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 announces updated phased return to social visitation at detention facilities
NEWS
Supreme Court limits review of factual disputes in immigration cases
CNN: The ruling made it more difficult for non-citizens who are in removal proceedings to get a federal court to review factual determinations that were made by an immigration court concerning relief from deportation. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote the decision for 5-4 court. Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the dissent for himself with the three liberal justices.
Buffalo shooting pushes ‘great replacement theory’ into national spotlight
The Hill: A mass shooting at a Buffalo grocery store that left 10 people dead has placed a national spotlight on a far-right conspiracy theory espoused by the suspected shooter. The so-called “great replacement theory” asserts that there is an intentional effort to replace white Americans with people of color by encouraging immigration.
Republicans Wrongly Tie Biden Immigration Policies to Baby Formula Shortage
NYT: Republican lawmakers have misleadingly suggested that the Biden administration is sending baby formula to undocumented immigrants at the expense of American families amid a national shortage.
Migrant disappearances quadruple in Mexico in 2021, says report
Reuters: The number of missing foreigners grew by 292% to 349 from 89 cases, said the report presented by the Jesuits’ Missing Migrant Search Program (SJM), a human rights organization.
“This Is America Motherfucker”: Witnesses Describe Border Patrol Killing Of Mexican Migrant
Intercept: Men traveling with Carmelo Cruz Marcos told authorities that Border Patrol agents tampered with evidence and sought to concoct a cover story. See also Border Patrol disbands units accused of covering up abuse.
Cubans are arriving to the US in record numbers. Smugglers are profiting from their exodus
CNN: As Cuba confronts the worst shortages of food and medicine in decades and runaway inflation, a new exodus of the island’s citizens is underway.
Cook County program providing legal help for immigrants starts taking cases
Chicago Sun-Times: In Chicago, there are more than 110,000 pending cases in immigration court, including more than 56,000 cases where people aren’t represented by an attorney, according to a data analysis from Syracuse University. The Midwest Immigrant Defenders Alliance is providing legal help to anyone who is in deportation proceedings in the immigration court in Chicago, even if the person lives in a different state.
LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
SCOTUSblog: Holding: Federal courts lack jurisdiction to review facts found as part of any judgment relating to the granting of discretionary relief in immigration proceedings enumerated under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2).
Matter of B-Z-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 563 (A.G. 2022)
AG: (1) Matter of G-G-S-, 26 I&N Dec. 339 (BIA 2014), is overruled. (2) Immigration adjudicators may consider a respondent’s mental health in determining whether an individual, “having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community of the United States.” 8 U.S.C. § 1158(b)(2)(A)(ii); see id § 1231(b)(3)(B)(ii).
DOJ Lets Immigration Judges Consider Mental Health History
Law360: Immigration courts can once again consider whether a noncitizen’s mental health history lightens the immigration consequences of a conviction, according to a Monday decision from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that overturns a 2014 Board of Immigration Appeals ruling.
BIA Erred On Money Laundering Deportation, 2nd Circ. Says
Law360: The Second Circuit has found the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in denying a South Korean citizen’s bid to stay in the country, deciding Monday the woman’s second-degree money laundering conviction is not enough to warrant deportation.
4th Circ. Erases Order Granting Detainees New Bond Hearings
Law360: The Fourth Circuit erased a lower court injunction requiring the Baltimore Immigration Court to conduct new bond hearings for detainees who say their first hearings were flawed, ruling Thursday that federal judges are barred from entering classwide injunctions over immigration bond hearings.
9th Circ. Orders BIA Review Of Nepalese Man’s Asylum Denial
Law360: The Ninth Circuit revived a Nepalese man’s bid for asylum and withholding of removal after finding the Board of Immigration Appeals discounted reports of the Nepali government’s lack of interest in stopping violence inflicted by a major political party.
CA9 on FOIA: Transgender Law Center v. ICE
LexisNexis: Yet here the advocates’ FOIA requests met first with silence and then with stonewalling; only after the advocates filed suit did the government begin to comply with its statutory obligations. Our task is to discern whether the government’s belated disclosure was “adequate” under FOIA. We conclude that it was not.
11th Circ. Says No Counsel Needed Before Immigration Judge
Law360: A split Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday denied a Haitian asylum seeker’s request to review a removal order, saying the man was not entitled to counsel when he appeared before the immigration judge who reviewed his asylum request.
