COURTSIDE EDUCATION: INSIDE TODAY’S PUBLIC TEACHING PROFESSION WITH ANNA PATCHIN SCHMIDT — “The morale of teachers is a pretty good gauge for the future of our nation. No one will escape the ramifications of deprioritizing public education.”

Anna writes on Facebook:

I have a question for you. If you learned that the attached quote was functioning as someone’s daily mantra or motivation, what job or endeavor would you imagine that person to be connected to? Perhaps an investigative journalist exposing some hard truths. Maybe a civil rights lawyer. Maybe someone speaking up about an abusive relationship. Perhaps, even, someone gearing up for battle. With that in mind, what does it mean that on a Wednesday morning last week, I came into my classroom and saw this quote on my daily feminism calendar and connected with it so deeply that I had to tape it next to my desk? I am a teacher, people. I work with children. What does that say to you about the conditions that public school teachers are working under? I came in this morning to a quiet classroom, empty of students for the weekend, and only then did I have the rare clarity of mind to see the quote taped there and recognize something: it isn’t right that I need this here; it isn’t normal and it most certainly is not acceptable. Sometimes I feel like I AM gearing up for battle. There are days, weeks, or even months in this profession that are so hard that I question whether I’m going to make it another 25 years. I think I can. I know I want to. But sometimes when I think about my emotional and physical well-being, I wonder if I should keep going. I don’t blame my administrators: they are just finding temporary loopholes in a broken system. I don’t blame parents: teachers are an easy scapegoat when life is hard and unfair. I don’t even blame the students: we raised them, after all. The morale of teachers is a pretty good gauge for the future of our nation. No one will escape the ramifications of deprioritizing public education. And yet, I AM still here. I AM sticking around. Silence from me is only an indication that I have thoughts brewing.

(Disclaimer: It’s sad that I feel a need to point this out alongside every post I make about education, but please do not file this post as reason number 472 why you aren’t going to send your kid to public school. You might have come to that decision for different reasons that I hope have nothing to do with me. I don’t think it’s right to sugarcoat or hide the hard truths about public education just because I’m scared someone will read them and bolt. At the end of the day, I don’t just send my kids to the public school around the corner and teach in another because I think I should- I actually feel fortunate to do so.)

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I’m sure there are many U.S. Immigration Judges, Immigration Court Clerks, pro bono lawyers, and other dedicated and talented government employees who feel the same way. Public institutions are essential to a great future. Once destroyed, they won’t easily, if ever, be rebuilt.

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Anna Patchin Schmidt is a Middle School English teacher in the Public Schools of Beloit, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, Professor Daniel Barolsky, and their three children Oscar, Eve, and Atticus. Oscar and Atticus attend a bilingual program at Todd Elementary School, a Beloit Public School, where Eve will go next year. Anna holds a B.A. and a B.Mus., both with honors, from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin where she was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She received her M.A. in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She is also certified to teach English Language Learning and did so in the Menasha and Walworth, Wisconsin Public School Systems before joining the Beloit System. She and Daniel are dedicated members of the “Beloit Proud” Movement, and she is also a qualified Doula who has assisted in the delivery of several babies. Anna grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, where she attended Alexandria City Public Schools (as did her brothers, Wick & Will) and graduated from T.C. Williams High School (“Remember the Titans”) with honors, earning 12 varsity letters, rowing on several championship crew teams, and playing oboe in the T.C. Williams Band. She is our daughter.

PWS

01-21-19

GEORGE WILL @ WASHPOST: AMERICA’S “CLOWN PRINCE” 🤡

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/what-a-misery-it-must-be-to-be-donald-trump/2019/01/18/d0e05eea-1a82-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html

George Will writes:

Half or a quarter of the way through this interesting experiment with an incessantly splenetic presidency, much of the nation has become accustomed to daily mortifications. Or has lost its capacity for embarrassment, which is even worse.

If the country’s condition is calibrated simply by economic data — if, that is, the United States is nothing but an economy — then the state of the union is good. Except that after two years of unified government under the party that formerly claimed to care about fiscal facts and rectitude, the nation faces a $1 trillion deficit during brisk growth and full employment. Unless the president has forever banished business cycles — if he has, his modesty would not have prevented him from mentioning it — the next recession will begin with gargantuan deficits, which will be instructive.

The president has kept his promise not to address the unsustainable trajectory of the entitlement state (about the coming unpleasant reckoning, he said: “Yeah, but I won’t be here”), and his party’s congressional caucuses have elevated subservience to him into a political philosophy. The Republican-controlled Senate — the world’s most overrated deliberative body — will not deliberate about, much less pass, legislation the president does not favor. The evident theory is that it would be lèse-majesté for the Senate to express independent judgments.

And that senatorial dignity is too brittle to survive the disapproval of a president not famous for familiarity with actual policies. Congressional Republicans have their ears to the ground — never mind Winston Churchill’s observation that it is difficult to look up to anyone in that position.

The president’s most consequential exercise of power has been the abandonment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, opening the way for China to fill the void of U.S. involvement. His protectionism — government telling Americans what they can consume, in what quantities and at what prices — completes his extinguishing of the limited-government pretenses of the GOP, which needs an entirely new vocabulary. Pending that, the party is resorting to crybaby conservatism: We are being victimized by “elites,” markets, Wall Street, foreigners, etc.

After 30 years of U.S. diplomatic futility regarding North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the artist of the deal spent a few hours in Singapore with Kim Jong Un, then tweeted: “There is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.” What price will the president pay — easing sanctions? ending joint military exercises with South Korea? — in attempts to make his tweet seem less dotty?

Opinion | Trump owns the Republican Party, and there’s no going back

President Trump has irreversibly changed the Republican Party. The upheaval might seem unusual, but political transformations crop up throughout U.S. history. (Adriana Usero, Danielle Kunitz, Robert Gebelhoff/The Washington Post)

By his comportment, the president benefits his media detractors with serial vindications of their disparagements. They, however, have sunk to his level of insufferable self-satisfaction by preening about their superiority to someone they consider morally horrifying and intellectually cretinous. For most Americans, President Trump’s expostulations are audible wallpaper, always there but not really noticed. Still, the ubiquity of his outpourings in the media’s outpourings gives American life its current claustrophobic feel. This results from many journalists considering him an excuse for a four-year sabbatical from thinking about anything other than the shiny thing that mesmerizes them by dangling himself in front of them.

Dislike of him should be tempered by this consideration: He is an almost inexpressibly sad specimen. It must be misery to awaken to another day of being Donald Trump. He seems to have as many friends as his pluperfect self-centeredness allows, and as he has earned in an entirely transactional life. His historical ignorance deprives him of the satisfaction of working in a house where much magnificent history has been made. His childlike ignorance — preserved by a lifetime of single-minded self-promotion — concerning governance and economics guarantees that whenever he must interact with experienced and accomplished people, he is as bewildered as a kindergartener at a seminar on string theory.

Which is why this fountain of self-refuting boasts (“I have a very good brain”) lies so much. He does so less to deceive anyone than to reassure himself. And as balm for his base, which remains oblivious to his likely contempt for them as sheep who can be effortlessly gulled by preposterous fictions. The tungsten strength of his supporters’ loyalty is as impressive as his indifference to expanding their numbers.

Either the electorate, bored with a menu of faintly variant servings of boorishness, or the 22nd Amendment will end this, our shabbiest but not our first shabby presidency. As Mark Twain and fellow novelist William Dean Howells stepped outside together one morning, a downpour began and Howells asked, “Do you think it will stop?” Twain replied, “It always has.”

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Stripped of its detracting “jabs at the opposition” and the “obligatory swat” at the essential safety net that actually keeps America functioning, even in tough political times like these, Will largely has Trump “pegged.” As others and I have said, the Trump Administration is “Kakistocracy in action.”

But, what took you so long, George, to “get religion?” For years, the GOP has been pushing a “soulless,” intentionally divisive, program of “beggar thy neighbor” and promoting the “worst in America.”

It’s not like equally sad and unfit GOP politicos such as Steve King, Tom Trancedo, Roy Moore, Jeff Sessions, Steve Bannon, Kris Kobach, Corey Stewart, and Stephen Miller just “hatched” during the Trump regime. Trump is the logical outcome of a “valueless conservatism” that has embraced some of the vilest individuals and ideas in modern American political history in a (somewhat successful) minority attempt to seize power from the majority of Americans and to govern against the overall public interest.

No surprise that a party bankrupt of both constructive conservative ideas and morality should end up installing a sad an unqualified character like Trump as its “Supreme Leader.” Trumpism is deeply rooted in modern American conservatism, not the “compassionate” kind of Bush I (which unfortunately was “DOA” within the party) but the vile brand that glosses over its racial and class overtones and its erroneous conception that the rich have every right to loot America and leave the crumbs to everyone else.

Yes, I think that America needs and deserves a credible “conservative movement” to engage in an honest governing dialogue with the Democrats. What might that conservative movement look like:

Constructive concern about runaway deficits and borrowing from the PRC;
Recognition of the threat that Russia and the PRC are to America’s future;
Commitment to secular governing principles (perhaps embodying, but not improperly favoring, some religious values) and support of the rights of all covered by our Constitution regardless of status;
Encouraging and enabling all qualified Americans to vote;
Congress retaking the authority to declare war and pass budgets and restricting Executive overreach (by both parties) in these areas;
Prudence in entering into future “foreign military adventures;”
A robust, effective, and efficient national defense that is held accountable for expenditures, strategies, and results;
Maintenance, funding, improvements, and accountability mechanisms for adequate safety net programs including social security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare;
An end to unnecessary tax breaks for the rich that strip the U.S. Treasury of necessary revenues without advancing any national agenda;
An end to “Government shutdown” forever and a pledge to respect the contributions of “America’s Crown Jewel:” our nonpartisan, professional, honest Civil Service;
Return of some authority to states, not as a device for “bogus” budget savings and to screw the poor and minorities, but to recognize and take advantage of areas where states are committed to actually funding and carrying out programs that produce better (not just cheaper) results than the Feds can;
Much more robust legal immigration and refugee acceptance programs;
A sharp reduction in wasteful funding for Federal detention of all kinds (including immigration detention) and the mandated use of alternatives that will work and benefit society;
Encouraging educational and economic development initiatives by the private sector in economically depressed areas (such as the Midwest and Appalachia) ;
Encouraging a robust trade agenda that provides mutual benefits to both the U.S. and our trading partners.

That would involve not only ditching Trump, but also abandoning the racially charged, fiscally wasteful, White Nationalist agendas that drive both him and his base and committing to governing in the public interest — in and of itself a key conservative principle.

We need an end to the “Clown Kakistocracy.” And, that will require some honest conservative support by a “new conservative” movement. I doubt that it can be headed by Trump sycophant, xenophobic enabler, and far right religious bigot Veep Mike Pence. Perhaps, however, folks like George have a constructive role to play in fashioning, inspiring, and leading it!

PWS

01-21-19

THE GIBSON REPORT – 01-14-19 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Project

THE GIBSON REPORT – 01-14-19 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Project

TOP UPDATES

New York City mayor vows health care for all — including undocumented immigrants

WaPo: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) on Tuesday issued a bold guarantee of affordable health care for every resident, thrusting the nation’s largest city to the forefront of debates over universal health coverage and immigrant rights. The promise is aimed at 600,000 New Yorkers who lack insurance because they can’t afford it, believe they don’t need it, or can’t get it because they are in the country illegally.

‘Never been more depressed’: Trump kills Graham effort to end shutdown

Politico: President Donald Trump has rejected a plan proposed by a bloc of Senate Republicans who had hoped to break an impasse over the government shutdown, leaving Congress and the White House with little obvious way out of the extended battle over Trump’s border wall.

