"The Voice of the New Due Process Army" ————– Musings on Events in U.S. Immigration Court, Immigration Law, Sports, Music, Politics, and Other Random Topics by Retired United States Immigration Judge (Arlington, Virginia) and former Chairman of the Board of Immigration Appeals Paul Wickham Schmidt and Dr. Alicia Triche, expert brief writer, practical scholar, emeritus Editor-in-Chief of The Green Card (FBA), and 2022 Federal Bar Association Immigration Section Lawyer of the Year. She is a/k/a “Delta Ondine,” a blues-based alt-rock singer-songwriter, who performs regularly in Memphis, where she hosts her own Blues Brunch series, and will soon be recording her first full, professional album. Stay tuned! 🎶 To see our complete professional bios, just click on the link below.
Elizabeth Gibson Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
COVID-19 & Closures
Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information with the government and colleagues.
EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including, March 19, 2021 (The timing of postponement notices has been roughly every two weeks lately, but it has been inconsistent and it is unclear when the next announcement will be. EOIR announced 3/19 on Wed. 2/10, 2/19 on Mon. 1/25, 2/5 on Mon. 1/11, and 1/22 on Mon. 12/28). There is no announced date for reopening NYC non-detained at this time.
Politico: Congressional Democrats unveiled President Joe Biden’s expansive immigration reform bill Thursday, which would provide an eight-year pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants. But it already faces dim prospects for becoming law with such narrow Democratic majorities in both chambers. See also Factbox: What’s in Biden’s sweeping immigration bill being rolled out in Congress?
CNN: The guidelines establishes strict parameters for ICE officers, particularly in the event that an undocumented immigrant is encountered who’s not being targeted, and appears intended to restrain an agency emboldened under the last administration. See also New ICE Enforcement Priorities Represent an Important Shift, But More Change Is Needed.
CNN: Twenty-five migrants who had been forced to stay in Mexico crossed the US border in San Diego on Friday, the first group to arrive in the country as part of the Biden administration’s rollback of a controversial Trump-era policy, according to a source with knowledge of the process. See also The Ambiguous End of “Remain in Mexico.”
BuzzFeed: Department of Homeland Security officials have been directed to stop using words such as “alien” and “illegal alien” from communications with the public or within the agency when referring to people who aren’t US citizens in an effort by the Biden administration to recast immigration terminology.
SPLC: A federal court has again blocked a Trump administration ban that categorically denied asylum to anyone at the southern border who had transited through a third country en route to the United States, with very limited exceptions.
CBS: The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday moved to scrap a contract signed at the tail end of the Trump administration that could have allowed a union of deportation officers to stall the implementation of certain immigration policy changes.
BuzzFeed: As millions across Texas endured freezing temperatures without running water or electricity this week, immigrants detained by ICE said they have endured their own misery with not enough to drink, toilets full of human excrement that couldn’t be flushed, and days without being able to shower.
ICE: He is the former Dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he established an immigration law clinic. Prior to his time as Dean, Mr. Trasviña served as the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, managing over 580 employees and a budget exceeding $140 million per year, and President and General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).
CNN: Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to release some migrant families in detention to accommodate the arrival of migrants arrested at the US-Mexico border, according to two Homeland Security officials.
Reuters: The justices agreed to take up an appeal that the Trump administration had filed of a lower court ruling that found the rule likely violated federal immigration and administrative law by impermissibly expanding the definition of who counts as a “public charge” and greatly increasing the number of people who would be rejected for residency.
Conecta: Individuals and families who believe they may be eligible for the program for active MPP cases can now register via Conecta for an appointment with the Support Hub, the first step in the process. For those without internet, call: 800 283 2753.
