Tag: Gibson Report 10-05-20

THE GIBSON REPORT — 10-05-20 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Federal Judge Rules Trump Not A Monarch; More Intentional Cruelty, Lies, & Threats Of Politically-Inspired Racist Attacks On Ethnic Communities From DHS; Trump Regime Dumps On Refugees & Commies; Cert. Granted In Credibility Case Apparently Seeking To Screw Refugees At Request Of SG; & Other “Interesting & Sometimes Disturbing Stuff”⚖️

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”

COVID-19

Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information on the relevant government websites and with colleagues on listservs as best you can.

 

New

  • EOIR Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date are postponed through, and including, October 23, 2020. [Note: Despite the standing order about practices upon reopening, an opening date has not been announced for NYC non-detained at this time.]

 

Closures

 

Guidance:

 

TOP NEWS

 

SIJS Priority Dates

For the first time in more than two years, the priority dates for SIJS applicants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala have advanced. The new priority date is February 1, 2018. All I-360 SIJS applications filed on or before February 1, 2018 may now file for adjustment of status. The priority date for Mexican SIJS cases is current which means that any Mexican SIJS applicant may file now for adjustment of status. SIJS adjustment cases will not be able to waive the considerable filing fees if/when the new rules go into effect and given the opacity of the visa bulletin, we are not sure the priority dates will remain at the current dates past October 31.

 

Trump Virtually Cuts Off Refugees as He Unleashes a Tirade on Immigrants

NYT: The change in the number of refugees that Mr. Trump plans to admit is not drastic: no more than 15,000 in the fiscal year that began Thursday, down from 18,000 in the 2020 fiscal year, which was a record low. The number was set in a notice sent to Congress late Wednesday, shortly before the statutory deadline to set the new limit. Both numbers are slivers of the 110,000 slots that President Barack Obama approved in 2016. See also World Grows Less Accepting of Migrants.

 

United States closes immigration door to communists in clear swipe at China

SCMP: The United States has released guidance on its immigration laws that will make it almost impossible for members of a Communist party or similar to be granted permanent residence or citizenship of America. The announcement was made in a policy alert issued on Friday by the US Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). In a sign Washington is dusting off its Cold War-era legislation, the agency said: “In general, unless otherwise exempt, any intending immigrant who is a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party … domestic or foreign, is inadmissible to the United States.”

 

Pence ordered borders closed after CDC experts refused

AP: Vice President Mike Pence in March directed the nation’s top disease control agency to use its emergency powers to effectively seal the U.S. borders, overruling the agency’s scientists who said there was no evidence the action would slow the coronavirus, according to two former health officials. The action has so far caused nearly 150,000 children and adults to be expelled from the country.

 

Judge Blocks USCIS Fee Increases: Here’s Why It Happened

Forbes: On September 29, 2020, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White, in the Northern District of California, enjoined the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), USCIS and officials serving in those agencies “from implementing or enforcing the Final Rule or any portion thereof.” The preliminary injunction is in effect nationwide. Immigrant Legal Resource Center, et al. v. Chad F. Wolf, et al. involved 8 non-profit organizations that provide services to immigrants.

 

Judge Rules Against Trump’s H-1B Visa Ban: President Is Not A Monarch

Forbes: In a closely watched case on the limits of presidential authority over immigration, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s June 2020 proclamation that suspended the entry of foreign nationals on H-1B, L-1, H-2B and most J-1 temporary visas. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White ruled the president does not possess the power of a monarch to cast aside immigration laws passed by Congress. See also IT stocks rise up to 5% as US judge temporarily blocks ban on H-1B visa.

 

Palantir Admits to Helping ICE Deport Immigrants While Trying to Prove It Doesn’t

Vice: Palantir responded to Amnesty International with a letter of its own—a master class in hair-splitting that hit familiar points, used old arguments that have been dismissed, and accidentally admitted Palantir’s technology is used for deportations.

 

Trump administration puts up billboards of immigration violators in Pennsylvania

CNN: The Trump administration has put up billboards in Pennsylvania of immigration violators, an unprecedented move taken in a swing state a month before the presidential election. The plan targeting “sanctuary cities,” which limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, is in step with President Donald Trump’s law-and-order message.

