Tag: Clown Courts 🤡

ALERTS

 

EOIR Courts & Appeals Systems (ECAS) Locations: Electronic filing went live on 9/23/2021 at NYC-Broadway and will be available at NYC-Varick on 9/30/2021 (remember that electronic filing is not available for cases that commenced before those dates). No date has been announced for NYC-Federal Plaza, although EOIR has previously indicated all courts should have ECAS by 2022.

ECAS Resources:

• Download Case Portal guides on: (1) How to upload initiating and supporting documents and download eROPs; (2) How to request a bond; (3) How to file an appeal; (4) How to file a Motion to Reopen, Reconsider for a BIA appeal.
• What’s Changing: eINFO to Case Portal.
• Register Here and access registration information.
• Frequently Asked Questions about ECAS.
• Terms and Conditions.
• ECAS User Manual.

 

Reviewing ROPs: There have been reports of attorneys successfully scheduling appointments to review the record of proceeding at Varick and 290 Broadway. The clerk answering the main phone line at 26 Federal Plaza indicated she was unaware of any policy allowing in-person review of ROPs at this time but stated people could try making a request.

 

NEWS

 

Biden administration unveils new plan for young immigrants

ABC: The proposed regulation attempts to satisfy concerns of a federal judge in Houston who ruled in July that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was illegal. It takes on heightened importance as prospects for legislation have dimmed.

 

Biden Chooses Local ICE Critic To Be The Agency’s Top Prosecutor

WGBH: The Office of the Principal Legal Advisor sends its prosecutors to litigate deportation cases before the Executive Office for immigration Review, the body that oversees the nation’s immigration courts. Doyle has been an outspoken critic of the agency and has led many lawsuits against it.

 

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Announces Appointment of David Neal as Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review

EOIR: Most recently, Mr. Neal was a consultant specializing in immigration policy and practice. Previously, he held positions at EOIR over two decades. From 2009 to 2019, he served as Chairman of the BIA at EOIR, where he was chief judge of the appeals board and managed judicial and administrative operations.

 

Biden Administration Seeks A Contractor For A Migrant Facility At Guantanamo

NPR: As the Biden administration scrambles to relocate thousands of Haitian migrants camped in a small Texas border town, it’s also looking for a private contractor to help operate a migrant detention facility at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — and to hire at least some guards who speak Spanish and Haitian Creole.

 

Thousands of Haitians Allowed to Stay in U.S. as Texas Camp Clears Out

NYT: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported about 2,000 migrants in recent days on chartered flights to Haiti as the Biden administration tries to deter more people from rushing to the border. But the authorities have also permitted thousands more to travel to cities across America, where they may live for months or years as they await immigration hearings. See also Democratic and Republican administrations have long agreed on one thing — discriminating against Haitian refugees; DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas Defends Deporting Haitians, Calls Immigration System ‘Broken’.

 

The Biden administration will raise the cap on refugee admissions to 125,000.

NYT: Mr. Biden’s decision is unlikely to affect two groups of people most recently in the news: tens of thousands of people from Kabul fleeing the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan and more than 15,000 Haitians in a sprawling, makeshift camp under a bridge at the southern border.

 

Parents of 303 migrant children separated at border under Trump have still not been found, court filing says

CNN: Since August, the parents of 34 of those children whose whereabouts had been previously unknown have been found, according to Wednesday’s filing.

 

It’s not just Republicans. Everyone’s mad at Biden over migration.

Politico: President Joe Biden’s migration troubles don’t start at the U.S.-Mexico border. They’re a symptom of a Western Hemisphere in crisis — a crisis with domestic political implications for the 2022 elections and beyond. See also Biden’s Approach To Immigration Is Causing A Huge Internal Rift And Leading To A Lot Of Confusion.

 

Watchdog: CBP improperly targeted Americans as caravans approached border

Politico: The inspector general also found that a Customs and Border Protection official asked the Mexican government in December 2018 to block 14 U.S. citizens from entering Mexico as the caravan approached the U.S. border even though it had “no genuine basis” to do so.

 

Opinion: Adoptees Have the Same Right to Citizenship as Biological Children

NYT: Among the many cruelties of our immigration system is this: Transnational adoptees, whose stories begin with a rupture from their birth families and home countries, have often found themselves deprived of U.S. citizenship and at risk of deportation.

