Managing Attorney
National Immigrant Justice Center
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
Weekly Briefing
This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.
CONTENTS (jump to section)
PRACTICE ALERTS
NEWS
LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
RESOURCES
EVENTS
PRACTICE ALERTS
ICE Posted Additional Guidance on Prosecutorial Discretion
USCIS Stops Applying Certain EAD Provisions for Asylum Applicants (Updated)
NEWS
Remain in Mexico case in front of SCOTUS is also about whether Biden will be allowed to govern
Daily Kos: This case matters, not only because real lives are at stake, but because justices will be deciding whether an incumbent president has the power to legitimately end a predecessor’s flawed policy. See also ‘Remain In Mexico’ Case May Curb Courts’ Injunctive Power.
Abbott Threatens to Declare an ‘Invasion’ as Migrant Numbers Climb
NYT: Abbott is weighing whether to invoke actual war powers to seize much broader state authority on the border. He could do so, advocates inside and outside his administration argue, by officially declaring an “invasion” to comply with a clause in the U.S. Constitution that says states cannot engage in war except when “actually invaded.”
Biden admin struggles to calm the Democratic storm over immigration
Politico: Memo to the Biden administration: The written plan to handle a summertime migration surge at the border isn’t satisfying purple-state Democrats who were pointedly asking for one. See also Comprehensive Immigration Reform Has ‘Zero’ Chance This Year, Key Senate Democrat Reportedly Says; Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas testifies on Title 42 in Senate hearing.
G.O.P. Concocts Fake Threat: Voter Fraud by Undocumented Immigrants
NYT: Far from the U.S.-Mexico border, Ohio’s Senate primary shows how the Republican obsession with the fiction of a stolen election has spawned a new cause for fear of illegal immigration.
Thomson Reuters to review contracts, including for database used to track immigrants
WaPo: A Canadian trade union said it had scored a surprising victory Friday in its three-year tech battle with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the United States, successfully persuading the media conglomerate Thomson Reuters to reevaluate its work selling personal data that the agency had used to investigate immigrants.
Huge border influx brings fears of grim summer for migrant deaths
WaPo: A sharp increase in the number of people crossing into the United States through remote desert areas along the U.S.-Mexico border has officials and rights advocates worried that this summer will be especially lethal, with the potential for a spike in migrant deaths. See also DHS chief doubles down on request to migrants at southern border: ‘Do not come’; U.S.-Mexico migration talks ‘constructive,’ not ‘threatening’ -White House; Risking it all: migrants brave Darién Gap in pursuit of the American dream.
People continue to camp outside of Orlando immigration office, hoping to be seen on Monday
ABC: People in search of appointments with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Orlando have been waiting in line for days now and some have been coming back to this spot for more than a month.
House Members Urge Funding for Legal Representation to Indigent Adults in Removal Proceedings
AILA: Forty-seven members of the House of Representatives, led by Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-CA), sent a letter calling for funding for the Department of Justice to expand federally funded legal representation for indigent adults facing immigration court removal proceedings.
LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
Matter of DANG, 28 I&N Dec. 541 (BIA 2022)
BIA: Because misdemeanor domestic abuse battery with child endangerment under section 14:35.3(I) of the Louisiana Statutes extends to mere offensive touching, it is overbroad with respect to § 16(a) and therefore is not categorically a crime of domestic violence under section 237(a)(2)(E)(i) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i).
2nd Circ. Turns Down Convention Against Torture Relief Claim
Law360: The Second Circuit on Wednesday ruled that it lacked the jurisdiction to review an Indian man’s deportation, saying a recent immigration judge’s denial of his application for relief, under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, was not a “final order” that triggers the 30 days available for appellate court review.
En Banc 9th Circ. To Reconsider Calif. Private Prison Ban
Law360: The Ninth Circuit vacated on Tuesday a split panel’s decision that a California law banning private immigration detention facilities and other private prisons does not pass legal muster because it would impede the federal government’s immigration enforcement, saying it will hold an en banc hearing.