Head Of Controversial Tent City Says The Trump Administration Pressured Him To Detain More Young Migrants

VICE: Kevin Dinnin, the CEO of the contractor that ran the controversial tent city for migrant children in Tornillo, Texas, says the facility is closing down because he refused the government’s request to detain more youths there. See also Trump administration removes all migrant teens from giant Tornillo tent camp

A Waiting Game For Immigrants And Border Agents On 2 Sides Of The Border Wall

NPR: Their numbers have dropped dramatically from around 6,000 to fewer than 2,000 today. They’re staying in makeshift shelters throughout the city, waiting week after week to hear their own number called out in an announcement that is made every morning in a small park near the U.S. port of entry. See also Migrants’ Despair Is Growing at U.S. Border. So Are Smugglers’ Profits.

The Judicial Black Sites the Government Created to Speed Up Deportations

AIC: In certain areas there is simply no way of knowing how many detained individuals—including children—have been deported without the opportunity to obtain counsel, and without appropriate safeguards preventing their removal to imminent harm.

As Government Pulls Back, Charities Step In to Help Released Migrants

NYT: But as the number of migrant families in recent months has overwhelmed the government’s detention facilities, the Trump administration has drastically reduced its efforts to ensure the migrants’ safety after they are released. People working along the border say an ever larger number of families are being released with nowhere to stay, no money, no food and no means of getting to friends and relatives who may be hundreds or thousands of miles away.

Trump floats path to citizenship for specialized visa holders

Politico: President Donald Trump seemingly teased plans for broader immigration reform on Friday, tweeting that he is open to a new path to citizenship for holders of a visa for high-skilled workers known as H-1B.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Matter of A-B- Guidance from Grace v. Whitaker

The instructions which the Court ordered USCIS and EOIR to provide asylum officers and immigration judges conducting credible fear interviews and reviews of negative credible fear findings.

FOIA Lawsuit Seeks Names of CBP Officers Who Allegedly Abused Children

AIC: Disturbing information has been revealed about extensive allegations of sexual, physical, and verbal abuse of children in CBP custody. Now, the ACLU wants the names of officials alleged to have abused migrant children.

Federal Judge Argues That Illegal Reentry Prosecutions Not a Good Use of Judicial Resources

ImmProf: A federal judge has spoken out against a sharp increase in Northern Virginia in the prosecution of illegal immigrants for reentering the country after deportation.

A trial on whether Trump has the right to end TPS for Haiti ends. Now comes the wait

Miami Herald: A federal trial in New York challenging the Trump administration’s decision to end Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for thousands of Haitians, concluded Thursday with internal government emails showing that the administration was so determined to end the program that it ignored its own government’s research flagging health and safety concerns.

CA1 Upholds IJ/BIA Denial of Asylum Due to Lack of Nexus to a Protected Ground

The court found petitioner secretly informed Ecuadorian police about gangs suffered persecution, but failed to prove he was targeted due to political opinion or particular social group since there was no evidence that his attackers knew he was an informant. (Mendez v. Whitaker, 12/11/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010870

CA1 Upholds BIA Reversal of IJ Grant of CAT Deferral to Domestic Violence Victim

The court denied petition for review and held the BIA correctly found the petitioner was unable to prove that the Dominican government acquiesced in her domestic abuse; thus, failed to meet the CAT definition of “torture” mandated for deferral of removal. (Ruiz-Guerrero v. Whitaker, 12/12/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010872

CA2 Vacates Unlawful Reentry Sentence Imposed on Noncitizen Based on Incorrect “Drug Trafficking Offense” Finding, and Remands for Resentencing

Using the categorical approach, the court held AZ’s drug law was overbroad; thus, district court erred in finding defendant’s prior conviction a “drug trafficking offense” that subjected him to 2016 Guidelines’ higher sentencing than that of 2014 Guidelines. (U.S. v. Guerrero, 12/10/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010831

CA2 Remands to BIA to Apply Correct Standard of Review on Good Faith Marriage Question

The court found BIA erred in applying clear error, instead of de novo, standard of review to IJ’s good faith marriage waiver denial; it also held petitioner abandoned abuse of discretion claim on MTR denial because he failed to adequately argue it in brief. (Alom v. Whitaker, 12/17/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010876

CA3 Holds PA Child Endangerment Statute Does Not Categorically Match INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i) Definition of Child Abuse

The court found BIA erred in finding 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §4303(a)(1) is a categorical match for removability; rather, it does not have the requisite risk requirement to match INA’s “likelihood of harm” standard; remanded to consider alternative removal ground. (Liao v. Att’y Gen., 12/10/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010832

CA6 Finds Conviction for Rape by Digital Penetration Under Ohio Rape Statute Does Not Match Federal Definition

The court held BIA erred in conflating “rape” and “sexual abuse” definitions to conclude that generic rape crime included digital penetration; under Ohio law, digital penetration is not rape for purposes of aggravated felony-based removal. (Keeley v. Whitaker, 12/17/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010834

CA8 Denies Petition for Review, Finding No Due Process Violations by IJ

The court found although IJ stopped petitioner’s attorney from listing potential PSGs (potential denial of right to counsel), there was no prejudice because IJ considered three PSGs; and IJ was not biased by asking about her failure to report crimes to police. (Molina v. Whitaker, 12/12/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010833

CA11 Dismisses in Part Under §242, Upholds BIA’s Controlled Substance and Agg Fel Determinations That Were Not Appealed but Adjudicated Nonetheless

The court confirmed lack of jurisdiction to review BIA determination of removability ground; it also upheld not only BIA’s affirmance of IJ’s CIMT finding that was on appeal, but additional BIA controlled substance and agg fel findings not appealed by DHS. (Bula Lopez v. Att’y Gen., 11/21/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010873

CA11 Upholds BIA’s §237(a)(2)(B)(i) Removability Determination for Possession of Cocaine Based on Florida Drug Possession Statute’s Divisibility

The court denied petition for review, finding that based on state law precedent and jury instructions, the identity of a controlled substance is an element of Fla. Stat. §893.13(6)(a) and that BIA correctly found possession of cocaine a removable offense. (Guillen v. Att’y Gen., 12/13/18) AILA Doc. No. 19010874

CBP Releases Data on Increase in Medical Emergencies on the Southern Border

CBP released data regarding medical care referrals being made for arriving migrants by CBP to medical providers along the southwest border. On average, Border Patrol referred approximately 50 cases a day to medical providers. December 26, 2018, Border Patrol referred 82 cases to a medical provider. AILA Doc. No. 19010802

USCIS Notice that Lapse in Federal Funding Does Not Impact Most USCIS Operations

ICYMI: USCIS announced that a lapse in annual appropriated funding does not affect USCIS’s fee-funded activities. USCIS offices will remain open, and all individuals should attend interviews and appointments as scheduled. USCIS will continue to accept petitions and applications, except as noted. AILA Doc. No. 18122408

Practice Alert: What Happens If the Government Shuts Down?

Drawing on information from government announcement and past government shutdowns, AILA provides an overview as to how this shutdown may impact immigration-related agencies. We will update this practice alert as new information becomes available. AILA Doc. No. 17042640

Full Transcripts: Trump’s Speech on Immigration and the Democratic Response and The Democratic Response

NYT: President Trump delivered an address to the nation on Tuesday night from the Oval Office to make a broad-based public push for border wall funding. After his speech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leaders, delivered a response from Capitol Hill.

NEWARK ASYLUM OFFICE AFFIRMATIVE ASYLUM PUBLIC SCHEDULING UPDATE – January 2019 –

The Asylum Division gives priority to the most recently filed affirmative asylum applications when scheduling asylum interviews. Generally cases are scheduled three to four weeks in advance utilizing the following priorities:

First priority: Applications rescheduled at the applicant’s request or the needs of USCIS.

Second priority: Applications that have been pending 21 days or less.

Third priority: Applications pending over 21 days, starting with newer filings and working towards older filings.

** This month, in addition to first and second priority cases, we are interviewing applicants who filed on or around October 2018.

RESOURCES

USCIS Launches New Online Fee Calculator

Archive of Immigration Visual Aids

Practice Advisory – Counseling Clients On Public Charge And Public Benefits (attached)

Practice Alert: Accessing Older Versions of the FAM Through Internet Archive Websites

Ethical Questions in Representing Clients with Administratively Closed Removal Cases

AILA Sample Complaint for Declaratory Judgement and to Compel Agency Action on Unlawfully Delayed Application for Naturalization

Bite-Sized Ethics: Advising Clients on DACA Given its Uncertain Future

Featured Issue: Conditions in CBP Custody

Featured Issue: Presidential Proclamation Limiting Asylum Seekers

Featured Issue: Denaturalization Efforts by USCIS

CBP Releases Officer’s Reference Tool Documents

American University Offers Spanish for Lawyers Course

Lawyer Well-Being: Understanding the Insidious Nature of Stress and How to Address It

Workers with Temporary Protected Status in Key Industries and States

EVENTS

1/15/19The June 2018 RFE and NOID Guidance: How to Avoid Case Denials in 2019

1/17/19ICE in our Courts: Practical Strategies for Protecting Clients’ Rights and the Rule of Law

1/25/19Deported to Death: How Drug Violence is Reshaping Migration in Mexico

2/5/19Developments in Waivers: The I-601A, Removal Proceedings, and Beyond

2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas

2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019

3/8/19 Asylum & Immigration Conference with the Federal Bar Association at NY Law School

3/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference

ImmProf

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Trump Defends Border Security Position, Government Shutdown

The Intercept: “The Border Patrol Has Been a Cult of Brutality Since 1924”

Saturday, January 12, 2019

The Daily Show Trolls Trump With His Own 2004 Speech

I Am Feeling This Guy

Anti-Immigration Member of Congress Called to Task on Comments about White Nationalism, White Supremacy, Western Civilization

Friday, January 11, 2019

Archive of Immigration Visual Aids

Tent City Contractor Pressured by Trump Administration to Detain More Immigrant Youth

Immigration Article of the Day: Free Trade, Immigrant Workers, and Employment Discrimination by Angela D. Morrison

Trump Continues Stumping for Border Wall, Visits Border Town and Holds Immigration Roundtable

From the Bookshelves: ace, Nation, and Refuge: The Rhetoric of Race in Asian American Citizenship Cases by Doug Coulson

Immigration Professor Does Good: When things go wrong, immigrants serving in the military look to Margaret Stock

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Your Needed Thursday Humor Break

Jason Cade, from the Collateral Consequences Research Center: Pardons for Immigrants

Column: “I’m an Immigration Attorney in Trump’s America and the Stress Took Over My Life”

Immigration Article of the Day: Ninth Circuit Extends Bivens Remedy to Mexican Citizen Killed in Mexico by Cross-Border Agent Standing in America by the Harvard Law Review

Federal Judge Argues That Illegal Reentry Prosecutions Not a Good Use of Judicial Resources

Human Rights Watch Lawsuit Over Immigration FOIA Request

Symposium: Immigration in the Trump Era, Southwestern Law School

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Immigration Article of the Day: Detainers, Discretion, and State Law’s Historical Constraints by Kate Evans

Growing Up a Refugee: Mohammad is a 15 year-old Rohingya refugee. He is stateless.

Making Sense of Immigration Law – An ILRC Course

The Conversation: Is there a crisis at the US-Mexico border? 6 essential reads

President Trump Again Calls for Billions for a Wall and for Congress to Address the “Border Crisis”

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Daedalus Online Issue on Access to Justice

Guest Post: Celebrating Michael Olivas’s Retirement

Emerging Immigration Scholars Conference – June 7-8 @ BYU

Call for Presentation Proposals – Institute of Law Teaching & Learning

Washington Post Podcast: To build border wall, Trump considers national emergency powers; Trump to Talk on Border “Crisis” Tonight

Immigration Article of the Day: Refugees Welcome? by Leti Volpp

Monday, January 7, 2019

From the Bookshelves: Undocumented Politics Place, Gender, and the Pathways of Mexican Migrants by Abigail Leslie Andrews

Vermont Library Straddles US-Canadian Border; Enables Iranian Families Separated by Travel Ban to Briefly Reunite

The “Border Patrol” Operates Everywhere!

