Category: “Migrant Protection Protocols”

THE GIBSON REPORT – 01-28-19 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT – 01-28-19 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal
Assistance Group

 

TOP UPDATES

Courts Have Reopened

As of Monday, the Immigration Courts will reopen and resume their normal schedule. All missed hearings will be rescheduled although it likely will take time for that to occur. See also: The shutdown is over for now, but big delays loom in Immigration Court.

 

“Migrant Protection Protocols”

DHS: The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) are a U.S. Government action whereby certain foreign individuals entering or seeking admission to the U.S. from Mexico – illegally or without proper documentation – may be returned to Mexico and wait outside of the U.S. for the duration of their immigration proceedings, where Mexico will provide them with all appropriate humanitarian protections for the duration of their stay. See also:

 

The country’s busiest border crossing will allow 20 people to claim asylum a day. They used to take up to 100

CBS: The port of entry that connects Tijuana to San Diego, the country’s busiest border crossing, will allow only 20 migrants to claim asylum a day beginning Friday, a Mexican government official said Friday. Prior to the policy change, Customs and Border Patrol officers had processed up to 100 individuals a day. The capacity reduction — known in immigration circles as “metering” — came the same day that the Trump administration implemented its “Migrant Protection Protocol.”

 

Trump Skeptical He Would Accept Any Congressional Border Deal

WSJ: President Trump said Sunday he doesn’t believe congressional negotiators will strike a deal over border-wall funding that he could accept and vowed that he would build a wall anyway, using emergency powers if need be.

 

Trump ordered 15,000 new border and immigration officers — but got thousands of vacancies instead

LA Times: Two years after President Trump signed orders to hire 15,000 new border agents and immigration officers, the administration has spent tens of millions of dollars in the effort — but has thousands more vacancies than when it began.

 

Legislature passes long-stalled DREAM Act, pays tribute to late colleague

Politico: In an emotional session, the state Legislature passed a bill on Wednesday to give undocumented immigrants access to the same in-state college scholarships and financial aid available to U.S. citizens.

 

Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants Would Make Roads Safer, Lawmakers Say

WGBH: Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn, Rep. Christine Barber of Somerville and Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier of Pittsfield, flanked by dozens of advocates, unveiled their bill Wednesday morning outside the House chamber. They argued that the measure would ensure every driver on the road has undergone proper training and vision testing and that it would relieve stress on undocumented families already in the state.

 

How ICE Operations Impacted New York’s Courts in 2018

IDP: ICE courthouse operations increased again in 2018, jumping 17% from compared to 2017, and 1700% compared to 2016. ICE turned to more and more brutal tactics to abduct immigrants from the courts- dragging people from their cars, slamming them against walls and pulling guns on people during arrests. NYC continued to account for the majority of courthouse operations, with Brooklyn and Queens reporting the largest numbers of arrests. ICE expanded operations outside of NYC, reaching into several new counties, and more than tripling arrests in Westchester.

 

‘Conveyer Belt’ Justice: An Inside Look At Immigration Courts

GovExec: Where the cases pile up so relentlessly there’s barely time for consideration—or lunch.

 

Border patrol releases dramatic ‘civil unrest readiness exercise’ video amid shutdown

SacBee: U.S. Custom and Border Protection agents posted a dramatic video to Twitter on Wednesday showing a “large scale civil unrest readiness exercise” that took place in California last month, sparking criticism because the heavily-produced clip was released during a weeks-long government shutdown.

More than 10,000 migrants request visas as caravan hits Mexico

WaPo: Mexico said Wednesday that more than 10,000 people have requested visas to cross its southern border as it seeks to grant legal documents to members of a rapidly growing U.S.-bound migrant caravan from Central America.

 

Former MS-13 Member Who Secretly Helped Police Is Deported

ProPublica: An immigration judge said he was “very sympathetic” to the teenager who cooperated with authorities only to be jailed with those he informed on. The judge nonetheless rejected his plea for asylum.

 

Writing About Writing About the Border Crisis

New Yorker: Valeria Luiselli’s intricate novel, “Lost Children Archive,” confronts the complexities of bearing witness.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

USCIS Announces Online Case Status Feature for Asylum Applicants

USCIS online case status now includes I-589s.  It will say if you’re awaiting an interview, if you missed an interview, if decision is pending, if decision mailed, etc.  It includes number of days on the EAD clock and whether the clock is stopped or running. In the case history, it also says when you’ve requested a change of address and if they have ordered an EAD.

 

InfoPass Modernization

You now must call the USCIS helpline at 800-375-5283 to request an infopass appointment. Your case will be triaged by a Tier 1 officer and then reviewed by a Tier 2 officer. Reasons for InfoPass based on calls: 1. ADIT stamp- 75-80% of callers are requesting an appointment for an ADIT stamp which should be done by officers at Tier 1. 2. Case specific inquiries. 3. IJ grants. 4. Emergency AP. 5. Certified copies of Natz certificates.