 

California to replace the word ‘alien’ from its laws

AP: Newsom on Friday signed a law that removes the word from various sections of the California state code. California passed laws in 2015 and 2016 that removed the word from the state’s labor and education code.

 

Advocates urge NY to boost $2B fund for undocumented workers

AP: But contrary to expectations, nearly all 92,000 people approved for aid so far have qualified for the maximum $15,600 available under the program, the state’s website showed Thursday afternoon. Roughly 223,500 claims have been submitted overall, with a rush coming in recent days.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Arambula-Bravo, 28 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2021)

BIA: A Notice to Appear that does not specify the time and place of a respondent’s initial removal  hearing  does  not  deprive  the  Immigration  Judge  of  jurisdiction  over  the  respondent’s  removal  proceedings.

 

Rare BIA Victory For Gay Jamaican Man

LexisNexis: Spring, Texas attorney Veronica Semino scored this unpublished BIA remand for her client, who is still detained in Oakdale. In the single-member decision dated Aug. 5, 2021 , Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge Gabriel Gonzalez wrote: “[W]e agree with the respondent that the harm he suffered in Jamaica rises to the level of persecution.

 

3rd Circ. Says BIA Ignored Evidence Of Yemeni’s Persecution

Law360: The Third Circuit Wednesday vacated a Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision that denied a Yemeni man’s request for protection from deportation, saying the board ignored “overwhelming evidence” that the man had been persecuted and could be tortured for his political beliefs.

 

CA5 CAT Remand: Abushagif V. Garland

LexisNexis: Abushagif v. Garland “Abushagif contends that the BIA abused its discretion by entirely failing to address his CAT claim. On that point, he is correct. A CAT “claim is separate from . . . claims for asylum and withholding of removal and should receive separate analytical attention.” Efe v. Ashcroft, 293 F.3d 899, 906–07 (5th Cir. 2002). Moreover, the BIA must not leave asserted CAT claims unaddressed.

 

CA9 Finds BIA Erred in Relying on Probation Report to Conclude Petitioner Had Been Convicted of Particularly Serious Crime

AILA: The court held that the BIA erred by failing to require DHS to make a good faith effort to present for petitioner’s cross-examination the author or declarant of a probation report upon which it relied to make its particularly serious crime determination. (Alcaraz-Enriquez v. Garland, 9/16/21)

 

CA9 Upholds BIA’s Refusal to Allow Petitioner to Seek Asylum in Light of Reinstatement of His Prior Removal Order

AILA: The court held that because the petitioner’s prior removal order was reinstated, he had no right under the INA to seek asylum and no constitutional right to have DHS consider whether, as a discretionary matter, to decline to reinstate that order. (Iraheta-Martinez v. Garland, 9/7/21)

 

Chinese Asylum-Seeker Loses In 9th Circ. Over Arrest Lie

Law360: The Ninth Circuit denied a Chinese national’s bid for asylum over religious persecution, finding that she failed to disclose her 2013 arrest by U.S. authorities and could not offer a plausible explanation for her omission.

 

9th Circ. Revives Forced Abortion Asylum Case

Law360: Two immigration courts improperly dismissed evidence supporting a Chinese woman’s claims that government officials forced her to undergo an abortion in her home country, according to the Ninth Circuit, which revived her family’s asylum case.

 

Migrant Teens Win Approval For Plan To End ICE Detention

Law360: A D.C. federal judge approved a plan requiring U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to attempt to place migrant teens who turn 18 in government custody in less-restrictive housing options than adult detention facilities, stipulating changes to documentation and officer training.

 

Judge Finds Parts Of Fla. Anti-Sanctuary Law Unconstitutional

Law360: A Florida federal judge on Tuesday struck down key portions of a 2019 state law banning “sanctuary” immigration policies as unconstitutional, finding a South Florida city and immigration advocates proved discriminatory intent and violations of equal protection rights at a bench trial in January.

 

Vermont Supreme Court Deals Blow To Border Agents’ Roving Patrols

LexisNexis: Derek Brouwer, Vermont Seven Days, Sept. 24, 2021 “Border patrol officers can search Vermonters’ cars without a warrant under their special federal authority to conduct “roving” patrols within 100 miles of the U.S. border. But, as of Friday, evidence they collect during the controversial searches can no longer be used to prosecute crimes in state courts, a narrow majority of the Vermont Supreme Court.