American Constitution Society Writing Competition

AALS Immigration Section Panel Recap: Immigration Law Values

More AALS: Immigration Law Values Program, Michael Olivas Honored

Immigration Article of the Day: Doing Better for Child Migrants by Susan Frelich Appleton

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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Thanks Elizabeth. I was just “touting” Elizabeth and Adina Appelbaum of CAIR to some folks at Georgetown Law as examples of some of my many star “Refugee Law and Policy” students who have gone on to superstar careers in advancing social justice (an important focus at Georgetown Law). There are, of course, many others. And, the neat thing is that many of them have kept in contact. Indeed, right now our “Gang of 32” retired Immigration Judges is working with Adina and others on an amicus brief project that she brought to our attention.

PWS

01-16-19

JIM WALLIS @ SOJOURNERS: Things Will Get Worse Under Trump; Moral Resistance Is Essential: “[Trump] almost perfectly exemplifies the worst of America — the ugliest things in our history and the greatest dangers to our future.“

https://sojo.net/articles/its-going-get-worse-america-it-gets-better-2019-opportunity

Jim Wallis writes:

Most people have consistently underestimated Donald Trump. When he came down the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his candidacy by attacking and demonizing non-white immigrants, people should have understood that Trump would likely win the Republican nomination and possibly the election.

Why? Because Donald Trump appeals to the worst of America. His promotion of fear, division, hate, racism, xenophobia, rallying of white nationalism, mistreatment of women, purposeful denial of truth, and consummate love of money, power, and fame are, of course, nothing new in America. Neither are his desire to destroy democracy, love for authoritarian rulers or desire to be one. Indeed, there is nothing new about Donald Trump, but he almost perfectly exemplifies the worst of America — the ugliest things in our history and the greatest dangers to our future.

Now let’s move from the political and moral to the theological and spiritual: These traits and actions also represent the worst of humanity. To seek money and power over all else, to consistently put yourself over all others, to make private self-interest the only the goal of life and overturn any sense of the common good, to create conflict to win and make all others into losers, to constantly lie and try to kill the truth, to make exploitation and abuse the definition of sexuality, to be as violent in word and deed as you can get away with, to never answer to God or seek forgiveness — there are examples of these sins throughout the Bible and human history. They are also, unfortunately, what our country’s leader seems to stand for, what he promotes in our culture, and what he models for our children.

Given all of this, we are in great danger. Strongmen are rising all over the world, and Donald Trump supports them — and even wants to be one of them. Trump started out the New Year tweeting the country’s support to Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s new right-wing nationalist leader. Just this week, he articulated an ahistorical understanding of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that seemed to condone or even endorse the Soviet action. His version of that chapter in world history is one that sounds much closer to what Moscow propaganda might say rather than what an American president or relatively neutral historians would describe. Among the current global strongmen, Trump is certainly not the most intelligent, but he may be the most dangerous because of his political position.

READ: #EleNão Movement Confronts ‘Brazilian Trump’

Strongmen, autocrats, and dictators don’t all do the same things. They do whatever they can to maximize their own wealth, power, and fame. The only thing that prevents them from going as far as they can is the resiliency of a society’s institutions and social sectors — like the media, the judiciary, political parties, law enforcement, civil society, and places of vocational or historical moral authority like faith communities.

So how are we faring on those fronts?

Press: In our current political situation, a new generation of young reporters are showing great resiliency in the new Trump era, revealing the facts that undermine official lies and offering analysis that seeks to hold power accountable.

Judiciary: Trump appointments at the Supreme Court and Circuit Court levels are gradually politicizing the judiciary to rule in favor of his interests, white interests, and corporate interests.

Political Parties: After winning the midterm elections, the Democratic Party has retaken the House of Representatives. For the first time, we have 100 women in the Congress and the most diverse House in our history. With Speaker Nancy Pelosi retaking the gavel, we will now see what kind of checks and balances to the executive branch that can provide. But the Republican Party has been taken over by the president’s base and retained a Senate majority that has been unwilling to oppose him — or ever vote to remove him from office, which only the Senate can do with a 2/3 majority vote, even if the House were to impeach him.

Law Enforcement: Trump has continued to attack the Justice Department and relentlessly seeks to undermine the Special Counsel’s investigation into his campaign’s involvement with Russia. Trump’s behavior in response to the investigation of him and his campaign puts the rule of law into jeopardy, depending on how his administration reacts to the results and reports of the Robert Mueller-led investigation.

Civil Society: Will the civil society seek to hold the government responsible for civility in the way that it governs? So far, nonprofit organizations focused on good government, exposing corruption, and protecting the vulnerable have done important work in galvanizing massive protests at key moments of danger or significance, as well as leading or joining key court cases that have sought to rein in some of the worst travesties of the administration, like the monstrous policy of family separation at the border.

Faith Communities: On the religion side, white evangelicals have been the most supportive of Trump as their Religious Right has entered a transactional, Faustian bargain with his administration, agreeing to look away from Trump’s immoral behavior and brutal treatment of those Jesus called “the least of these” in exchange for the judicial appointments and conservative economic policies they support. Others, like the Reclaiming Jesus movement, with Sojourners involvement, have proclaimed that the gospel itself is at stake in the faith community’s response to Trump. This year will be “an hour of decision,” to use Billy Graham’s old language, for the faith community’s testimony in the face of Donald Trump’s corrupt and cruel practices and policies, which are antithetical to the teachings of Jesus.

WATCH: Reclaiming Jesus in a Time of Crisis

In 2019, I believe things are going to get worse in America before they get better. We now face grave dangers to democracy itself, and to societal moral decency. But that danger also provides us an opportunity: to go deeper into our faith and into our relationships to each other, especially across racial lines, and into relationship with the most vulnerable people in our society — a practice our faith says will change us. If we do go deeper, this moment could become a movement for all the things that many of us have consistently lived and fought for all our lives. If we don’t go deeper, but just continue to react or ultimately retreat into frustration and cynicism, we will indeed be in great danger.

Many of us faith leaders believe a constitutional crisis is coming in 2019, which will also create a crisis of faith to which we will be called to respond. A dangerous overreach of presidential power could come in response to the ultimate results of the Special Counsel’s report and potential further indictments of Trump’s associates, potentially his family members, or even himself for criminal behavior. Attempts to cover up or obscure the results could be a serious obstruction of justice that undermines the very rule of law in this country. We could also see other executive overreaches like choosing to shut down the government over vanity projects, the prosecution of dangerous wars, the censorship of the press, attacks on opponents, more assaults on migrants and the most vulnerable, and, most frighteningly, the threat or use of nuclear weapons.

If we start to see that executive overreach as distraction, there must be a moral response. And the response of faith communities could be a game changer. I believe it is time to prepare for that response from the followers of Jesus. Stay tuned and prayerfully get ready.

Jim Wallis

Jim Wallis is president of Sojourners. His new Audible spoken-word series, Jim Wallis In Conversation, is available now, as is his book, America’s Original Sin: Racism, White Privilege, and the Bridge to a

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Amen! That’s why the efforts of the New Due Process Army are so important to the survival of our republic.

PWS

01-06-19

THE GIBSON REPORT — 12-24-18 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

Justices rebuff government on asylum ban

SCOTUSblog: Last week the federal government went to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to block a ruling by a federal judge that bars the Trump administration from denying asylum to immigrants who enter the United States illegally from Mexico. Today the justices turned down the government’s request, which means that the government will not be able to enforce its new policy on asylum while the government appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and, if it comes to that, the Supreme Court. See also Ruth Bader Ginsburg Voted From Hospital To Block Trump Asylum Restrictions.

Trump is officially turning back asylum seekers who come to the US through Mexico

Vox: The policy change means that people who are trying to exercise their legal right to seek asylum will be barred from the US for months or even years while they wait for their asylum claim to come before a judge. See also Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen Announces Historic Action to Confront Illegal Immigration.

EOIR Creates More Obstacles for Families

Jeffrey Chase: In a November 16 memo to immigration judges, EOIR’s Director, James McHenry, announced that after a nearly two-year reprieve, “Family Unit” cases are again being prioritized, under conditions designed to speed them through the immigration court system, ready or not, with or without representation, due process be damned.

How Trump Is Stripping Immigrants of Their Citizenship

The Nation: Twin operations have been set up to accomplish this: Operation Janus, which is housed at an office in Los Angeles and had plans to refer 1,600 cases for prosecution and possible denaturalization, and Operation Second Look, which will review hundreds of thousands of petitions to locate the tiniest of discrepancies. See also Is Denaturalization the Next Front in the Trump Administration’s War on Immigration?

Trump’s crackdown hits legal immigrants

Politico: State Department data show visa issuances have slumped under Trump, according to government information reviewed and analyzed by POLITICO. The number of visas for temporary stays in the U.S. fell 13 percent in fiscal year 2018 compared with two years earlier, the last full year under President Barack Obama. Immigrant visas, which allow a person to apply for a green card, dropped by 14 percent over the same period.

Two Honduran teens from migrant caravan are killed in Tijuana

WaPo: Mexican authorities said the bodies of the two boys — thought to be 16 or 17 years old — were discovered last weekend. They had stab wounds and had been strangled after an apparent robbery attempt, according to the state police.… Mexican police said the two Hondurans, who were not identified, had left a shelter for migrant youths Saturday to visit a sports arena used as a migrant shelter in another part of the city.

Thousands of Migrant Children Could Be Released With Trump’s Major Policy Reversal

TexasMonthly: Federal officials have reversed course and announced they will reduce fingerprint requirements of potential sponsors for detained children.

‘A moral disaster’: AP reveals scope of migrant kids program

AP: Decades after the U.S. stopped institutionalizing kids because large and crowded orphanages were causing lasting trauma, it is happening again. The federal government has placed most of the 14,300 migrant toddlers, children and teens in its care in detention centers and residential facilities packed with hundreds, or thousands, of children. As the year draws to a close, about 5,400 detained migrant children in the U.S. are sleeping in shelters with more than 1,000 other children. Some 9,800 are in facilities with 100-plus total kids, according to confidential government data obtained and cross-checked by The Associated Press.

In Immigrant Children’s Shelters, Sexual Assault Cases Are Open and Shut

ProPublica: Across the country, kids are reporting sexual assaults in immigrant children’s shelters. Alex decided to come forward. He told the shelter two older teens dragged him into a bedroom. There was surveillance video. But Alex’s case wasn’t investigated. His isn’t the only one.

Growth in the Immigration Court Backlog Continues in FY 2019

TRAC: The Immigration Court backlog continues to rise. As of November 30, 2018, the number of pending cases on the court’s active docket topped eight-hundred thousand (809,041) cases. This is almost a fifty percent (49.1%) increase compared to the 542,411 cases pending at the end of January 2017 when President Trump took office. This figure does not include the additional 330,211 previously completed cases that EOIR placed back on the “pending” rolls that have not yet been put onto the active docket.

People smugglers arrested in several Latin American countries

BBC: A crackdown on migrant smuggling networks across the Americas has resulted in 49 arrests. The operation was co-ordinated by Interpol which said organised crime networks were helping to smuggle South Asian migrants into the US.

Healthcare, Immigration Down as Most Important Problem

Gallup: In the first survey after the midterm Congressional election, mentions of immigration and healthcare as the top problems facing the country are down. Sixteen percent of Americans cite immigration as the top problem, down from 21% last month, while those noting healthcare dropped to 5% from 11%.

‘Very possible’ shutdown could last into new year, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney says

WaPo: The partial shutdown paralyzing large portions of the federal government may last into January when Democrats retake control of the House, the White House acknowledged Sunday, as negotiations over funding for President Trump’s border wall sputtered to a near-standstill and congressional leaders abandoned Washington for Christmas.