Separated Migrant Families Can Continue Quest For Damages
Law360: Three Bay Area migrant families who were separated under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy may continue to seek compensation for resulting harms they suffered after a California federal judge denied the government’s bid to move or toss the case.
AIC: The Council and AILA stand in support of the Texas State Bar Foundation in response to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s investigation of the Foundation for supporting organizations that provide legal representation, citizenship classes, and other legal needs to the immigrant community in Texas.
Foreign Pot Workers Not Barred From US, CBP Memo Says
Law360: A 2018 U.S. Customs and Border Protection document recently disclosed amid a lawsuit filed by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP indicates that foreign nationals working in legal cannabis industries aren’t inadmissible to the U.S., despite statements to the contrary from CBP officials.
USCIS Correction to South Sudan TPS Notice Regarding Expiration Date of Current EADs
AILA: USCIS correction to a typographical error in the 3/3/22 South Sudan TPS notice. USCIS is correcting the date from 9/17/21 to 5/2/22 as the expiration date that should be showing on South Sudan TPS-based EADs to receive an automatic 180-day EAD extension through 11/1/22.
House Panel Votes Yes On Independent Immigration Courts
Law360: The House Judiciary Committee voted 24-12 to advance a bill that would remove immigration courts from the U.S. Department of Justice and make them independent of the executive branch.
RESOURCES
- AILA: Take Action: Tell Congress to Reduce ICE Detention Funding
- CAIR: Sign on Letter to EOIR to Continue Expansion of Records Access
- CLINIC: Frequently Asked Questions: Form I-134
- DHS: Immigration Detention Ombudsman – Newsletter
- IAN: Advocating for Clients with Mental Health Issues Handout
- NILA: Practice Advisory: Bhaktibhai-Patel v. Garland and Judicial Review of Reasonable Fear and Withholding Only Proceedings
EVENTS
NIJC EVENTS
- 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
- 5/17/22 Advocating for Prosecutorial Discretion for Clients in Removal Proceedings
- 5/18/22 EOIR Pro Bono Listening Session
- 5/18/22 USCIS Backlog Reduction and Processing Times
- 5/18/22 Pro Bono Training: Representing Immigrant Survivors Eligible For U Visas
- 5/18/22 U Visa Webinar Series: Adjustment of Status
- 5/18/22 Representing Detained Immigrants In Bond Hearings
- 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?
- 5/19/22 Title 42 and the State of Asylum in the United States
- 5/20/22 Best Practices in Working with Translators and Interpreters
- 5/20/22 AILA Chicago 2022 Spring Ethics Conference
- 5/21/22 Spring Ethics Conference Agenda
- 5/23/22 EOIR Public Forum on Immigration Court and BIA Practice Manuals
- 5/24/22 Current Issues in Afghan Asylum Claims
- 5/24/22 Obstacles to TPS Eligibility
- 5/24/22 Advanced FOIA Techniques
- 5/25/22 Hybrid Workshops: Exploring Workshop Innovations and Considering the Future of the Group Application Assistance Model
- 5/26/22 LSP Roundtable on Afghan Asylum Interviews
- 6/6/22 Strategies for Maximizing CGRS Technical Assistance in Fear-of-Return Claims
- 6/7/22 Asylum and Employment Authorization
- 6/7/22 Webinar Series: Overview of Citizenship: Acquisition, Derivation and Naturalization
- 6/8/22 ASISTA: Immigration Practice & Policy for Survivors: What’s New & What’s Next
- 6/8/22 Naturalization for People with Disabilities
- 6/10/22 Representing Immigrant Survivors During & Post-Covid: Considerations for Attorneys and Advocates
- 6/14/22-6/15/22 NIPNLG 2022 Annual Pre-AILA Crimes & Immigration Seminar
- 6/15/22 Preparing Your Client to Testify & for their USCIS Interview
- 6/20/22 NIPNLG’s Removal Defense Course
- 6/20/22-6/29/22 NIPNLG’s Removal Defense Course
- 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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The deterioration of the immigration dialogue, overt racism, poorly qualified judges at all levels making bad decisions, GOP White Supremacy, and failure of courage in the Biden Administration and on the part of some so-called Democrats have led to a deadly situation that threatens Americans and our democracy!
Immigrants’ rights are human rights! Ironically, the GOP with its aggressive “dehumanization campaign” recognizes this, even if some Dems don’t.
🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!
PWS
05-18-22