 

The following  service center e-mail addresses are being discontinued

California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@uscis.dhs.gov

Vermont Service Center: vsc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov

Nebraska Service Center: NSCFollowup.NCSC@uscis.dhs.gov

Potomac Service Center: psc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov

Texas Service Center: tsc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov

 

Immigrant Children Being Used As ‘Bait’ To Arrest Sponsors, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges

HuffPo: Donald Trump’s administration is using detained immigrant children as “bait” to arrest their sponsors and deliberately keeping kids in shelters for long periods, according to a class action lawsuit filed on Friday by immigration advocacy groups.

 

Increased Litigation for Denials and Delays on Naturalization Applications

TRAC: The latest available data from the federal courts show that during December 2018 the government reported 37 new federal civil immigration naturalization lawsuits. According to the case-by-case information analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, this number is up 26% over the last six months.

 

IJs Grant Gender-Based Asylum Claims

  1. Chase: In the absence of guidance from the BIA, and while waiting for appeals to work their way through the circuit courts (I am aware of appeals relating to this issue currently pending in the First and Fourth Circuits), the two recent immigration judge decisions are encouraging.

 

CA3 Holds Wire Fraud Conviction Was CIMT

The court denied in part and dismissed in part petitioner’s petitions for review, holding that per Nijhawan, her prior conviction for wire fraud constituted an offense involving fraud or deceit in which the loss to the victims exceeded $10,000 and was a CIMT. (Ku v. Att’y Gen., 1/3/19) AILA Doc. No. 19012230

 

CA9 Withdraws Opinion on Categorical Approach and Files Substitute Memorandum Disposition

The court withdraws an opinion filed on 8/29/18 and concurrently files a substitute memorandum disposition. The government’s petition for panel rehearing and motion for judicial notice are denied. No further petitions for rehearing en banc may be filed. (Lorenzo v. Whitaker, 1/17/19) AILA Doc. No. 19012201

 

BIA Lowers Bond for Respondent Seeking Non-LPR Cancellation

Unpublished BIA decision lowers bond from $25,000 to $10,000 for respondent who had lived in the United States for more than 14 years and was potentially eligible for non-LPR cancellation of removal. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of R-R-V-, 1/12/18) AILA Doc. No. 19012442

 

BIA Dismisses Charges Based on Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor

Unpublished BIA decision holds that contributing to the delinquency of a child under S.D. Codified Laws 26-9-1 is not a CIMT or a crime of child abuse because it covers the mere furnishing of alcohol to a minor. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Luvisia, 1/16/18) AILA Doc. No. 19012444

 

BIA Holds Georgia Theft by Taking Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds theft by taking under Geo. Code Ann. 16-8-2 is not a CIMT because it applies to temporary de minimis takings and does not require owner’s property rights to be substantially eroded. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Odiboh, 1/11/18) AILA Doc. No. 19012441

 

CBP Releases Officer’s Reference Tool Documents

AILA is posting the memos, guides, manuals, Standard Operating Procedures, and more, that make up the CBP Officer’s Reference Tool. Documents are being released pursuant to a FOIA request and will be posted on a rolling basis, so check this page frequently for updates. AILA Doc. No. 18112701

 

Practice Alert: USCIS Checklists Do Not Replace Statutory, Regulatory, and Form Instruction Requirements

AILA’s USCIS HQ (Benefits Policy) Liaison Committee provides a practice alert regarding USCIS’ checklists of required initial evidence and reminds members of the importance of consulting the applicable statute, regulations, and form instructions before submitting a benefit request to USCIS. AILA Doc. No. 19012200

 

DOS Announces Suspension of Routine Visa Services in Caracas, Venezuela

DOS announced the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, has suspended routine visa services due to the ordered departure of non-emergency personnel. AILA Doc. No. 19012502

 

Department of Homeland Security Blocks H-2B Visas for Filipinos, Dominicans, and Ethiopians

AIC: Citing high rates of visa overstays, on January 18 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a new rule mostly barring nationals from the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, and Ethiopia from receiving certain temporary worker visas. The U.S. territory of Guam is likely to be most impacted as it relies on large numbers of Filipino workers.

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, January 28, 2019

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Friday, January 25, 2019

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Monday, January 21, 2019

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You might want to take a look at Nielsen’s totally bogus “Migrant Protection Protocols” — second item.  Lots of her typical Trumpist lies, distortions, and misrepresentations. It’s certainly beyond the usual Nielsen disingenuousness to claim this has anything to do with “protection.” The only thing being “protected” here is Trump’s bogus claim that there is a”security crisis” at our southern border.

PWS

01-29-19

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