony provision. (Singh v. Att’y Gen., 8/31/21)
CA3 On Mandatory Detention: Gayle V. Warden
LexisNexis: Gayle v. Warden: Under 8 U.S.C. § 1226(c), the Government must detain noncitizens who are removable because they committed certain specified offenses or have connections with terrorism, and it must hold them without bond pending their removal proceedings.
Sierra Leonean Loses Deportation Fight In The 3rd Circ.
Law360: A Sierra Leonean national who pled guilty to aggravated identity theft lost his fight to stay in the U.S. on Friday, after the Third Circuit found that he had used fake documents for a bank fraud scheme.
AILA: The court upheld the denial of Convention Against Torture (CAT) relief to the petitioner, finding that the evidence did not compel the conclusion that any torture by the MS-13 gang would occur with the consent or acquiescence of Honduran officials. (Tabora Gutierrez v. Garland, 8/31/21)
5th Circ. Mulls Staying Order Against ICE Removal Priorities
Law360: A Fifth Circuit panel on Wednesday peppered attorneys with questions aimed at understanding the effect of an order prohibiting the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from following two Biden administration directives that prioritize the removal of certain immigrants.
AILA: Where the petitioner challenged as unconstitutionally vague INA §241(b)(3)(B)(ii)’s non-per-se “particularly serious crime” (PSC) term, the court found that the statute stands because its text imposes standards that must reference underlying facts. (Mumad v. Garland, 8/27/21)
AILA: The court held that, in making an adverse credibility determination as to petitioner, the IJ was allowed to afford substantial weight to discrepancies associated with a threat by gang members and a report the petitioner procured and submitted to the IJ. (Rodriguez-Ramirez v. Garland, 9/1/21)
CA9, En Banc, On Credibility: Alam V. Garland
Alam v. Garland: The en banc court overruled prior Ninth Circuit precedent establishing and applying the single factor rule, which required the court to sustain an adverse credibility determination from the Board of Immigration Appeals, so long as one of the agency’s identified grounds was supported by substantial evidence.
AILA: The court concluded that the petitioner had failed to present sufficient evidence to permit a rational trier of fact to find that his parents had obtained a “legal separation” as required for him to derive U.S. citizenship under former §321(a) of the INA. (Ghia v. Garland, 9/2/21)
AILA: The court held that the BIA erred in applying Matter of Cortes Medina retroactively to classify the petitioner’s 2011 conviction for indecent exposure under California Penal Code section 314.1 as a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT). (Reyes Afanador v. Garland, 8/27/21)
CA9 On Iran, Evidence, CAT: Etemadi V. Garland
LexisNexis: Etemadi v. Garland “Kami Etemadi, a citizen and native of Iran, came to the United States in 1996 and made a life in Los Angeles. After being introduced to an Iranian American church, he converted to Christianity and was baptized in 1999. The government maintains his faith is false, and endeavors to deport him.
AILA: U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant of the Southern District of California declared unlawful the government’s practice of systematically denying asylum seekers access to the asylum process at ports of entry (POEs) along the U.S.-Mexico border. (<=”” i=”” style=”box-sizing: content-box; background-clip: border-box;”> (9/2/21)
AILA: U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta of the District of Columbia granted summary judgment to plaintiffs on their claims that the No-Visa Policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), and that defendants unreasonably delayed their visa applications. (Goh, et al. v. DOS, et al., 9/9/21)
Catholic Charities Files Complaint Against Rensselaer County Jail
Documented: They said an officer violently tugged at an immigrant’s shackles as she was being transferred into ICE custody, which caused her to bleed and bruise on her hips, ankles and wrists. According to multiple women who had been held there, medical neglect there is an “ongoing systemic problem.”
EOIR Announces Dedicated Docket Process for More Expeditious Immigration Hearings
AILA: EOIR issued a memo establishing a dedicated docket to certain individuals in removal proceedings with a focus on the adjudication of family cases as designated by DHS.
USCIS Releases New Webpage for Lockbox Filing Location Updates
AILA: USCIS announced that its website will now feature a Lockbox Filing Location Updates page, where customers can track when lockbox form filing locations are updated. Updates will also be emailed and announced on social media.
