THE GIBSON REPORT — 12-22-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal,Assistance Group

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

PRACTICE UPDATES

 

ICE Appointment Scheduler Overview:

ICE: The ICE Appointment Scheduler is an appointment scheduling and management tool developed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help manage the scheduling of individual and family unit (FAMU) noncitizens required to appear before ICE for further immigration case processing. Only noncitizens apprehended and released by U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) via Prosecutorial Discretion (PD) can schedule appointments on the website at this time. There is a video tutorial link on the right side of the website.

 

Automated Case Information

EOIR has changed the automated case information website. Even though it looks like you have to type the A# one digit at a time, the web form still allows you to copy and paste a complete A# into the form, even with hyphens. Depending on the device you are using to view the website, you may need to scroll down to view the English-Spanish toggle. The web address also has changed, although the old address automatically redirects you for the time being.

English: https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/en/

Spanish: https://acis.eoir.justice.gov/es/

 

Certain Petitioners for U Nonimmigrant Status May Receive a Refund for Applications for Employment Authorization Submitted Before Sept. 30, 2021

USCIS: USCIS mistakenly rejected certain applications for employment authorization (Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization) from petitioners for U nonimmigrant status that were filed without a fee (or request for fee waiver) from June 14 through Sept. 29, 2021.

 

NEWS

 

Immigration in Biden’s Build Back Better spending bill, explained

WaPo: The reconciliation bill would create the largest mass-legalization program for undocumented immigrants in U.S. history, but it falls well short of a path to U.S. citizenship. Roughly 7 million of the 11 million undocumented immigrants would be eligible to apply for work permits, permission to travel abroad, and benefits like state driver’s licenses, a major step for immigrants from Mexico, Central America and other lands who remain vulnerable to being deported. See also House Sends Biden’s $1.75T Budget Plan To Senate.

 

DHS stops releasing some migrants without providing immigration court dates

CNN: The Department of Homeland Security has stopped the practice of releasing migrants in the United States only with paperwork that tells them to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told senators Tuesday.

 

Budget Bill May Boost Unauthorized Immigrants’ Health Care

Law360: Millions of people living in the U.S. illegally face barriers to accessing affordable health care due to their immigration status, but the immigration provisions of a budget bill making its way through Congress could remove some of those obstacles.

 

Mayorkas Disputes Separation Payouts Would Spur Migration

Law360: U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas blasted the previous administration’s zero tolerance immigration policy and told senators at a contentious hearing Tuesday that possible settlement payments to separated families would not necessarily incentivize future migration.

 

There Are No Immigrants Left in New Jersey County Jails. Where is ICE Sending Them?

Documented: In October 2021, all remaining detained immigrants from the Hudson County Jail, and just last week from the Bergen County Jail, were either transferred to other facilities, released or deported. Most were moved from New Jersey jails to two facilities in New York State: the Orange County Correctional Facility in Goshen and the Buffalo Service Processing Center in Batavia, near Buffalo.

 

Why Biden is struggling to revive the US refugee program

Vox: At the current pace, the US won’t come within striking distance of the 125,000 cap by the end of the fiscal year — and, given the State Department’s new refugee guidance, it’s unlikely that refugee agencies will be able to expand capacity to ramp up that pace soon.

 

3 million workers are missing amid the labor shortage, and 2 million of them are immigrants who never came to the US because of Trump-era policies

Business Insider: The current dearth of workers is mirrored by the number of working-age adults who would have lived in the United States if pre-Trump immigration trends persisted, according to 2020 US Census data.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Here Are the Immigration Cases Before the Supreme Court This Term

AIC: The Court’s decisions on these cases will impact access to: Federal court review over certain immigration judge decisions.

Bond hearings for certain noncitizens who have spent months in detention. Personal liability and damages for federal officers’ unconstitutional actions. The Court also will consider whether states can defend immigration policies that the federal government will no longer defend.

 

Matter Of Valenzuela, 28 I&N Dec. 418 (BIA 2021)

BIA: The respondent’s conviction for carjacking under section 215(a) of the California Penal Code is categorically a conviction for an aggravated felony crime of violence under section 101(a)(43)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F) (2018).

 

1st Circ. Orders Review Of Drug Crime Bar On Removal Relief

Law360: The First Circuit gave a Cape Verdean man a second shot at proving his conviction for possessing oxycodone doesn’t bar him from accessing deportation relief, ordering an immigration authority to weigh whether the decades-old precedent it applied is outdated.

 

CA5 Holds That BIA Erred by Treating Petitioner’s Adverse Credibility Determination as Dispositive of His CAT Claim

AILA: The court found that the BIA erred by refusing to consider the Sri Lankan petitioner’s country-conditions evidence in its likelihood-of-torture assessment with regard to his Convention Against Torture (CAT) claim, as required by 8 CFR §1208.16(c)(3). (Arulnanthy v. Garland, 11/8/21)

 

Biden ICE Policy Slammed As Illegal At 5th Circ.