 

ICE preparing targeted arrests in ‘sanctuary cities,’ amplifying president’s campaign theme

WaPo: The Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, known informally as the “sanctuary op,” could begin in California as soon as later this week. It would then expand to cities including Denver and Philadelphia, according to two of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive government law enforcement plans.

 

Trump administration wants to screen credit scores, tax returns of immigrants’ U.S. sponsors

Miami Herald: The proposed rule would require those who sponsor a green card for an immigrant to provide — along with the affidavit form — credit reports and credit scores, certified copies of income tax returns for the last three years, and bank account information, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said on Thursday.

 

“The Cruelty Is the Point”: U.S. Still Denying Protection to Severely Ill People With No Legal Status—Despite Announcing Otherwise

Ms.: Remarkably, USCIS announced on September 19, 2019 that deferred action was reinstated by USCIS. Despite the reinstatement, the outcome in deferred action cases we handled or tracked across the country continue to raise concerns.

 

Federal Agency Will Pay $336K in Legal Fees, Ending Immigrant Minors’ Abortion Rights Case

NLJ: After three years of litigation over the Trump administration’s policy of restricting undocumented minors’ access to abortion, the government on Tuesday agreed to change its policy and to pay more than $330,000 in legal fees and costs to the American Civil Liberties Union, which initiated the challenge.

 

New Jersey Doubles Immigrant Legal Representation Budget

DocumentedNY: New Jersey had no such program until last year, until Murphy allocated $3.1 million to hire lawyers. Now, he’s doubled that figure to more than $6 million.

 

NY City Council Announces $28.4 Million for Immigrant Services

City Council: The Council funding includes $3.25 million for the successful program, CUNY Citizenship Now!, which provides free legal services to assist New Yorkers and their families as they navigate the application process to become U.S. citizens. The Council funds also include $16.6 million for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the nation’s first public defender system to assist detained immigrant facing deportation proceedings. In addition, the City Council designated almost $4 million to fund legal representation services for unaccompanied minors separated from their families and who are facing immigration proceedings.

 

Changes to VAWA and T-Visas: DHS Proposed Rule on Collection of Biometrics

ImmProf: Rather than attempting to reduce fraud, the proposed rule seems designed to intimidate applicants from applying and increase the burden if they decide to do so. This invidious motivation can be seen more clearly in the proposed rule’s seemingly random attempt to change the framework for assessing the Good Moral Character of VAWA and T-visa applicants. Instead of presumptions and letters from respected law enforcement officers, these petitioners would be subject to DNA collection and associated background checks in a determination of their Good Moral Character.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

SCOTUS grants cert on asylum credibility case Barr v. Dai

SCOTUSblog: (1) Whether a court of appeals may conclusively presume that an asylum applicant’s testimony is credible and true whenever an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals adjudicates an application without making an explicit adverse credibility determination; and (2) whether the court of appeals violated the remand rule as set forth in INS v. Ventura when it determined in the first instance that the respondent, Ming Dai, was eligible for asylum and entitled to withholding of removal.

 

District Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Halting Implementation of USCIS Fee Rule

The district court stayed the implementation and the effective date of the August 2020 Final Rule, which changed the fee schedule and required new versions of several forms, in its entirety pending final adjudication of this matter. (ILRC et al., v. Wolf, et al., 9/29/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092990

 

USCIS Issues Update on 2020 Fee Rule Preliminary Injunction

USCIS issued an update stating that while the 2020 Fee Rule is enjoined, it will continue to accept USCIS forms with the current editions and current fees. AILA Doc. No. 20100190

 

District Court Orders DOS to Reserve 9,095 FY2020 Diversity Visa Numbers

The court ordered DOS to reserve 9,095 of the approximately 40,000 unused diversity visa numbers for future processing of both the named plaintiffs’ and class-members’ diversity visa applications, pending final adjudication of the matter. (Gomez, et al., v. Trump, et al., 9/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20100100

 

District Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Halting Proclamation Suspending Entry of Nonimmigrants