NY Expands Legal Aid Program for Immigrants

AP: New York state is expanding a legal defense project for immigrants launched in 2017 to include social and health care services for families. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the new “Project Golden Door” will provide family support services at 12 existing sites. In addition, a new Regional Rapid Response team will set up attorneys in the state’s 10 regional economic development council areas to respond to raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Judge Finds Attorney General’s Gutting of Asylum Protections Unlawful

AILA President Anastasia Tonello and Executive Director Benjamin Johnson responded to today’s ruling striking down key portions of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision in Matter of A-B-, which restricted asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence. AILA Doc. No. 18121940.

Matter of A.J. VALDEZ 27 I&N Dec. 496 (BIA 2018)

(1) An alien makes a willful misrepresentation under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(C)(i) (2012), when he or she knows of or authorizes false statements in an application filed on the alien’s behalf.

(2) An alien’s signature on an immigration application establishes a strong presumption that he or she knows of and has assented to the contents of the application, but the alien can rebut the presumption by establishing fraud, deceit, or other wrongful acts by another person.

ICE Blocks Immigrants From Lawyers With Draconian Phone Rules In California, ACLU Says

Newsweek: An immigration detention center in California has effectively worked to keep immigrants from contacting lawyers through phone rules, a lawsuit alleged last week.

U.S. Representatives Request to Investigate DHS’s TPS Termination Decision

On 12/4/18, over 80 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to DHS Acting Inspector General requesting an immediate investigation into DHS’s decision to terminate TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Nepal, Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras. AILA Doc. No. 18122033

ICE Releases Death Detainee Report

Congressional requirements described in the 2018 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days. ICE has provided those reports, beginning in FY2018. AILA Doc. No. 18121905

EOIR Releases Memo on Internal Reporting of Suspected Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Professional Misconduct

EOIR released guidance establishing policies and procedures for reporting suspected incidents of ineffective assistance of counsel or other violations of the EOIR Rules of Professional Conduct for Practitioners to the Office of General Counsel Attorney Discipline Program. Guidance effective 1/1/19. AILA Doc. No. 18121938

EOIR Announcement of Closing on December 24, 2018

EOIR announced that it would be closed on 12/24/18 in accordance with Executive Order 13854. Immigration court hearings scheduled for 12/24/18 will be rescheduled and new hearing notices will be sent to both parties. AILA Doc. No. 18122113

RESOURCES

Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences

DOJ Flyer: Information for Refugees and Asylees About the Form I-9

CBP Releases Officer’s Reference Tool Documents

EVENTS

1/9/19Infopass Services Modernization Briefing (attached)

1/9/19For Pro Bono: Preparing for the Hidden Policy Changes Threatening Immigrant Communities (attached)

1/12/192019 Crimes & Immigration In New York City

1/15/19The June 2018 RFE and NOID Guidance: How to Avoid Case Denials in 2019

2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas

2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019

3/8/19 Asylum & Immigration Conference with the Federal Bar Association at NY Law School

3/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference

ImmProf

Sunday, December 23, 2018

The Legend Continues: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Voted From Hospital To Block Trump Asylum Restrictions

Immigration Article of the Day: Administrative Chaos: Responding to Child Refugees – U.S. Immigration Process in Crisis by Lenni Benson

Saturday, December 22, 2018

49 Arrested Across Americas for Human Smuggling

President Trump’s “Dream Wall”: Why the U.S. Government Has Shut Down

Immigration Article of the Day: The The US Refugee Resettlement Program — A Return to First Principles: How Refugees Help to Define, Strengthen, and Revitalize the United States by Donald Kerwin

Friday, December 21, 2018

SCOTUS Refuses 5-4 to Stay Injunction Halting New Trump Asylum Policy

Growth in the Immigration Court Backlog Continues in FY 2019

In immigrant children’s shelters, sexual-assault cases are open-and-shut from

Memorable 2018 Immigration Pictures

Immigration Article of the Day: Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences

Thursday, December 20, 2018

DHS Secretary Announces Radical Approach to “Confront Illegal Immigration”

Court Enjoins Trump Asylum Rule

Immigration Article of the Day: Restoring the Statutory Safety-Valve for Immigrant Crime Victims: Premium Processing for Interim U Visa Benefits by Jason A. Cade and Mary Honeychurch

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Federal Judge Enjoins Asylum Restrictions

Urban Institute: Immigrants make up 17 percent of the US workforce, and they merit investment

In reversal, White House shifts border wall funding demands, wants to avoid shutdown

Learning in ‘Baby Jail’: Lessons from Law Student Engagement in Family Detention Centers by Lindsay Muir Harris

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Gallup: Immigration Less Concerning to Americans Than Our Government

Statue of Liberty Immigration Protester Convicted

International Migrants Day 18 December

Monday, December 17, 2018

Sweden: By Turns Welcoming and Restrictive in its Immigration Policy

AALS Immprof Programming

Immigration Article of the Day: The Search for Protection for Stateless Refugees in the Middle East: Palestinians and Kurds in Lebanon and Jordan by Susan M. Akram

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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Thanks, Elizabeth.

PWS

12-30-18

JRUBE @WASHPOST: “Horrifying indifference to children’s lives”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2018/12/16/horrifying-indifference-childrens-lives/

Rubin writes:

The Post reported this week:

A 7-year-old girl from Guatemala died of dehydration and shock after she was taken into Border Patrol custody last week for crossing from Mexico into the United States illegally with her father and a large group of migrants along a remote span of New Mexico desert, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday. . . .

According to CBP records, the girl and her father were taken into custody about 10 p.m. Dec. 6 south of Lordsburg, N.M., as part of a group of 163 people who approached U.S. agents to turn themselves in.

More than eight hours later, the child began having seizures at 6:25 a.m., CBP records show. Emergency responders, who arrived soon after, measured her body temperature at 105.7 degrees, and according to a statement from CBP, she “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.”

The Department of Homeland Security’s statement in response to reports of the child’s death was a moral and legal disgrace:

Traveling north through Mexico illegally in an attempt to reach the United States, is extremely dangerous. Drug cartels, human smugglers and the elements pose deadly risks to anyone who seeks to cross our border illegally. Border Patrol always takes care of individuals in their custody and does everything in their power to keep people safe. Every year the Border Patrol saves hundreds of people who are overcome by the elements between our ports of entry. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and the best efforts of the medical team treating the child, we were unable to stop this tragedy from occurring.

“Once again, we are begging parents to not put themselves or their children at risk attempting to enter illegally. Please present yourselves at a port of entry and seek to enter legally and safely.”

For starters, the federal government is responsible for the health and welfare of anyone it detains — whether it is a criminal in a prison, a child in its foster-care system or families detained at the border. Regardless of what the children’s parents did or did not do, the United States has an obligation to the children the moment it detains them. Not to give food and water, or to check the health of those it has in custody, is inexcusable. Blaming the parents as Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen did (“This is just a very sad example of the dangers of this journey. This family chose to cross illegally”) reflects her legal and moral obtuseness. In our care, the child’s welfare became our responsibility.

“This tragedy represents the worst possible outcome when people, including children, are held in inhumane conditions,” the ACLU’s Border Rights Center said in a statement. “Lack of accountability, and a culture of cruelty within CBP have exacerbated policies that lead to migrant deaths.” The ACLU continued, “In 2017, migrant deaths increased even as the number of border crossings dramatically decreased. When the Trump administration pushes for the militarization of the border, including more border wall construction, they are driving people fleeing violence into the deadliest desert regions.” The statement pointed out that the incident wasn’t reported for a week. “We call for a rigorous investigation into how this tragedy happened and serious reforms to prevent future deaths,” the statement concluded.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, a progressive pro-immigration group, also responded. Sharry pointed out that a “tragic and preventable death of an innocent seven-year old girl should not be seen as a mistake made in an otherwise humane system, but rather a deliberately cruel and dehumanizing system that has produced yet another death.” His statement asserted that CBP’s holding facilities are characterized by “freezing temperatures, no beds, lights left on, no showers, not enough toilets or toilet paper, filthy conditions, horrible smell, inedible food and not enough clean water to drink, and [are] run by insulting and abusive agents.” The system the administration has set up is seemingly designed to inflict the maximum amount of suffering in a failed attempt to deter migrants:

[The] strategy has many components: tell those who want asylum to request it at ports of entry while making it nearly impossible to request asylum at ports of entry; prosecute those who present themselves to Border Patrol agents between ports of entry for “illegal entry;” separate families in numbers large (now halted by a federal judge) and small (under the flimsy pretext of protecting children from “criminal family members”); detain as long as possible those who seek asylum; lock up minors who arrive unaccompanied minors and scare away their U.S.-residing parents and relatives who want to sponsor them by threatening to arrest and detain those who come forward; and gut asylum standards by unilaterally changing the bases for deciding cases, pressuring trained Asylum Officers to reduce their high rates of deeming Central Americans as having a credible fear of return, and bullying Immigration Judges to deny cases when finally adjudicated.

Now if a pregnant migrant asserts her right to seek an abortion, this administration will go to any lengths to protect the life of the unborn child; for the already-born minors (and adults) in its custody, however, the administration cannot be bothered to ensure humane and safe conditions.

Under the Republican-majority House and Senate, rigorous oversight of the Department of Homeland Security and legislation to try to ameliorate these conditions were all but impossible. With a Democratic-majority House, this will no longer be the case. The House Judiciary Committee will be headed by Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) in the new Congress. He left no doubt as to his intention to get to the bottom of the tragedy and the conditions that allowed this to occur:

On Friday, Nadler and Democrats who will head House Judiciary subcommittees sent a letter to the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security requesting the IG “initiate an investigation into this incident, as well as CBP policies or practices that may have contributed to the child’s death [and] CBP’s failure to timely notify Congress of this incident.” The letter told the IG, “It is hard to overstate our frustration with the fact that we learned of this incident through media reports one week after the incident occurred. It is clear that CBP failed to follow the reporting requirements laid out in last year’s omnibus appropriations bill until after the news of this death was already public.”

With adequate border security and staffing, a sufficient number of immigration judges deployed to handle the caseload, reversal of the administration’s deliberately cruel policies, and effective diplomacy with and provision of assistance to the countries from which these people are fleeing for their lives, the current, intolerable situation should improve.

It’s a cruel irony that Trump has portrayed refugees as a threat to Americans. In fact, the reverse is true.

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Rubin is right. Part of this Administration’s cruel scheme here is to deflect attention from the real threat to our national security and Constitution presented by Trump and his corrupt, scofflaw gang. And, in the long disgraceful tradition of cowards, bullies, and authoritarians, he does so by attacking the most vulnerable and least able to defend themselves, playing on racism and nationalist jingoism.

That’s why the New Due Process Army is such an important force for protecting the human and legal rights of migrants, and by so doing, protecting the rights of all Americans against Executive abuse!

PWS

12-17=18

CATHERINE RAMPELL @ WASHPOST: Trump’s Immigration Restrictionism Is Destroying America, One Dumb White Nationalist Scheme At A Time! – How Racist Stupidity Is Sending “The Best & Brightest” Students Elsewhere, To Our National Detriment! — A WINNER OF THIS WEEK’S “FIVE CLOWNS” AWARD!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/one-of-americas-most-successful-exports-is-in-trouble/2018/12/13/f7234e8c-ff1b-11e8-83c0-b06139e540e5_story.html?utm_term=.9b66721395b9

Catherine writes:

One of America’s most successful exports is in trouble.

For decades, the U.S. higher-education system has been the envy of the world. We “sell” much more education to other countries than we “buy” from them; nearly three times as many foreign students are currently studying here as we have abroad.

In trade terms, this means we run a massive surplus in education — about $34 billion in 2017, according to Commerce Department data. Our educational exports are about as big as our total exports of soybeans, coal and natural gas combined.

But all that may be at risk.

A recent report from the from the Institute of International Education and the State Department found that new international student enrollments fell by 6.6 percent in the 2017-2018 school year, the second consecutive year of declines. A separate, more limited IIE survey of schools suggests that the declines continued this fall, too.