AILA: USCIS notice of the automatic extension of the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal through 12/31/22 from the current expiration date of 10/4/21. (86 FR 50725, 9/10/21)
USCIS Extends Evidence of Status for Conditional Permanent Residents
AILA: USCIS stated that they will extend the time that receipt notices can be used to show evidence of status from 18 months to 24 months for conditional permanent residents with pending Form I-751 or Form I-829. New receipt notices will also be provided to those who file Form I-751/I-829 before 9/4/21.
AILA: ICE provided interim guidance on motions to reopen in light of SCOTUS’s decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, stating that some noncitizens may now be eligible for cancellation of removal. Until 11/16/21, ICE attorneys will presumptively exercise prosecutorial discretion for these individuals.
ICE Releases Updated COVID-19 ICE Detainee Statistics
AILA: ICE provided updated statistics on COVID-19 in ICE detainees, by facility. As of 9/7/21, there are 847 positive cases currently in custody among a total detainee population of 23,445.
CDC Notice of Humanitarian Exemption to COVID-19 Test Requirement for Afghan Evacuees
AILA: CDC notice announcing a blanket humanitarian exemption to the requirement for a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test for evacuees from Afghanistan. The exemption went into effect on 8/15/21. (86 FR 49536, 9/3/21)
RESOURCES
- AILA: Find Resources for Assisting Afghan Clients
- AILA: ICE Provides Interim Litigation Position Regarding Motions to Reopen in Light of Niz-Chavez v. Garland
- ASISTA & ILRC Notes from USCIS Bona Fide Determination Webinar
- CLINIC: Frequently Asked Questions: TPS Eligibility and the Application Process
- CLINIC: Attorney General Garland Vacates Matter of Cruz-Valdez and Matter of A-C-A-A-
- CRS: Unaccompanied Alien Children: An Overview
- CRS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) COVID-19 Policies and Protocols at the Southwest Border
- EOIR: ECAS User Manual
- EOIR: Immigration Court Online Resource is now available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and Punjabi.
- Hispanic Federation: DACA Scholarships
- ILRC USCIS Policy Manual Suggestions
- MassLegal: A Guide for Certifying Agencies: MGL 258F Certification for Victims of Violent Crime and Human Trafficking
- OIG: ICE’s Management of COVID-19 in Its Detention Facilities Provides Lessons Learned for Future Pandemic Responses
- Tahirih: Ensuring Equal and Enduring Access to Asylum
- TRAC: Immigration Detention Quick Facts
EVENTS
- 9/14/21 USCIS Virtual Listening Session on Public Charge Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
- 9/15/21 Introduction to BIA Appeals
- 9/15/21 Legal Remedies for Immigrant Survivors: Introductory Seminar Series – Part III: Getting Survivors & Their Families to the Finish Line
- 9/15/21 Tax Equality for Immigrants and Child Poverty
- 9/16/21 Help asylum seekers formerly subject to Remain in Mexico/MPP
- 9/16/21 Managing Immigration Compliance in a Remote and Hybrid Post-Pandemic World
- 9/17/21 Strategic Considerations in the Wake of Niz-Chavez
- 9/22/21 Adjustment of Status: Eligibility and Pitfalls
- 9/23/21 EOIR to Host Information Sessions in Advance of EOIR Courts & Appeals System (ECAS) Launch at Certain Immigration Courts
- 9/23/21 Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2021: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices
- 9/27/21-9/28/21 Immigration Law and Policy Conference
- 9/28/21 Waiver Series: Overview of the Grounds of Inadmissibility
- 9/29/21 Temporary Protected Status: Updates and Options
- 9/30/21 Crafting a Winning Direct Examination: Practical Tips and Examples
- 9/30/21 Naturalization and Crimes
- 10/5/21 Intro to Prosecutorial Discretion
- 10/5/21 USCIS Virtual Listening Session on Public Charge Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
- 10/5/21 Waiver Series: Working With Clients to Build Strong Waiver Cases
- 10/6/21 Challenging Agency Delays in District Court
- 10/7/21 Introduction to Derivation of Citizenship
- 10/5/21 Waiver Series: Extreme Hardship and Discretion
- 10/13/21 Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act: Updates 10/13/21
- 10/13/21 Immigration Defense Strategies Virtual CLE
- 10/14/21 Detention & Deportation System for Children and Youth
- 10/19/21 Webinar Series: Putting the Case Together
- 10/19/21 The Categorical Approach Now
- 10/20/21 What is Happening with DACA?