Federal Court Rules that Government Actions Under Remain in Mexico are Subject to Orantes Injunction
NILC: On Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled that plaintiffs raised significant questions regarding the federal government’s compliance with a permanent injunction in the Orantes case and ordered the government to produce more information to determine whether Remain in Mexico violated the injunction’s terms.
La. Judge Orders Biden To Keep Enforcing Title 42
Law360: A Louisiana federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from prematurely unwinding the Title 42 order used to quickly expel migrants arriving at the border, saying lifting the order ahead of schedule could force states to shoulder the financial burden of more migrants.
Arizona v. CDC Restraining Order
AILA: The judge in Arizona v. CDC granted the temporary restraining order. For the next 14 days, DHS is enjoined and restrained from implementing the termination order, “including increases (over pre-Termination Order levels) in processing of migrants from Northern Triangle countries through Title 8 proceedings rather than under the Title 42 Orders, and are further enjoined and restrained from reducing processing of migrants pursuant to Title 42.” DHS may still practice case-by-case discretion and engage in targeted expedited removal to detain and remove individuals who have crossed multiple times.
NIJC: The litigation exposes how local officials in Indiana unlawfully misappropriate federal dollars meant for the care of immigrants detained in their jail to pad their own budgets. The lawsuit also sheds light on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s deeply flawed oversight that allows private companies and local jails like Clay County to misuse federal taxpayer dollars while non-citizens suffer in egregiously poor conditions.
Migrant Advocates Push For Cert. In Juvenile Work Permit Suit
Law360: Immigrant advocates have urged a California federal court to certify two classes of vulnerable juveniles waiting for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process their visa applications, saying new agency guidance for child abuse survivors doesn’t address their allegations.
Kariye v. Mayorkas, No. 2:22-CV-01916 (C.D. Cal., filed Mar. 24, 2022)
HoldCBPAccountable: On March 24, 2022, the ACLU, ACLU Foundation of Southern California, and ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit on behalf of three Muslim Americans, Abdirahman Aden Kariye, Mohamad Mouslli, and Hameem Shah, who have all been subjected to intrusive questioning from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officials about their religious beliefs, practices, and associations in violation of their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
NIPNLG: While many of the issues we raise have occurred in numerous asylum offices, the Houston Asylum Office has a particularly egregious record of conducting these screenings and we therefore ask that you investigate the Houston Asylum Office’s conduct.
Republican AGs Cry Foul Over Biden Asylum Policy
Law360: Over a dozen state attorneys general cried foul over President Joe Biden’s policy vesting asylum officers with greater power over asylum, filing lawsuits Thursday to block the rule, which they claim would force states to bear the cost of more migrants.
AILA: On 4/28/22, the state of Texas filed a lawsuit challenging a DHS and DOJ interim final rule, issued on 3/29/22, and scheduled to take effect on 5/31/22. Texas argues the rule, which would change how individuals subject to expedited removal are processed for asylum, is unlawful.
DHS Notice of Implementation of Uniting for Ukraine Process
AILA: DHS notice of the implementation of the Uniting for Ukraine parole process, beginning 4/25/22. (87 FR 25040, 4/27/22)
DHS Plan for Southwest Border Security and Preparedness
DHS: Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas transmitted a memorandum to interested parties to provide additional details on the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive plan to manage increased encounters of noncitizens at our Southwest Border.