To be sure, some of the forces behind these decreases are beyond our (or President Trump’s) control. Some foreign governments, such as Brazil and Saudi Arabia, have reduced the scholarships that previously sent significant numbers of students to the United States, according to Peggy Blumenthal, senior counselor to the president at IIE.

China, whose students represent about a third of U.S. international student enrollment, has been investing in improving its own domestic university system, too.

But according to the schools that are now watching the trend, the biggest forces deterring international students are U.S. policy and U.S. culture.

“They see the headlines and they think that they’re no longer wanted in the United States,” said Lawrence Schovanec, president of Texas Tech University, whose foreign student enrollment declined by 2 percent this year. Sixty percent of schools with declining international enrollment, in fact, said that the U.S. social and political environment was a contributing factor, according to the IIE survey.

The most frequently cited issue, however, was “visa application process or visa issues/delays.” In the fall 2018 survey, 83 percent of schools named this as an issue, compared with 34 percent in fall 2016.

Problems began — but didn’t end — with Trump’s Muslim ban. Schools have seen students trapped abroad and have since advised some students not to go home before graduation lest they get stuck trying to come back. Said Bennington College President Mariko Silver, “We’ve seen individual students who have contacted us with the desire to come and have pulled out of the process.”

Boo-hoo, Trump supporters might say. What’s the big deal if some foreigners stay home?

Forget the feel-good explanations about how international students enrich the campus environment (which I don’t dispute). The students who come here also spend cold, hard cash: on tuition, travel, books, food, housing.

A lot of jobs depend on those students. American colleges and universities alone employed 3 million people in 2017. For context, that dwarfs the entire agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector.

And contrary to perceptions that foreign students take spots that belong to Americans, at many schools they’re enabling more American students to get a degree.

In the years after the financial crisis, as states slashed budgets for higher education, schools helped make up the shortfall by enrolling more out-of-state and international students. These students generally pay full tuition, and their higher fees are used to cross-subsidize lower, in-state tuition rates (and scholarships) of American classmates.

No wonder that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently paid $424,000 to insure itself against a significant drop in tuition revenue from Chinese students.

More significantly, a continued drop-off in international students could cause serious pain beyond academia.

Foreign students come here in part because they’re interested in staying after graduation and working here. They disproportionately study fields that U.S. employers demand, and that U.S. students avoid. Foreign students now represent a majority of computer science and engineering graduate programs at U.S. universities, for instance.

That talent pipeline may be drying up.

Foreigners are experiencing more visa issues not only when they apply to study but also when they apply to stay and work. That might be one reason more than half of the decline in total enrollment last year was due to fewer students from India in computer science and engineering grad programs.

Our loss has become other countries’ gain. We’re still the top destination for foreign students, but Australia and Canada have each seen their international enrollments rise by double-digit percentages in the past year. They’re enticing students in word and in deed, with messages of welcome and expedited visas.

Trump likes to say that our allies are taking advantage of us on trade. In this case, would you really blame them?

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Yup. “Bad things happen” when countries allow themselves to be ruled by bad leaders whose policies are driven by irrational fear, racism, and nationalist jingoism. They lose out to countries whose policies are governed by “enlightened self-interest” and a sense of belonging to a larger community.

Great job by Catherine of picking up on a “below the radar” way in which Trump is destroying America.

For its toxic mix of stupidity, xenophobia, racism, and incompetence in its policies toward nonimmigrant students, the Trump Administration earns this week’s coveted “Five Clowns Award!”

🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

PWS

12-14-18

THE GIBSON REPORT – 11-26-18 & 11-19-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

11-26-18

U.S. closes major crossing as caravan migrants mass at border in Mexico

WaPo: U.S. authorities closed off the busiest port of entry along the U.S. border with Mexico on Sunday and fired tear gas at members of a Central American migrant caravan who had rushed the fencing that separates the countries. See also:

Migrant caravan: Mexico to deport group which stormed US border

White House approves broad new powers — including use of deadly force — for U.S. troops on the border

Incoming Mexico Gov’t: No Deal to Host US Asylum-Seekers

AP: Mexico’s incoming government denied a report Saturday that it plans to allow asylum-seekers to wait in the country while their claims move through U.S. immigration courts… Hours earlier, The Washington Post quoted her as saying that the incoming administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had agreed to allow migrants to stay in Mexico as a “short-term solution” while the U.S. considered their applications for asylum.

Misinformation in the News on LPRs and Public Charge

Univision and several other news organizations ran erroneous stories last week stoking fear among LPRs that they cannot travel if they have received public benefits. Here’s a more nuanced look at the actual issue from Cyrus Mehta: The Vulnerable Returning Green Card Holder Under the Proposed Public Charge Rule.

Your Credit Score Isn’t a Reflection of Your Moral Character: But the Department of Homeland Security seems to think it is.

Slate: The agency charged with safeguarding the nation would like to make immigrants submit their credit scores when applying for legal resident status. The new rule, contained in a proposal signed by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, is designed to help immigration officers identify applicants likely to become a “public charge”—that is, a person primarily dependent on government assistance for food, housing, or medical care.

Pelosi calls illegal immigrant youths ‘patriotic,’ promises amnesty

Wash Examiner: Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on her plan to open America’s doors to undocumented immigrants with a promise to pass the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Under pressure to move on the two packages in the face of opposition from the GOP and White House, Pelosi indicated that they will be among the initial moves by the new Democratic majority.

The Border Patrol Academy is training its newest recruits to work in a particularly hostile environment

WaPo: The Border Patrol has long struggled with recruitment, currently lagging 2,000 agents short of its quota — not including the 5,000 agents that Trump wants to add… Most of the 46 cadets in Herrgott’s class, which arrived at the academy in late August, are in their 20s, with no prior law enforcement experience or college degrees.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Judge blocks Trump administration from denying asylum claims to immigrants who cross border illegally

CNN: In an order laced with language accusing President Donald Trump of attempting to rewrite immigration laws, a federal judge based in San Francisco temporarily blocked the government late Monday night from denying asylum to those crossing over the southern border between ports of entry.

Court Blocks Trump’s Effective Ban On Green-Card Holders In The Military

ACLU: Judge Jon S. Tigar granted a preliminary injunction, holding that the Department of Defense likely violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act after it implemented a policy discriminating against lawful permanent resident enlistees.

BIA Dismisses Appeal and Denies Adjustment, After Ex-Spouse Withdrew Affidavit of Support

The BIA dismissed the appeal and found respondent was inadmissible due to her likelihood of becoming a public charge, stating that even though the respondent divorced, she was required to provide an affidavit support from her former husband. Matter of Song, 27 I&N Dec. 488 (BIA 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18111937

CA7 Upholds IJ/BIA Denial of Withholding for Lack of Nexus to Particular Social Group

The court held that the IJ/BIA determination that petitioner failed to prove that a gang attack in Mexico was due to family membership since no other family member ever was threatened or attacked was supported by substantial evidence. (Plaza-Ramirez v. Sessions, 11/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111970

CA9 Reviews “Particularly Serious Crime” Language In Light of Johnson and Dimaya, Holds Statute Is Not Unconstitutionally Vague

The court overturned its prior standard for assessing vagueness, but maintained “particularly serious crime” was not unconstitutionally vague; it held that while statute’s standard is uncertain, it is applied to real world facts as opposed to idealized crimes. (Guerrero v. Whitaker, 11/9/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111971

CA9 Grants Review in Two Cases, Holds BIA Erred in Finding CA Penal Code §288(c)(1) Categorically CIMT and Categorically “Crime of Child Abuse”

The court held statute overbroad in actus reus and mens rea compared to generic CIMT and “child abuse” provisions; it lacks CIMT’s corrupt scienter and intent to/actually injure, and does not match “child abuse” elements of intent/actual injury/risk of harm. (Menendez v. Whitaker, 11/8/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111902

CBP Closed the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Sunday, November 25

CBP temporarily suspended operations at the San Ysidro port of entry on 11/25/18 at 11:30 am and as of 2:00 pm, operations have not resumed. All northbound and southbound crossings for both pedestrian and vehicles has been suspended. AILA Doc. No. 18111660

EOIR Provides Guidance Regarding the Adjudication of Asylum Applications Consistent with INA §208(d)(5)(A)(iii)

EOIR issued a memo with guidance to assist immigration judges in the timely adjudication of asylum applications consistent with INA §208(d)(5)(A)(iii), which states that in the absence of exceptional circumstances, asylum applications shall be adjudicated within 180 days of being filed. AILA Doc. No. 18111941

Queens Immigration Attorney Found Guilty of Operating Asylum Fraud Scheme

A United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that Andreea Dumitru, a/k/a “Andreea Dumitru Parcalaboiu,” an immigration attorney based in Queens, New York, was found guilty of asylum fraud, making false statements to immigration authorities, and aggravated identity theft. AILA Doc. No. 18112170

EOIR Swears in 16 Immigration Judges

RESOURCES

The Vulnerable Returning Green Card Holder Under the Proposed Public Charge Rule

CRS Report on Federal District Court Enjoining the Department of Homeland Security from Terminating Temporary Protected Status

New Study Reveals that Immense Numbers of Working Class Persons Would be Found Inadmissible under Proposed Public Charge Rule

EVENTS

11/26-28/18 CLINIC & NITA “Advocacy in Immigration Matters”

11/29/18The Ins and Outs of Lawful Admission

12/4/18Asylum for Victims of Persecution by Private Actors After Matter of A-B-

12/5-6/1851st Annual Immigration and Naturalization Institute

12/11/18 Accidental Adjustments: How to Handle Wrongly Issued Status

12/17/18 20th Annual AILA New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium

12/19/18Full Frontal’s Holiday Special “Christmas on I.C.E.”

12/20/18 Mental Incapacity: Merging Treatment and Enforcement

2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas

2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019

03/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference

ImmProf

Monday, November 26, 2018

Holding On: A Virtual Experience of Internal Displacement

US/Mexico Border Tensions Escalate, Major Border Crossing Closed

Sunday, November 25, 2018

What the Heck? Mexico denies deal with US to host asylum seekers: Incoming government says talks ongoing but no formal agreement reached as thousands await to cross border into US.

Saturday, November 24, 2018

25 Million Sparks: Andrew Leon Hanna ’19 on his prize-winning book project The son of Egyptian immigrants aims to celebrate refugee entrepreneurs

Immigration Article of the Day: Pereira’s Aftershocks by Lonny Hoffman

Friday, November 23, 2018

Immigration Article of the Day: Arguing About Sanctuary by Hiroshi Motomura

The Spirit of Thanksgiving: Migration Is Beautiful Helps Migrants in Memphis

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Trump Administration Authorizes U.S. Military to Use Deadly Force Along U.S./Mexico Border

Thank You, Immigration Lawyers

Big Law & Immigration

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Jerry Brown Way of Pardoning: Former inmates facing deportation place their hope in California’s outgoing governor

Judge rules that federal law banning female genital mutilation is unconstitutional

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Being The Kind Of Immigrant British People Don’t Mind So Much

Peter Margulies: The Temporary Restraining Order Against Trump’s Asylum Ban: Statutory Structure and Agency Discretion

‘Make America Rake Again’: Confusion in Finland over Trump’s wildfire comments

Border ‘Bling-O”: Drag queens, churches and activists raise money for migrants, asylum seekers

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! The immigrant origins of Thanksgiving

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Trump Rhetoric Strategy: Fear, Cruelty, and Gamesmanship

Judge Blocks President Trump’s Latest Asylum Plan

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

The perilous stakes of immigration law by executive fiat

Monday, November 19, 2018

The Try Guys – Learning Immigration With Hiroshi

DACA recipient becomes Rhodes scholar

Music Break: DREAMERS by Judy Collins

Supreme Court to Hear Discovery Issue in Citizenship Question on Census 2020 Case

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

Assistance Group

11-19-18

TOP UPDATES

Changes to USCIS Policy Will Directly Impact Vulnerable Immigrants

AIC: Starting November 19, individuals who have applied for humanitarian benefits will be directly impacted. USCIS has announced that, as of that date, it may issue NTAs impacting individuals who seek U visas (victims of crime), T visas (victims of severe forms of trafficking), and self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

Trump is preparing to remove Kirstjen Nielsen as Homeland Security secretary, aides say

WaPo: Trump canceled a planned trip with Nielsen this week to visit U.S. troops at the border in South Texas and told aides over the weekend that he wants her out as soon as possible, these officials said. The president has grumbled for months about what he views as Nielsen’s lackluster performance on immigration enforcement and is believed to be looking for a replacement who will implement his policy ideas with more alacrity. Thomas Homan, a possible replacement for DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, praises her leadership

New York Court Finds Local Police Can’t Detain Immigrants for Federal Agents

WNYC: An appellate court in Brooklyn ruled Wednesday that local police officers in New York state can’t detain immigrants beyond their scheduled release date solely to turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, without a judicial warrant. Decision here.

Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences

The Kino Border Initiative, the Center for Migration Studies of New York, and the Office of Justice and Ecology of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States published a report on the characteristics of deportees and the effects of deportation. AILA Doc. No. 18111431

Albany County using federal funds to pay for legal help to immigrants in the county jail

Times Union: Sheriff Craig Apple announced Wednesday that the County Legislature will allocate $170,000 from nearly $4 million received from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, for detaining immigrants at the county jail since June. Another $1 million is expected before the end of 2018… Apple said he plans to use the $170,000 to hire a full-time immigration attorney to work inside the jail

Government funding, border wall await lame-duck Congress

AP: For their last act, Republicans will try to deliver on Trump’s promise to fund the border wall, which could spark a partial federal government shutdown in weeks. Newly emboldened Democrats are in no mood to cooperate over wall money. See also New Border Wall Will Destroy Butterfly Center, Historic Chapel, And Texas State Park.

Hopes Rise for Driver’s License Bill in NY

Voices of NY: For over a decade, a number of efforts seeking to allow 850,000 undocumented immigrants in New York State to obtain driver permits – according to an estimate by the Institute of Immigration Policy – have failed. Still, the results of the mid-term election on November 6 could change things.

Law Enforcement Officers in New Jersey Are Transferring More and More Immigrants to ICE

WNYC: Law enforcement agencies in New Jersey are turning over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities at a rate that is increasing under the Trump Administration and is higher than the national average, according to a new report from the progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective.

Study: Fewer Immigrant Families Signing Up For Federal Food Assistance

KUNC: After 10 years of consistent gains, the number of immigrant families enrolled in SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, fell by 10 percent in 2018.

Immigration Application Denial Rates Jump 37% Under Trump

CATO: The data for the first nine months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, which started in October 2017, show that denials for all manner of immigration benefits—travel documents, work permits, green cards, worker petitions, etc.—increased 37 percent since FY 2016.

Trump Administration Again Considering Ways To Force People To Wait In Mexico For Their Immigration Cases

Buzzfeed: US immigration officials met this week to discuss a proposal to send those who arrive at the US-Mexico border to Mexico while their immigration cases are being processed in the United States, according to sources close to the administration.

Gauging the Impact of DHS’ Proposed Public-Charge Rule on U.S. Immigration

MPI: The proposed public-charge rule, which would apply a significantly expanded test to determine if green-card applicants would be likely to use specified public benefits in the future, could potentially have put most recent legal permanent residents at risk of green-card denial.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

EOIR Memo Relevant to Hearing Scheduling

EOIR OPPM 13-02 states (on page 10) that even if a case is considered an “expedited” case, an individual hearing should generally NOT be set fewer than 45 days from the master hearing, unless the person is detained.

ACLU in Federal Court for Hearing in Challenge to New Trump Asylum Ban

ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union will be in federal court for arguments in East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump, a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new asylum ban. The ACLU and partner organizations filed the lawsuit last Friday, just hours after President Trump signed the asylum ban proclamation. The ACLU will be in court on Monday seeking a temporary restraining order to block the policy.

Justices take on a dispute over the 2020 census

CC: The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide, on a speeded-up schedule, a dispute over the Trump Administration’s decision to add to the 2020 census a question about the citizenship of everyone in America.

Orellana-Mateo v. Whitaker, 16-1547 (2d Cir. 2018) (unpublished)

Finding that the BIA failed to analyze acquiescence properly under De La Rosa in a CAT claim.

BIA Holds New York Second Degree Burglary Is Not an Aggravated Felony

Unpublished BIA decision holds that second-degree burglary under N.Y.P.L. 140.25(2) is not an aggravated felony burglary offense because it does not require an unlawful entry. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of G-A-A-M-, 11/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111530

BIA Reverses Denial of Cancellation Where IJ Relied on Gang Allegation in Police Report

Unpublished BIA decision reverses discretionary denial of cancellation application where IJ placed undue weight on unsourced allegation in police report that respondent was an active gang member. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of V-A-C-, 11/15/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111432

BIA Holds Oklahoma Statute Not a Firearms Offense

Unpublished BIA decision holds that carrying a firearm while under the influence of alcohol under Okla. Stat. tit. 21 §1289.9 was not a firearms offense because it contained no exception for antique firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez-Guzman, 11/13/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111430

BIA Finds IJs Violated Due Process Rights of Pro Se Asylum Seeker

Unpublished BIA decision finds pro se asylum seeker was denied fair hearing where IJ scheduled merits hearing two weeks after submission of application and denied continuance for additional time to secure counsel and corroborating evidence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-C-Q-, 11/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111531

BIA Holds Georgia Theft by Shoplifting Is Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that theft by shoplifting under Georgia Code Ann. 16-8-14 is not a CIMT because it does not require the owner’s property rights to be permanently or substantially eroded. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-J-C-, 11/20/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111601

BIA Holds That Driving with Suspended License for DUI Is Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that driving with a license that was suspended or revoked for driving under the influence under Calif. Vehic. Code 14601.2(a) is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of N-M-H-V-, 11/22/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111603

CBP to Close Lanes at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa in Preparation for Migrant Caravan

CBP announced lane closures starting on 11/13/18 at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry. CBP will provide an update when the materials are removed and the lanes re-opened. CBP officials recommend that persons traveling northbound to the U.S. anticipate possible increased wait times. AILA Doc. No. 18111300

CBP Tells Travelers to Expect Longer Than Normal Wait Times Indefinitely

CBP announced that the El Paso Field Office is advising the public to plan for longer than normal wait times at area ports beginning 11/14/18 due to the transfer of a large number of CBP officers from the El Paso, Santa Teresa, and Tornillo ports of entry to CBP’s Arizona and CA ports of entries. AILA Doc. No. 18111463

CBP Notice Announcing Voluntary Test to Collect Facial Images at Anzalduas Port of Entry

CBP notice announcing a test program for travelers who choose to participate to collect facial images for biometric purposes at the Anzalduas port of entry in Texas. The test began 8/30/18 and will run for approximately one year. (83 FR 56862, 11/14/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111461

EOIR Releases Memo on Tracking and Expedition of “Family Unit” Cases

EOIR released a memo to clarify the agency’s tracking and expedition of “family unit” cases as identified by DHS at the time of filing with the immigration court.

AILA Doc. No. 18111606

Practice Alert: Use of Electronic Devices at USCIS Field Offices

AILA’s USCIS Field Operations Liaison Committee provides updated guidance issued by several local USCIS Field Offices requiring that all stakeholders turn off electronic devices during interviews and InfoPass appointments. The extent to which this policy has been applied nationally is unclear. AILA Doc. No. 17081702

Response to arrivals of asylum-seekers from the North of Central America

UNHCR: Since mid-October several organized groups of people from the North of Central America region, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, have been traveling north in hope of reaching Mexico and the United States. In Mexico, there are approximately 7,000-9,000 people in these groups, currently spread out between Veracruz and Baja California. Among them are people fleeing persecution and violence and in need of international protection. Many are vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance, including women and around 2,300 children.

Users Can Now Search All USCIS Data from a Single Page

USCIS: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has consolidated the data pages on its website to include all data on one page. The new Immigration and Citizenship Data page makes information more easily accessible to users.

RESOURCES

Upcoming Congressional Hearings on Immigration

Refugee comics: personal stories of forced migration illustrated in a powerful new way

Ethical Questions in Representing Clients with Administratively Closed Removal Cases

ICE Worksite Raid: Employer Rights and Responsibilities

Introducing an Interactive Online Course on the Fundamentals of Immigration Law

Factoring Psychological Issues into Credibility Determinations

Dissecting an Ethics Dilemma: A Practical Checklist for Immigration Lawyers

Bite-Sized Ethics: Desperate Clients, Enforcement Priorities, and Asylum

What You Need to Know About the Dora v. Sessions, Ms. L v. ICE, and M.M.M. v. Sessions Preliminary Settlement Agreement

EVENTS

11/26-28/18 CLINIC & NITA “Advocacy in Immigration Matters”

11/29/18The Ins and Outs of Lawful Admission

12/4/18Asylum for Victims of Persecution by Private Actors After Matter of A-B-

12/5-6/1851st Annual Immigration and Naturalization Institute

12/11/18 Accidental Adjustments: How to Handle Wrongly Issued Status

12/17/18 20th Annual AILA New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium

12/19/18Full Frontal’s Holiday Special “Christmas on I.C.E.”

12/20/18 Mental Incapacity: Merging Treatment and Enforcement

2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas

2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019

03/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference

ImmProf

Monday, November 19, 2018

Music Break: DREAMERS by Judy Collins

Supreme Court to Hear Discovery Issue in Citizenship Question on Census 2020 Case

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Your Daily Dose of Joy

Saturday, November 17, 2018

From the Bookshelves: Announcing the Winner of Restless Books New Immigrant Writing Prize

Gender Persecution as a Ground for Refugee Status

Immigration Article of the Day: The Power to Exclude by Josh Blackman

Friday, November 16, 2018

The Hypocrisy of Those Who Oppose Birthright Citizenship

Oregon Public Radio: “Oregon Jail Has Released Inmates While Saving Space for ICE Detainees”

Albany County, NY to Use Funds from ICE Jail to Support Deportation Defense Legal Services

Your Playlist: Chris George

Death on the Border Chapter 101: Deadly crossing ends American dream for Guatemalan migrant

Immigration Article of the Day: Can the Rule of Law Apply at the Border?: A Commentary on Paul Gowder’s the Rule of Law in the Real World by Matthew J. Lister

Thursday, November 15, 2018

From the Bookshelves: Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door by Michael Wildes

Meet The Dreamers Caught in the DACA Fight | Waking Dream Ep. 1

New Country, New Traditions – Immigrants & Thanksgiving

Census Citizenship Question Triggers Legal and Political Fallout

Rock Legend Billy Idol Now a U.S. Citizen

Will “The Apprentice” Come Back to Haunt President Trump?

Refugee comics? Personal stories of forced migration illustrated in a powerful new way

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Set Your DVR for Full Frontal’s Holiday Special “Christmas on I.C.E.” (Dec. 19, 10:30PM ET/PT, TBS)

Immigration Professor Lenni Benson Honored for Helping Migrants

Immigration Article of the Day: Universities as ‘Sanctuaries’ by MARYAM AHRANJANI

Lindsay Harris & Dree Collopy in WaPo: “Trump’s Attack on Asylum is Based Entirely on False Claims”

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Immigration Article of the Day: When Shadow Removals Collide: Searching for Solutions to the Legal Black Holes Created by Expedited Removal and Reinstatement by Jennifer Lee Koh

Fewer foreign students coming to United States for second year in row

New Study Details Harsh Consequences of Trump’s Deportation Policies

Trump preparing to remove Kirstjen Nielsen as Homeland Security secretary?