 

Migrants Double Down On Asylum Turnback Suit Monitoring

Law360: A class of asylum-seekers has asked a California federal judge to oversee the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s compliance with two orders directing authorities to process some asylum claims, saying the federal government’s foot-dragging has proven the need for court oversight.

 

States Say Feds Are Slow-Walking ‘Remain In Mexico’ Reboot

Law360: Texas and Missouri have blasted the Biden administration’s delays in complying with a court order to restart a Trump-era program requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico, saying the government need not hash out an agreement with Mexico before reinstating the policy.

 

ACLU Asks DC Circ. To Not Vacate Transit Ban Ruling

Law360: The American Civil Liberties Union urged the D.C. Circuit to maintain a lower court ruling that blocked a Trump-era asylum bar, saying that though the regulation is now moot, vacating the injunction would create “perverse incentives” for the government.

 

USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests

AILA: USCIS announced that, in response to the ongoing COVID pandemic, it extended the flexibilities for responding to certain agency requests. This flexibility applies if the issuance date listed on the request, notice, or decision is between March 1, 2020, and January 15, 2022, inclusive.

 

DOJ Announces Non-U.S. Citizens Can Request Social Security Card Through USCIS Forms

AILA: DOJ announced that non-U.S. citizens can request new or replacement Social Security cards using USCIS Forms I-765 or I-485, instead of visiting a local Social Security Administration office. Cards should be received within two weeks after receiving Employment Authorization Documents.

 

ICE Releases Updated COVID-19 ICE Detainee Statistics

AILA: ICE provided updated statistics on COVID-19 in ICE detainees, by facility. As of 9/23/21, there are 526 positive cases currently in custody among a total detainee population of 22,442.

 

Executive Order Adding Measles to the List of Quarantinable Communicable Diseases

AILA: On 9/17/21, President Biden signed an executive order adding measles to list of quarantinable communicable diseases. (86 FR 52591, 9/22/21)

 

Executive Order Imposing Sanctions on Certain Persons With Respect to the Humanitarian and Human Rights Crisis in Ethiopia

AILA: On 9/17/21, President Biden signed an executive order imposing sanctions on persons determined to be responsible for humanitarian and human rights violations in Ethiopia, including suspending the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the United States of such persons. (86 FR 52389, 9/21/21)

 

DOS Provides Proposed Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2022

AILA: DOS provided the President’s Report to Congress on the proposed Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2022. The report recommends an increase in the refugee admissions target from 62,500 in FY2021 to 125,000 in FY2022, prioritizes admissions, states ORR goals, and more.

 

RESOURCES

 

• FOIA Results – EOIR’s “Guidance and Publications” Site
• AIC: Immigration Lawsuits and the APA: The Basics of a District Court Action
• AILA: Practice Alert: Biden Administration Plans to Rescind COVID-19 Travel Bans and Instead Required Proof of Vaccination
• AILA: Border Processing and Asylum
• AILA: Client Flyer: A New Way to Apply for a SSN with Your USCIS Application
• AILA: Practice Advisory on Immigration Lawsuits and the Administrative Procedure Act
• AILA: Why Is Your Case Taking So Long? USCIS Processing Delays Have Now Hit Crisis Levels
• AILA: Practice Alert: Work Authorization for Conditional Permanent Residents
• AILA: Client Flyer: COVID-19 Vaccine for Individuals Filing Form I-693
• AILA: Practice Pointer: USCIS Policy Manual Eliminates All Reference to DOS “90 Day Rule” in Findings of Fraud and Material Misrepresentation
• Annotated Table of Contents Project: Children Recruited by Gangs
• CLINIC: Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)
• CLINIC: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
• CLINIC: Department of State (DOS)
• CLINIC: Challenges to TPS and DED Terminations and Other TPS-Related Litigation
• CLINIC: Assistance for Afghans Toolkit
• CLINIC: Department of Homeland Security (DHS), I-9 and REAL ID Policies
• DHS OIG: DHS Needs to Enhance Its COVID-19 Response at the Southwest Border
• DHS/CBP/Privacy Impact Assessment – Operational Use of Familial DNA
• DOJ OIG: Report Examining DOJ’s Expansion of the Institutional Hearing and Removal Program
• GAO: Actions Needed to Address Pending Caseload
• HRF: Immigration and Customs Enforcement Records Received Through FOIA Confirm Need for Increased Oversight of Agency’s Arbitrary and Unfair Parole Decisions for Asylum Seekers
• JMHS: When Internal Migration Fails: A Case Study of Central American Youth Who Relocate Internally Before Leaving Their Countries
• NYT: Lesson Plan: ‘Thousands of Haitians Allowed to Stay in U.S. as Texas Camp Clears Out’
• USICS: Lockbox Filing Location Updates
• USC: Children in Custody: A Study of Detained Migrant Children in the United States
• USCIS: U Nonimmigrant Status Bona Fide Determination Process FAQs