RESOURCES
ACLU National Prison Project: Litigating Immigration Detention Conditions: An Introductory Guide (attached)
AIC: Survey on EOIR Mitigation for Access to Counsel Obstacles
AILA: Client Flyer: Rescheduling Biometrics Appointments
AILA: 75th Edition of the AILA Law Journal
CRS: U.S. Immigration Courts and the Pending Cases Backlog
DHS OIG: Violations of ICE Detention Standards at South Texas ICE Processing Center
DOS: Information for Nationals of Ukraine
NIJC/DWN: State and Local Records Request Resources & Template
NILA: Template EOIR Motions to Stay Removal for Individuals Seeking to Reopen Removal Proceedings
NILA: The Basics of Motions to Reopen EOIR-Issued Removal Orders
NILA: Arriving Noncitizens and Adjustment of Status
NIPNLG: Survey Re OPLA Motions to Dismiss Where the Respondent Does Not Want Dismissal
EVENTS
NIJC EVENTS
5/7/22 Ukrainian Immigration Options Workshop
5/10/22 Justice & Java: What It Will Take To Save Our Asylum System
5/18/22 Pro Bono Training: Representing Immigrant Survivors Eligible For U Visas
6/28/22 Pro Bono Training: Asylum Pride Part 1
6/30/22 Pro Bono Training: Asylum Pride Part 2
GENERAL EVENTS
5/3/22 The Family Visa Petition
5/4/22 California Pardons and Post-Conviction Relief
5/5/22 Stories from the Trenches: Tools for Dealing with Depression, Burnout, and Substance Abuse
5/6/22 Preventing & Mitigating Vicarious Trauma Amidst Zealous Immigration Detention Lawyering & Organizing
5/6/22-5/13/22 NITA-NIPNLG “Advocacy in Immigration Matters” Training
5/10/22 Asylum Claims for Young People
5/10/22 2022 Consular Processing Updates: Strategies and Alternatives for NIV and IV Cases
5/11/22 EOIR/ICE Liaison Update: The Most Recent Information on the State of Prosecutorial Discretion
5/12/22 Advanced DACA Issues: What You Need to Know in 2022
5/12/22-5/13/22 T-Visa Conference
5/13/22 FBA Immigration Law Conference
5/17/22 Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion for Clients in Removal Proceedings
5/18/22 Pro Bono Training: Representing Immigrant Survivors Eligible For U Visas
5/18/22 U Visa Webinar Series: Adjustment of Status
5/19/22 USCIS to Host Webinar on Filing Form I-821D For Individuals Who Previously Received DACA
5/19/22 Fighting Interpol Red Notices with guest speaker, Sara Grossman
5/19/22 Waivers in Removal Proceedings: Beyond the Basics
5/19/22 Special Immigrant Juvenile Status: Your Client’s I-360 Is Approved, Now What?
5/20/22 AILA Chicago 2022 Spring Ethics Conference
5/21/22 Spring Ethics Conference Agenda
5/24/22 Current Issues in Afghan Asylum Claims
5/24/22 Obstacles to TPS Eligibility
5/24/22 Advanced FOIA Techniques
6/7/22 Asylum and Employment Authorization
6/8/22 ASISTA: Immigration Practice & Policy for Survivors: What’s New & What’s Next
6/8/22 Naturalization for People with Disabilities
6/14/22-6/15/22 NIPNLG 2022 Annual Pre-AILA Crimes & Immigration Seminar
6/22/22 Introduction to Immigrant Visa Consular Processing
7/5/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)
7/13/22 CGRS Using Universal Expert Declaration in Immigration Court
8/31/22 What to Do When You Get a Decision from the Ninth Circuit
9/26/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)
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Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)
Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship
National Immigrant Justice Center
A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program
224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.orgwww.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter
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Corrupt GOP nativist politicos grandstanding, inept Administration officials, experts ignored, human rights, Constitution, humanity trampled, killing migrants, empowering smugglers, lack of vision, disdain for the rule of law, moral cowardice.
The ugliness and futility of misguided, counterproductive, cruel, inhumane U.S. “enforcement only/deterrence” policies at border is in full display in this week’s report from Elizabeth!
Casey keeps asking the same question. Unhappily, nobody (except some members of the NDPA who are ignored except when creaming Garland in court) has “stepped up” with the answer!
PHOTO: Rudi Reit
Creative Commons
🇺🇸Due Process Forever!
PWS
O5-05-22