At the Movies: Eldorado, a documentary

Law Profs Weigh in in Right to Counsel for Minors Appeal

Monday, November 12, 2018

President Trump should withdraw his asylum proclamation

From the Bookshelves: The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling

There is No “Invasion” at the Border: The U.S. Government’s 2018 Border Data Clearly Shows Why the Trump Administration is on the Wrong Track

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Lots happening!

PWS

11-26-18

NY TIMES: David J. Bier @ CATO Tells How Trump is Skirting Congress & The Law To Destroy Legal Immigration & Darken The Future Of America!

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/15/opinion/trump-legal-immigrants-reject.html

David J. Bier writes in the NY Times:

At his postelection news conference, President Trump said of immigrants traveling to the United States, “I want them to come into the country, but they need to come in legally.” Yet newly released government data show that so far in 2018, the Trump administration is denying applications submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services at a rate 37 percent higher than the Obama administration did in 2016.

This makes no sense: Depriving immigrants of legal immigration options works against the president’s stated goal of increasing economic growth.

A new analysis for the Cato Institute has found that the Department of Homeland Security rejected 11.3 percent of requests to the immigration agency, which include those for work permits, travel documents and status applications, based on family reunification, employment and other grounds, in the first nine months of 2018. This is the highest rate of denial on record and means that by the end of the year, the United States government will have rejected around 620,000 people — about 155,000 more than in 2016.

This increase in denials cannot be credited to an overall rise in applications. In fact, the total number of applications so far this year is 2 percent lower than in 2016. It could be that the higher denial rate is also discouraging some people from applying at all.

In 2018, the D.H.S. turned away 10 percent of applicants for employment authorization documents compared with 6 percent in 2016, and it rejected applications for advanced parole — which gives temporary residents the authorization to travel internationally and return — at a clip of 18 percent, more than doubling the rate in 2016. Even skilled workers are being rejected at higher rates. The denial rate for petitions for temporary foreign workers shot to 23 percent from 17 percent. The application for permanent workers saw denials rise to 9 percent from 6 percent.

The largest increase in the denial rate for family-sponsored applications, for petitions for fiancés, rose to 21 percent from 14 percent.

Greg Siskind, a Memphis-based immigration attorney with three decades of experience, told me that these numbers back up the anecdotes that he has been hearing from colleagues across the country. The increase in denials, he said, is “significant enough to make one think that Congress must have passed legislation changing the requirements. But we know they have not.”

So what is going on?

Last year, the Trump administration increased the length of immigration applications by double, triple or even more, making them more time-consuming and complicated than ever. This made mistakes far more likely. This year, it also made it easier to deny applicants outright without giving them an opportunity to submit clarifying information. The agency has also made moves to police caseworkers who may be, in its view, too lenient.

Mr. Trump’s political appointees to the D.H.S. have also seized on his rhetorical attacks on immigrants, as well as executive orders like the “Buy American and Hire American” order and another mandating extensive vetting of foreigners, as a justification for a crackdown on legal immigration.

As a result of all this, total immigration to the United States has declined under President Trump, and fewer foreign travelers have been entering the country. These trends are surprising, because the economies of the United States and almost all other countries are growing, which usually generates more travel and immigration. The best explanation for this discrepancy is that the president’s policies are having their intended effect: reducing legal immigration to this country.

This is happening at a time when there are more job openings than job seekers in the United States. This month, Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell stated that fewer immigrants and foreign workers would slow economic growth by limiting the ability of businesses to expand.

On some level, President Trump appears to understand this reality, but his policies are making the situation worse.

David J. Bier is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute.

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

The answer is actually pretty simple, David. Trump lies, particularly when he repeats the racist restrictionist disingenuous claim that he “just wants legal immigrants.” I call BS! His pejorative use of the term “chain migration” and his bogus proposals for a fake “merit based” (read “no”) immigration system clearly belies any such claim.

In addition to being a congenital liar and proudly ignorant in an intellectual sense, Trump is a White Nationalist racist who hates all immigrants except, perhaps, his current wife and a few White Christian guys from Europe with PhDs. (Although, he really doesn’t like Europeans, Canadians, or any other type of “foreigner” who isn’t a human rights violating despot, leading to the conclusion that he truly despises human rights of any kind.)

His policies are driven by a toxic combination of intentional ignorance, hatred, White Nationalism, and political opportunism. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that policies driven by such evil and irrational motives are going to produce irrational and highly counterproductive results.

Welcome to the Age of Trump & His GOP, David! Where’ve you been? What have you and your colleagues at CATO been doing to insure that Trump and the GOP are sent packing and replaced with leaders (e.g., Democrats, at least at present) who both understand and are willing to stand up for the national interest?

CATO is supported to a large extent by the Koch Bros. While I actually agree with some of their ideas, respect that they actually employ folks producing useful goods and apparently treat them reasonably well, and I occasionally attend CATO seminars, the “Bros” generally have been supporters and enablers of Trump, Pence, and the current GOP kakistocracy.

They helped prop up the truly reprehensible Scott Walker who wasted money, divided Wisconsin, demeaned education, tanked the infrastructure, screwed the environment, and diminished the state in almost every way. It turned what had been a fairly progressive, “midwest friendly,” and cooperative state into a leader in the “race to the bottom.” And, their support for the ugly and unprincipled opposition to Senator Tammy Baldwin was beyond despicable!

I think you and your CATO colleagues largely see where history is going. But, until you get out there and actively work for the Constitutional removal of Trump (and his toady Mike Pence), the defeat of the “Trump GOP,” and the return of “government for all the people” you will remain on the “wrong side of history.” Your dream of an economically prosperous and powerful America continuing to lead the world into the future will be just that — a dream that will never be fulfilled as long as racism and White Nationalism overrule reason!

America needs a two party system (or more). And, I believe there’s plenty of room and a need for a fiscally conservative, pro business, labor friendly, non-racist, non-White-Nationalist, non-homophobic party that challenges the idea that we can solve all problems by just throwing money at them. Not saying I’d join it, but I can see the need for it. But, the current GOP is nothing of the sort — talk about disingenuous rhetoric and total fiscal irresponsibility!

PWS

11-16-18

SUNDAY SATIRE FROM ANDY BOROWITZ @ THE NEW YORKER: Would You Offer This Guy A Job? — “Unskilled Wisconsin Man Unable to Keep Job”

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/unskilled-wisconsin-man-unable-to-keep-job

Unskilled Wisconsin Man Unable to Keep Job

By Andy Borowitz

November 7, 2018

MADISON, WISCONSIN (The Borowitz Report)—A Wisconsin man with no marketable skills was unable to keep his job on Tuesday night, sources close to the man have confirmed.

The man, Scott Walker, had been an employee of Koch Industries since 2010 until he was unceremoniously dismissed.

“No one likes to lose his job, but, really, Scott has nothing to complain about,” one source said. “When you have no useful skills whatsoever but you manage to hang onto a job for eight years, that’s a pretty good run.”

Although Walker faces a job market that will be daunting for a man with only rudimentary literacy and scant understanding of math, a spokesperson for Wisconsin’s teachers said that they stand “ready and willing” to give him the education he so sorely needs.

“As teachers, we see it as our duty to educate all of Wisconsin’s students, even super challenging ones like Scott Walker,” the spokesperson said.

THE GIBSON REPORT – 11-05-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

Trump pledges asylum crackdown, tent cities; is it legal?

AP: President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to sign an order [this] week that could lead to the large-scale detention of migrants crossing the southern border and bar anyone caught crossing illegally from claiming asylum — two legally dubious proposals that mark his latest election-season barrage against illegal immigration. Trump also said he had told the U.S. military mobilizing at the southwest border that if U.S. troops face rock-throwing migrants, they should react as though the rocks were “rifles.”

The 14th Amendment And The History Of Birthright Citizenship In The U.S.

NPR: [M]ost constitutional scholars argue that an executive order like the one President Trump is proposing would violate the 14th Amendment. This is an amendment that was ratified after the Civil War in 1868. And it nullified an earlier Supreme Court decision that held descendants of slaves could not be citizens. See also: Ending Birthright Citizenship Could Put All Americans’ Nationality in Jeopardy.

ICE moves to silence detention center volunteer visitors

SD Union-Trib: Immigration officials stopped allowing a volunteer group to visit people at a local detention facility unless its members agreed not to talk with the press or other groups about conditions inside.

Warehousing Immigrant Children in the Texas Desert

ACLU: Since June, the federal government has been operating a massive tent city in the West Texas desert to detain immigrant children who have traveled to the United States seeking protection from persecution and abuse in their home countries.

The midterms’ closing arguments: Immigration, fear, stars and emotional appeals

WaPo: At rallies over the weekend, Trump continued to talk about his hard-line effort to keeps immigrants from entering the country illegally.

Fox and NBC to stop airing Trump immigrant ad deemed racist

ABC: NBC and Fox News Channel both said Monday that they will stop airing President Donald Trump’s campaign advertisement that featured an immigrant convicted of murder. CNN had rejected the same ad, declaring it racist.

Video of ICE courthouse arrest

IDP: Yesterday, three plain-clothes ICE agents violently arrested a man before his court appearance in Queens, with three NY State court officers present, as the man pleaded “Why are you doing this?!” ICE never identified themselves. IDP obtained video. This past month alone there has been an uptick of 23 incidents of ICE courthouse operations in NY State.

Census Citizenship Question Triggers Legal and Political Fallout

MPI: As the timeline for launching the 2020 decennial census approaches fast, legal and political controversy surrounds the Trump administration’s inclusion of a question on citizenship status. The question, which was dropped after the 1950 census, was reinstated on March 26, 2018 by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the U.S. Census Bureau.

New Study Finds Immigrants Pay More in Private Insurance Premiums Than They Receive In Benefits

AcademyHealth: In the first study to look at immigrants’ role in financing private health insurance, findings contradict assertions that people born in the US are systematically subsidizing the medical care of immigrants.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

BIA publishes Matter of J-R-G-P-, 27 I&N Dec. 482 (BIA 2018)

Where the evidence regarding an application for protection under the Convention Against Torture … plausibly establishes that abusive or squalid conditions in pretrial detention facilities, prisons, or mental health institutions in the country of removal are the result of neglect, a lack of resources, or insufficient training and education, rather than a specific intent to cause severe pain and suffering, an Immigration Judge’s finding that the applicant did not establish a sufficient likelihood that he or she will experience “torture” in these settings is not clearly erroneous

DHS Notice on Compliance with Preliminary Injunction Regarding TPS

DHS notice announcing the logistical actions it will take to ensure compliance with the preliminary injunction in Ramos v. Nielsen, which prohibits the termination of TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador while the injunction remains in effect. (83 FR 54764, 10/31/18) AILA Doc. No. 18103160

USCIS Announces Phased Elimination of Self-Scheduled InfoPass Appointments

USCIS announced the elimination of self-scheduling InfoPass appointments to the Detroit Field Office and five offices in the Los Angeles District on 11/13/18. USCIS anticipates expanding to all field offices by the end of FY2019. AILA Doc. No. 18103031

Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2019

Presidential determination on refugee admissions for FY2019, stating that the admission of up to 30,000 refugees shall be allowed and providing regional ceilings. (83 FR 55091, 11/1/18) AILA Doc. No. 18100430

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Illegal Immigration and Border Security

President Trump delivered remarks in reaction to illegal immigration and a caravan of asylum seekers traveling from Central America to the southwest U.S./Mexico border. AILA Doc. No. 18110202

White House Issues Fact Sheet About the Border

White House Issues Fact Sheet on U.S. Asylum Laws

RESOURCES

NYC Court Holiday Hours (see attached)
CRS: Asylum and Related Protections for Aliens Who Fear Gang and Domestic Violence

EVENTS

11/5/18 Bringing Your “A Game” In The Era OF Trump
11/5/18 5 Boro Defender meeting
11/8/18 Protecting Migrant Children: In Search of Best Practice
11/8/18 NYIC Tour of JFK Port
11/13/18 CGRS best practices for working with medical and mental health professionals who provide expert testimony in asylum cases
11/26-28/18 CLINIC & NITA “Advocacy in Immigration Matters”
11/29/18 The Ins and Outs of Lawful Admission
12/11/18 Accidental Adjustments: How to Handle Wrongly Issued Status
12/17/18 20th Annual AILA New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium
12/20/18 Mental Incapacity: Merging Treatment and Enforcement
2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas
2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019
03/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference

ImmProf

Monday, November 5, 2018

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Friday, November 2, 2018

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Monday, October 29, 2018

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Thanks, Elizabeth.