 

EVENTS

 

• 9/27/21-9/28/21 Immigration Law and Policy Conference
• 9/28/21 Waiver Series: Overview of the Grounds of Inadmissibility
• 9/29/21 Orders at the Border
• 9/29/21 Expert Evidence: Working With Individual Experts and Universal Expert Declarations
• 9/29/21 Temporary Protected Status: Updates and Options
• 9/29/21 Adjustment of Status: Eligibility and Pitfalls
• 9/30/21 Crafting a Winning Direct Examination: Practical Tips and Examples
• 9/30/21 Naturalization and Crimes
• 9/30/21 Temporary Protected Status
• 9/30/21 Conversation with the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman: Best Practices for Submitting a Request for Case Assistance and Key Trends Impacting the CIS Ombudsman’s Casework
• 10/1/21 Best Practices for Haitian TPS Applications
• 10/4/21 ASISTA’s Listening Session with the White House on the Development of a National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence 
• 10/5/21 Intro to Prosecutorial Discretion
• 10/5/21 USCIS Virtual Listening Session on Public Charge Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
• 10/5/21 Waiver Series: Working With Clients to Build Strong Waiver Cases
• 10/5/21 Waiver Series: Extreme Hardship and Discretion
• 10/6/21 Challenging Agency Delays in District Court
• 10/7/21 Introduction to Derivation of Citizenship
• 10/8/21 EOIR Model Hearing Series – RSVP to EngagewithEOIR@usdoj.gov no later than 5 p.m. on Sept. 24
• 10/12/21-10/28/21 40-Hour Overview of Immigration Law
• 10/13/21-10/14/21 2021 Annual NLG Convention Virtual CLE Seminar, “Immigration Defense Strategies: Lessons from the Criminal Defense Context”
• 10/13/21 Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act: Updates 10/13/21
• 10/13/21 Immigration Defense Strategies Virtual CLE
• 10/13/21 Representing Stateless Individuals
• 10/14/21 Detention & Deportation System for Children and Youth
• 10/19/21 Waivers of inadmissibility in U, T and VAWA cases
• 10/19/21 Webinar Series: Putting the Case Together
• 10/19/21 The Categorical Approach Now
• 10/20/21 What is Happening with DACA?
• 10/20/21 U Visa and Bona Fide Determination Process for Victims of Qualifying Crimes: email public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov by Sept. 24. Put “BFD” in the subject line.
• 10/26/21 Emerging Issues in Asylum Law
• 10/27/21 Challenging Expedited Removal and Reinstatement Orders
• 10/28/21 What’s Old Is New Again: “Hail Mary” Relief and Creative Lawyering Options That Are Back!
• 11/3/21 U Visa Adjustment
• 11/9/21, 11/16/21 Two-Part Introduction to Asylum Law and Procedure
• 11/10/21 Remedies for Surviving Relatives
• 11/11/21 Inadmissibility: A Look at Common Grounds and Red Flags
• 11/16/21 Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion Under the Current Enforcement Priorities
• 11/16/21 Considerations for I-601A Waivers and I-212
• 11/18/21 Dealing with Post-Consular Interview Nightmares for Immigrant Visas
• 11/23/21 Establishing Social Group in Asylum Claims
• 11/29/21-12/3/21 Partial to Full Accredited Representative Initiative 2021
• 12/1/21 54th Annual Immigration and Naturalization Institute
• 12/2/21 Post-Conviction Relief For Immigrants: New Laws, New Developments, New Advice
• 12/7/21 Hardship in Non-LPR Cancellation Cases
• 12/9/21 December Immigration Update
• 12/15/21 FOIA

 