USCIS updated guidance in its Policy Manual regarding the educational requirements for naturalization. The update, effective 3/1/21, provides that USCIS will revert to administering the 2008 civics test to applicants who filed for naturalization before 12/1/20, or who will file on or after 3/1/21. AILA Doc. No. 21022232
ICE Acting Director issued a memo establishing interim guidance in support of the interim civil immigration enforcement and removal priorities issued by DHS on 1/20/21. The guidance, effective immediately, covers enforcement actions, custody decisions, execution of final orders of removal, and more. AILA Doc. No. 21021800
CDC notice announcing a temporary exception from expulsion for unaccompanied noncitizen children to its order issued October 13, 2020, suspending the right to introduce certain persons from countries where a quarantinable communicable disease exists. (86 FR 9942, 2/17/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021732
Unpublished BIA decision equitably tolls 180-day time limit on motion to rescind in absentia order based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Enriquez-Godinez, 6/24/20) AILA Doc. No. 21021600
Unpublished BIA decision holds that carrying a firearm without a license under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. 6106(a)(1) is not a firearms offense because it applies to antique firearms that are suitable for use. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Santana Colon, 6/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 21021601
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s decision affirming the IJ’s adverse credibility determination, reasoning that discrepancies in the record warranted a finding that petitioner had testified untruthfully about his asylum claim. (Zaruma-Guaman v. Wilkinson, 2/9/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021837
The court rejected the petitioner’s contention that the conditions of prolonged 41-bis incarceration he faced or would face in Italy rose to the level of torture, as that term is used in the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and its implementing regulations. (Gallina v. Wilkinson, 2/12/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021840
The court rejected the BIA’s “excessively narrow” view of the nexus requirement, concluding that the record indisputably showed that the petitioner had satisfied her burden to establish that her familial ties were one central reason for her persecution. (Diaz de Gomez v. Wilkinson, 2/8/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021631
The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to review petitioner’s argument that the IJ and BIA erred in finding his conspiracy to commit wire fraud offense was a “particularly serious crime” rendering him statutorily ineligible for withholding of removal. (Tibakweitira v. Wilkinson, 2/1/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021632
The court held that BIA did not abuse its discretion in denying the petitioner’s motion to reopen her 1992 deportation proceedings, finding that the Supreme Court’s decision in Pereira v. Sessions did not affect the soundness of her proceedings. (Perez-Perez v. Wilkinson, 2/11/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021841
The court held that the BIA and the IJ failed to consider evidence that the petitioner’s removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his daughter, given that her hardship—a speech impairment—is aggravated by her emotional turmoil. (Martinez-Baez v. Wilkinson, 2/1/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021634
Where the BIA upheld the denial of asylum to petitioner based on a finding that serious reasons exist to believe he committed a serious nonpolitical crime, the court held that the “serious reasons for believing” standard requires a finding of probable cause. (Barahona v. Wilkinson, 2/3/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021636
Upholding the BIA’s denial of asylum and related relief, the court found that the petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG) comprised of “minor Christian males who oppose gang membership” was not a cognizable PSG. (Santos-Ponce v. Wilkinson, 2/10/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021932
Denying in part the petition for review, the court held that petitioner’s proposed particular social group (PSG) of “Mexican wealthy business owners” was not cognizable because it lacked social distinction, particularity, or an immutable characteristic. (Macedo Templos v. Wilkinson, 2/9/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021931
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the IJ and BIA had impermissibly refused to consider the Iraqi petitioner’s mental illness as a factor in determining whether he was barred from withholding of removal based on a particularly serious crime. (Shazi v. Wilkinson, 2/11/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021930
Granting the petition for review, the court held that the act of reentering illegally under INA §241(a)(5) requires some form of misconduct by the noncitizen—such as entering without inspection—rather than merely the status of inadmissibility. (Tomczyk v. Wilkinson, 2/3/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021644
A district court granted a preliminary injunction preventing the government from implementing the Third Country Transit Ban final rule and ordering the return to the pre-Final Rule practices for processing asylum applications. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant vs. Barr, 2/16/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021645
Granting in part plaintiffs’ motion for emergency relief, the court ordered defendants to treat all visas issued or renewed pursuant to Gomez v. Trump as having been issued in the first instance as of the date the court makes a final judgment. (Gomez, et al., v. Biden, et al., 2/19/21) AILA Doc. No. 21022233
The district court preliminarily approved a settlement agreement under which the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department will pay $14,000,000 to former inmates detained beyond the expiration of their state criminal charges pursuant to immigration detainers. (Roy v. County of Los Angeles, 11/25/20) AILA Doc. No. 21021736
The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction requiring DHS to rescind the orders returning seven asylum-seeking plaintiffs to Mexico pursuant to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP). (Bollat Vasquez, et al. v. Mayorkas, et al., 2/13/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021646
Law360: A California federal judge has recommended sanctioning the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, finding Thursday that two officials shredded notes relevant to asylum-seekers’ claims of being illegally turned away from the southern border.
DHS announced that it has begun the first step in a phased approach to process individuals returned to Mexico with active MPP cases. DHS processed a limited number of individuals on 2/19/21 through the San Ysidro Port of Entry. Additional ports of entry will begin processing individuals this week. AILA Doc. No. 21021230
DOS updated its guidance on K visa processing for individuals who are named plaintiffs in Milligan v. Pompeo and who are subject to a geographic COVID-related proclamation. DOS also provided guidance for K visa applicants who are not plaintiffs in the case. AILA Doc. No. 20113030
USCIS notice extending Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and work authorization for eligible Liberians through 6/30/22, pursuant to the memo issued by President Biden on 1/20/21. (86 FR 9531, 2/16/21) AILA Doc. No. 21021233
CUNY Immigration Seminar Series, Spring 2021: Feb 5: Holding Fast, Feb 19: Hyper Education, Mar 5: Citizenship Reimagined, Mar 12: The President and Immigration Law, Mar 26: The Browning of the New South, Apr 9: Reuniting Families, Apr 23: Represented But Unequal, Apr 30: Pursuing Citizenship in the Enforcement Era.
FJC Core and Advanced Trainings, February and March 2021 for service providers, community leaders, and city agency staff who are working with populations directly or indirectly affected by domestic and gender-based violence.