- 10/26/21 Emerging Issues in Asylum Law
- 10/27/21 Challenging Expedited Removal and Reinstatement Orders
- 11/2/21 U Visa Adjustment
- 11/10/21 Remedies for Surviving Relatives
- 11/11/21 Inadmissibility: A Look at Common Grounds and Red Flags
- 11/16/21 Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion Under the Current Enforcement Priorities
- 11/23/21 Establishing Social Group in Asylum Claims
- 11/29/21-12/3/21 Partial to Full Accredited Representative Initiative 2021
- 12/1/21 54th Annual Immigration and Naturalization Institute
- 12/2/21 Post-Conviction Relief For Immigrants: New Laws, New Developments, New Advice
- 12/7/21 Hardship in Non-LPR Cancellation Cases
- 12/9/21 December Immigration Update
- 12/15/21 FOIA
ImmProf
Monday, September 13, 2021
- TRAC Immigration Immigration Court Struggling to Manage Its Expanding Dedicated Docket of Asylum-Seeking Families
- Announcing the Global Strategic Litigation Council for Refugee Rights
- From the Bookshelves: The Chinese Question by Mae Ngai
Sunday, September 12, 2021
- Poetry Break: Prayer for My Immigrant Relatives by Lory Bedikian
- Democrats make immigration case to Senate parliamentarian
Saturday, September 11, 2021
- NYT Guest Essay: The Unnecessary Cruelty of America’s Immigration System
- From the Bookshelves: Trumpism, Mexican America, and the Struggle for Latinx Citizenship Edited by Phillip B. Gonzales, Renato Rosaldo. & Mary Louise Pratt
- 9/11’s Immigration Legacy
Friday, September 10, 2021
- Crimmigration Real-o-thetical
- New Data: Some 10.6 Million U.S. Citizens Live With An Undocumented Immigrant
- Guest Post: The Crisis of Our National Debate on Immigration by Geoffrey Hoffman
- Immigration Law Professor and Other Amicus Briefs Filed in Supreme Court in Patel v. Garland
- 20 Years After 9/11: How 9/11 stalled immigration reform — and inspired a new generation of activists
- DHS Continues Temporary Protected Status Designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan
Thursday, September 9, 2021
- Changing the Course of History: How the Japanese Internment shaped the US response to Muslim Americans after 9/11
- From The Bookshelves: Civic Education in the Age of Mass Migration: Implications for Theory and Practice by Angela M. Banks
- The Nation on September 11, 2001: “20 Years of Bloodshed and Delusion”
- TAX EQUALITY FOR IMMIGRANTS AND CHILD POVERTY
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
- Immigrant of the Day: Lameck Humble Lukanga (Uganda)
- RBG remarks at a naturalization ceremony
- Mexico: Mass Expulsion of Asylum Seekers to Guatemala — Migrants Expelled From US, Mexico Without Due Process
- Zoom Presentation: Meera Deo on Beyond BIPOC
- Webinar: “A Day that Changed Our Nation and the World: 9/11’s Impact on Civil Liberties Two Decades Later”
- From the Bookshelves: Clamouring for Legal Protection: What the Great Books Teach Us About People Fleeing from Persecution by Robert F Barsky
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
- Immigrant Justice Corps Fellowship Applications Due October 15, 2021
- Wales a “divided country” on immigration
- Hope Springs Eternal? In migrant communities across the U.S., hopes that the Senate majority leader can deliver immigration reform
- Afghan Evacuees Face Complex Immigration Road in US
Monday, September 6, 2021
- Continuing challenges to Afghan refugee resettlement, how to help
- From the Bookshelves: The Committed by Viet Thanh Nguyen
- Happy Labor Day!
- It Is Labor Day 2021!
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Item #1 on immigration reform is interesting, although I think the odds on any major reform passing are still slim. If enacted, remedial legislation would not only help America and recognize the huge contributions and potential of our many undocumented residents, but also would help eliminate the largely self-created Immigration Court backlog.
🇺🇸Due Process Forever!
PWS
09-15-21