ImmProf

Monday, September 27, 2021

• The Daily: “Another Crisis at the Border.” 
• DHS Secretary Mayorkas Defends Deporting Haitians, Calls Immigration System “Broken”
• Immigration Article of the Day: The Call for the Progressive Prosecutor to End the Deportation Pipeline by Talia Peleg

Sunday, September 26, 2021

• The U.S.’s Long History of Mistreating Haitian Migrants
• Immigration Article of the Day: Criminalizing Migration by César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández

Saturday, September 25, 2021

• California Governor Gavin Newsom signs bill striking the word ‘alien’ from California law
• Immigration Article of the Day: A Domestic Reign of Terror: Donald Trump’s Family Separation Policy by Ediberto Roman and Ernesto Sagas

Friday, September 24, 2021

• From The Bookshelves: Local Citizenship in a Global Age by Kenneth A. Stahl
• What is President Biden’s Approach to Immigration?
• Immigration Article of the Day: Children in Custody: A Study of Detained Migrant Children in the United States by Emily Ryo and Reed Humphrey

Thursday, September 23, 2021

• BIA Distinguishes Niz-Chavez, Pereira, Finds No Jx Problem With NTA Lacking Time/Date
• Throwback Thursday: Detain and Punish: Haitian Refugees and the Rise of the World’s Largest Immigration Detention System by Carl Lindskoog
• The New Yorker: Building a New Life in Tijuana’s Booming Deportee Economy
• A senior U.S. diplomat to Haiti resigns, citing the Biden administration’s ‘inhumane’ deportation policy.
• Vaccine mandate, quarantines for Afghan evacuees
• Florida Judge Finds Law Racially Motivated, Blocks Portion of Florida Law That Bans Local Sanctuary Policies
• Immigration Article of the Day: Borders by Consent: A Proposal for Reducing Two Kinds of Violence in Immigration Practice by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

• Looking for a law review idea? Kari Hong has you covered.
• Back to the Drawing Board on Immigration Reform, Dems Considering Updating Registry
• Immigration Article of the Day: Trafficking and the Shallow State  by Julie Dahlstrom

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

• Human Rights Watch: US: Treatment of Haitian Migrants Discriminatory — Chased by Border Agents on Horseback; Returned to Danger in Haiti
• Judicial Review in Immigration Law EDUCATIONAL WEBINAR: 10/5/2021 at 11:30 AM EDT
• From the Bookshelves: Beyond Borders:  The Human Rights of Non-Citizens at Home and Abroad. Edited by Molly Katrina Land, Kathryn Rae Libal, Jillian Robin Chambers
• GAO Report criticizes USCIS backlog… again
• TODAY, Tomorrow, Thurs — Abolish ICE? Online Zolberg Conference
• Biden Administration Increases Refugee Admissions for FY 2022
• DHS Secretary Visits Border, Addresses Haitian Migrants
• Immigration Article of the Day: Toward a Race-Conscious Critique of Mental Health-Related Exclusionary Immigration Laws by Monika Batra Kashyap

Monday, September 20, 2021

• From the Bookshelves: Migration in the Time of COVID-19: Comparative Law and Policy Resources
• US lifting travel restrictions for noncitizens into US
• CFP: A Civil Right to Counsel
• Did Immigration Reform Die Last Night? Senate Parliamentarian Nixes Dems Plan to Use Budget Reconciliation
• Guest Post: How Federal Courts Are Waking Up to Constitutional Claims in Immigration Cases by Geoffrey A. Hoffman
• Immigration Article of the Day: Unequal Access: Wealth as Barrier and Accelerator to Citizenship by Ayelet Stachar

 

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

Blast from the past:

Thursday, July 29, 2018

“After 16 years of inexcusable delays, I am proud that EOIR’s dedicated work over the past year has culminated in the piloting of a comprehensive electronic filing and case management system,” said [then] EOIR Director James McHenry. “With this important initiative, EOIR joins other court systems in the U.S. that have long provided such capabilities. ECAS will aid the parties and assist judges in hearing cases expeditiously and fairly, and will further augment EOIR’s efforts in tackling the pending case backlog.”

. . . . The program will extend to all remaining immigration courts in 2019. 

https://www.justice.gov/eoir/pr/eoir-launches-electronic-filing-pilot-program

Las Vegas is giving 50-1 odds that this won’t be in full operation by the end of 2022. Anyone want to bet on “America’s Clown Courts” 🤡 to beat the odds and deliver?

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

09-30-21