PWs

11-10-18

WASHPOST: ANY WAY YOU SAW IT, THIS DUDE’S A HACK – Trumpism Continues To Demean & Destroy Our Most Precious Democratic Institutions!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/there-is-no-way-this-man-should-be-running-the-justice-department/2018/11/09/f4a2ee60-e45e-11e8-8f5f-a55347f48762_story.html

The Post Editorial Board writes:

IS MATTHEW G. WHITAKER the legitimate acting attorney general? From approximately the second President Trump ousted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and tapped Mr. Whitaker to temporarily exercise the office’s vast authority, legal experts have sparred over whether Mr. Trump can unilaterally elevate someone from a role that does not require Senate confirmation to one that does. But regardless of whether the promotion is legal, it is very clear that it is unwise. Mr. Whitaker is unfit for the job.

Several prominent legal scholars point out that the Constitution demands that “principal officers” of the United States must undergo Senate confirmation. A 19th-century Supreme Court case suggeststhere may be limited room for temporary fill-ins, but Mr. Whitaker’s appointment is hardly so temporary; he could serve for most of the rest of Mr. Trump’s first term. Even if Mr. Whitaker’s promotion is constitutional, Congress passed a law governing Justice Department succession that also seems to prohibit Mr. Whitaker’s ascent. The department has a capable, Senate-confirmed deputy attorney general in Rod J. Rosenstein; he should be running the department in the absence of a permanent replacement.

The Senate above all should be offended by the president’s end run around its authority. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) should demand hearings and consider filing a lawsuit. Instead, he is helping to establish a troubling precedent, saying only that he expects Mr. Whitaker to be a “very interim AG.” Yet no random official should be endowed with all the powers of an office as powerful as attorney general, meant for a Senate-vetted individual, even for a relatively short time.

And Mr. Whitaker is worse than random. It took less than 24 hours for material to emerge suggesting he could not survive even a rudimentary vetting.

First, there are Mr. Whitaker’s statements criticizing the Russia probe of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. At the least, they require him to consult Justice Department ethics counsel about whether he can oversee the inquiry with a plausible appearance of evenhandedness. He will do immediate and lasting harm to the Justice Department’s reputation, and to the nation, if he assumes the role of president’s personal henchman and impedes the Mueller probe.

Then there is Mr. Whitaker’s connection to a defunct patent promotion company the Federal Trade Commission called “an invention-promotion scam that has bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars.” Mr. Whitaker served on its board and once threatened a complaining customer, lending the weight of his former position as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa to the company’s scheme.

Finally, and fundamentally most damning, is Mr. Whitaker’s expressed hostility to Marbury v. Madison, a central case — thecentral case — in the American constitutional system. It established an indispensable principle: The courts decide what is and is not constitutional. Without Marbury, there would be no effective judicial check on the political branches, no matter how egregious their actions.

If the Senate were consulted, it is impossible to imagine Mr. Whitaker getting close to the attorney general’s office. He should not be there now.

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

There’s no doubt whatsoever that Whitaker is spectacularly unqualified for the job. But so was Sessions. And so were Pruitt and Price. And, so are Carson, DeVos, Nielsen, Zinke, and a host of Senate-confirmed underlings like L. Francis Cissna at USCIS.

Sadly, the point is that the GOP Senate lacks the integrity, backbone, and decency to perform their “advise and consent” function in a credible manner. So, I think the Post might be unduly optimistic in assuming that the GOP-controlled Senate would reject Whitaker merely because he is totally unqualified. Doesn’t seem to have bothered them before; no reason to believe that it will in the future. That’s one reason why our nation is “on the rocks.”

PWS

11-09-18

ON WISCONSIN: Badger State FINALLY Rids Itself Of One Of America’s Worst, Most Corrupt, & Most Intentionally Divisive Governors, Scott Walker, Before He Can Completely Destroy The State!

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-walker-wisconsin-failure_us_5be4626fe4b0dbe871a86030

Emma Roller writes in HuffPost:

In the fall of 2011, I was an unemployed recent journalism school graduate in a country still clawing its way back from recession. At a family reunion, my grandma pulled out a piece of paper with a list of signatures — signatures required to trigger a recall election against Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who’d just inspired massive protests by ramming through a bill that stripped public sector employees of their right to bargain collectively.

She asked me to sign the recall petition, and I did.

Three years later, while I was working for a small political magazine in D.C., I wrote an innocuous blog post about Walker. The Walker campaign called the magazine’s managing editor — my boss’s boss — and complained that I couldn’t write about the governor because I had signed the recall petition three years earlier. The managing editor was furious with me for failing to disclose my actions as an unemployed 22-year-old. I was terrified, sure that I was going to get fired.

That’s the type of guy Walker is. He governed Wisconsin with the same vindictive pettiness, transparent corruption and laser-like focus on further oppressing already marginalized people that we now see in the Trump administration (there’s a word for this style of governance.) He was the sad, preservative-laced ham sandwich in the otherwise unassuming brown paper bag of Wisconsin politics. He would tell you, unconvincingly, that he needs his black and orange Harley Davidson jacket when he is about to go into a controlled slide on his hog. He is Miracle Whip personified. He’s the kind of guy who’d call your boss’ boss to try to get you fired.

Now he’s the one out of a job.

Beneath his corn-fed, “aw shucks” facade, Walker is one of the most conniving figures to emerge from conservative politics in the past decade.

Walker’s loss on Tuesday night had a sort of poetic justice: After the 2016 election, Walker and Republicans in the state legislature passed a rule tightening the state’s recount law. The new law requires that candidates must lose by 1 percent or less to ask for a recount. On Tuesday, Walker lost the governorship to State Superintendent Tony Evers by 1.1 percentage points.

Walker and his allies will surely consider the devastation he brought to Wisconsin over the past eight years a success. Taken together, Walker’s legacy adds up to eight years of ruin for Wisconsin’s working classes, for people of color and for the environment — all in service of further enriching the already-rich.

Beneath his corn-fed, “aw shucks” facade, Walker is one of the most conniving figures to emerge from conservative politics in the past decade. It will take decades to repair the damage he and his allies did to my home state. And much of what he broke can never be made whole again.

Throughout his two terms as governor, Walker has remained consistent in his core political strategy: promising jobs that will never appear. Look at Walker’s election-year gambit: to bring Taiwanese electronics manufacturer FoxConn to Wisconsin with promises of well-paying, high-tech jobs for Wisconsin workers.

Reality has not lived up to those expectations. FoxConn promised to create 13,000 jobs at its Wisconsin factory at an average salary of $53,875. In exchange, Walker’s administration awarded FoxConn more than $3 billion in state tax breaks and credits — equaling more than $230,000 per job the company promised. Walker could have used that money to fund a public works program to employ more than four times as many people, at the same salary, for the same cost of the FoxConn deal.

That sort of failure is emblematic of Walker’s record. My editor made me cut 1,000 words from this story listing a fraction of all the bad stuff Walker has done to Wisconsin.

Let’s just say that, under Walker, Wisconsin underperformed its Democrat-run cousin, Minnesota, on nearly every meaningful metric: Non-farm job growth. Median income. Population growth. Median hourly wages. The share of people with health insurance.

I suspect that one reason Walker failed so badly is that although he is conniving to his core, he is not smart. Think back to when he took a prank call from someone pretending to be David Koch. Or when, as Milwaukee County executive, he signed a letter to a Jewish constituent with, “Thank you again and Molotov.” Or when he claimed he got his bald spot from bumping his head on a kitchen cabinet door. Walker has a Ph.D. in power lust and an “I tried!” sticker in political acumen.

He wasn’t even good at hiding his corruption. During his campaign for governor, while serving as county executive, Walker’s staff set up a secret wireless router in his public office to communicate about the campaign using taxpayer resources. One of Walker’s aides at the time was sentenced to six months in prison for felony misconduct.

Walker was a cheap date for corporate executives in search of friendlier laws. A John Doe investigation revealed that after a billionaire lead producer gave $750,000 to a conservative group supporting Walker and his party in the 2012 recall elections, Walker and his party passed a measure that retroactively shielded paint makers from liability.

So, on Tuesday night, Walker did what he has always done, from the moment he decided to pursue a career in politics: He failed. I hope some of his supporters, including some of my own family members, will now wake up to the fact that they were duped.

Scott Walker failed as a governor. On Tuesday, he failed as a politician. The schmuck even failed at getting me fired. Good riddance.

Congrats, Wisconsin voters on returning decency, honesty, and competency to your Governor’s office!

PWS

11-09=18

ATTENTION DC AREA “COURTSIDERS!” – Come Hear My FREE Presentation On Contemporary Immigration Issues @ Fairlington United Methodist Church in Alexandria, VA on Wednesday, Nov. 14 @ 7:00 PM (Dinner for nominal cost @ 6 PM, RSVP for dinner only)

FAIRLINGTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IS LOCATED AT:

3900 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22302

(Right near the King Street/Route 7 Exit off I-395)

Immigration event at Fairlington United Methodist Church

Immigration 102: Not Like What’s on TV

What happens to immigrants once they arrive in the US?

Wednesday, November 14

7:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall

Fairlington United Methodist Church

3900 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302

Featuring

Judge (Retired) Paul Wickham Schmidt

The presentation is free-of-charge and open to the public.

Join us for recently retired United States Immigration Judge Paul

Wickham Schmidt’s entertaining overview of our immigration system,

or our “National Club” as he terms it. Who is

favored? Who is excluded? Who are the

outcasts? Where do refugees fit in? Trial

judge, appellate judge, chief appellate judge,

prosecutor, government senior executive, big

law partner, manager, advocate, teacher,

writer, civil servant in Administrations of both

parties, Judge Schmidt has “seen it all” in his

43-year career in immigration law. Judge

Schmidt’s presentations on immigration will

provoke a lively discussion.

You are welcome early for our family dinner at 6pm.

Cost for Dinner: $10 per individual or $25 per family.

RSVP for Dinner: Rev. Christian White (703) 671-8557

christian@fairlingtonumc.org

Picture credits: Tal Kopan & Jeffrey Chase

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

Hope to see many of you there!

PWS

11-08-18

READ ABOUT THE EXCITING LIFE & TIMES OF “OUR GANG” MEMBER JUDGE CHARLIE PAZAR – Special Feature in the “Memphis Lawyer”

https://issuu.com/memphisbarassociation/docs/ml_2018_volume_3

The article begins on page 8.

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

Congrats Charlie on your outstanding career and all of your many contributions to scholarship, justice, and Due Process in America! And thanks for the plug on the activities of “Our Gang!”

If my memory serves correctly, I actually brought Charlie into the “immigration family” by offering him a job in the General Counsel’s Office of the “Legacy INS” in 1987, just before I departed for Jones Day! I always did have a pretty good “eye for legal talent” if I do say so myself. What a true pleasure to have an opportunity to work with Charlie and my other great colleagues again in retirement!

Due Process Forever!

PWS

11-05-18

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FAIRLINGTON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IS LOCATED AT:

3900 King Street

Alexandria, VA 22302

(Right near the King Street/Route 7 Exit off I-395)

Immigration 102: Not Like What’s on TV

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