Law360: A legal advocacy group that seeks to restrict immigration to the U.S. urged the full Fifth Circuit on Monday to reverse a panel decision that kept in place the Biden administration’s policy curbing immigration enforcement operations.

 

CA9 Says There Is No Colorable Constitutional Claim Exception to Statutory Limits on Judicial Review of Expedited Removal Orders

AILA: The court found it lacked jurisdiction to review petitioner’s challenge to his expedited removal proceedings, concluding that a recent Supreme Court decision abrogated any colorable constitutional claim exception to INA §242(a)(2)(A). (Guerrier v. Garland, 8/16/21, amended 11/9/21)

 

CA9 Rejects Challenge to Reinstatement Order Where Underlying Removal Order Was Legally Valid at Time of Entry and Execution

AILA: Dismissing the petition for review of an order reinstating petitioner’s removal order, the court held that the petitioner had failed to establish a gross miscarriage of justice that would permit it to entertain a collateral attack on the underlying order. (Lopez Vazquez v. Garland, 11/12/21)

 

9th Circ. Backs Removal Order Over Animal Abuse

Law360: The Ninth Circuit dismissed a Mexican man’s deportation appeal, finding that his past state conviction for animal cruelty encompassed both a guilty mental state and reprehensible actions, qualifying him for removal, despite his claim that he injured the animal accidentally.

 

9th Circ. Judges Scrap Over Burglar’s Removal Challenge

Law360: A divided Ninth Circuit panel refused to reopen a convicted burglar’s deportation case following a Supreme Court decision disqualifying his removal, with two judges locking horns over whether the migrant showed enough commitment to fighting for his rights in the interim.

 

11th Circ. Says BIA Ignored Facts In Sri Lankan’s Asylum Bid

Law360: The Eleventh Circuit breathed life into a Sri Lankan man’s bid for deportation protections on Thursday, finding that the Board of Immigration Appeals ignored evidence and misstated facts on the record when it denied him relief.

 

Court Won’t Fast Track ‘Remain In Mexico’ Reimplementation

Law360: A Texas federal judge refused to expedite the federal government’s reimplementation of a Trump-era program requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico, saying the government has clearly documented its efforts to reinstate the program formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols.

 

Ariz. Leads 2nd Suit From States Challenging Biden ICE Policy

Law360: Arizona, Montana and Ohio sued the Biden administration Thursday over guidance issued to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that aims to narrow the agency’s enforcement operations, marking the second such suit brought by states challenging the policies.

 

Documents Related to Lawsuit Seeking to Make Unpublished BIA Decisions Publicly Available

AILA: DOJ provided a status update on the settlement negotiations, which states that on 11/11/21, DOJ made a counteroffer to publish BIA decisions, subject to certain limitations, on a prospective basis and going back approximately five years. (NYLAG v. BIA, 11/17/21)

 

Calif. Sheriff Sued Over ‘Shadow’ System For ICE Transfers

Law360: The sheriff of Sacramento County has a “shadow” system for transferring inmates to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, violating California’s restrictions on local police cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to a lawsuit announced Tuesday.

 

Title 42 Litigation Update – Updated

LexisNexis: Oral argument in Huisha-Huisha is scheduled for Wed., Jan. 19, 2022.

 

Biden Administration Files MPP Compliance Reports

AILA: The Biden administration filed compliance reports after a district court ordered the administration to submit information on key pieces of data and steps it was taking toward implementation of MPP.

 

USCIS Clarifies Guidance on Requests for Modifications to the Oath of Allegiance

AILA: USCIS clarified that if a naturalization applicant requests oath modification but does not provide oral testimony or evidence, officers should issue a Request for Evidence. Guidance effective 11/19/21, comments due by 12/20/21.

 

Biden Admin. Bars Nicaraguan Officials From US

Law360: The Biden administration on Tuesday barred Nicaraguan government officials from entering the U.S. over President Daniel Ortega’s continued assault on democratic processes, civil society and human rights, nine days after elections the White House called a “pantomime.”

 

Biden Lifts Human Rights Sanctions On Burundi Officials

Law360: The Biden administration on Thursday lifted Obama-era restrictions on Burundi government officials who that administration held responsible for the human rights abuses that plagued the African country during a former president’s controversial third term.

 

DHS Update on the Investigation of Horse Patrol Activity in Del Rio, Texas

AILA: DHS provided an update on the horse patrol activity in Del Rio, Texas on September 19, 2021. DHS OIG declined to investigate and referred to CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Once an investigation is completed, CBP management will determine whether disciplinary action is appropriate.

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

   

 

ImmProf


Monday, November 22, 2021

Sunday, November 21, 2021

Saturday, November 20, 2021

Friday, November 19, 2021

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Monday, November 15, 2021

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🇺🇸DUE PROCESS FOREVER!

PWS

11-22-21

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