The court granted the motion for preliminary injunction, preventing the government from implementing Section 2 of Presidential Proclamation 10052. Note, injunction only applies to named plaintiff groups. (National Association of Manufacturers et al., v. DHS, et al., 10/1/20) AILA Doc. No. 20100200

 

District Court Says Grant of TPS Constitutes an Admission for Adjustment of Status Purposes and Qualifies as a New Entry

The federal district court in Minnesota held that a grant of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under INA §244a constitutes an admission for purposes of adjustment of status, and that such an admission qualifies as a new entry. (Hernandez de Gutierrez, et al. v. Barr, et al., 9/28/20) AILA Doc. No. 20092935

 

CA1 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Ecuadorian Petitioner Who Feared Harm from Brother Involved in Narcotics Trafficking

The court held that the record supported the BIA’s and IJ’s conclusion that family ties did not motivate the petitioner’s persecution at the hands of his adopted older brother, even though those ties brought the petitioner into proximity with his persecutor. (Loja-Tene v. Barr, 9/21/20) AILA Doc. No. 20100141

 

CA1 Upholds Asylum Denial to Honduran Petitioner Who Feared Attacks Motivated by His Father’s Gang Affiliation

The court held that the petitioner did not meet his burden of showing that the government of Honduras was unwilling or unable to protect him, where the evidence in the record indicated that the police had investigated the threats and attacks against him. (Gómez-Medina v. Barr, 9/15/20)AILA Doc. No. 20100140

 

CA2 Says Conviction for Third-Degree Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in New York Is an Aggravated Felony

The court upheld the BIA’s determination that the petitioner’s conviction for third-degree criminal possession of stolen property in violation of New York Penal Law §165.50 was an aggravated felony offense under INA §101(a)(43)(G). (Santana v. Barr, 9/18/20) AILA Doc. No. 20100206

 

CA2 Finds Petitioner’s Conviction in New York for Sexual Abuse in the First Degree Was an Aggravated Felony

The court held that the petitioner’s conviction under New York Penal Law §130.65(3) for sexual abuse in the first degree constituted an aggravated felony under INA §101(a)(43)(A). (Rodriguez v. Barr, 9/18/20) AILA Doc. No. 20100142

 

CA3 Finds District Court Lacked Jurisdiction to Review Appellant’s Challenges to the Execution of His Removal Order

Where the appellant had raised two challenges to the execution of his removal order, the court found that he had pursued his claims in the wrong proceeding, and reversed and remanded to the district court with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. (Tazu v. Att’y Gen., 9/14/20) AILA Doc. No. 20100209

 

USCIS Issues Policy Guidance on Inadmissibility Based on Membership in a Totalitarian Party

USCIS issued policy guidance to address inadmissibility based on membership in or affiliation with a totalitarian party in the context of adjustment of status applications. The guidance provides an overview of the inadmissibility determination, evidence, burden of proof, exceptions, and waivers. AILA Doc. No. 20100201

 

DOS Provides Information on National Interest Exceptions for Certain Travelers from Europe

DOS announced that certain business travelers, investors, treaty traders, academics, students, and journalists from the Schengen Area, the U.K., and Ireland may qualify for National Interest Exceptions under Presidential Proclamations 9993 (Schengen Area) and 9996 (U.K., Ireland). Updated 10/1/20. AILA Doc. No. 20071733

 

EOIR Launches Immigration Court Online Resource (ICOR) and Pro Bono Portal

EOIR announced the launch of the Immigration Court Online Resource (ICOR), which provides resources on immigration proceedings before EOIR, and the Pro Bono Portal, which allows for the initiation and management of applications to be included in the EOIR List of Pro Bono Legal Service Providers. AILA Doc. No. 20100139

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, October 5, 2020

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Saturday, October 3, 2020

Friday, October 2, 2020

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Tuesday, September 29, 2020

Monday, September 28, 2020

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Wow! Imagine how much time and money could be saved, and problems solved rather than aggravated, by a Government that actually provided due process, honored human rights, promoted equal justice for all, and respected the rule of law and the proper role of courts!

This Fall, vote like your life and the future of humanity depend on ousting Trump and the GOP! Because they do!

PWS

10-06-20

 

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