ALERTS
Alien’s Change of Address Card
USCIS: Starting Dec. 7, 2021, we will only accept the 08/31/21 edition.
USCIS: Effective Oct. 1, 2021, applicants subject to the immigration medical examination must complete the COVID-19 vaccine series and provide documentation of vaccination to the civil surgeon in person before the civil surgeon can complete an immigration medical examination and sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. This guidance applies prospectively to Form I-693 signed by civil surgeons on or after Oct. 1, 2021.
USPS is about to charge you more for slower mail.
WaPo: Up until Oct. 1, the Postal Service said it should take no more than three days for a piece of first-class mail to be delivered anywhere in the country. After Oct. 1, it will take between two and five days. From Oct. 3 to Dec. 26, the Postal Service is raising prices on some products through a holiday season surcharge. The price hikes are modest for some products (30 cents more for first-class package service), a bit more for others ($1 more for parcel-return service, deliveries from consumers back to retailers), and heftier still for others ($5 more for priority mail, priority express mail, parcel select and retail ground services for items weighing between 21 and 70 pounds).
NYC Immigration Courts – Immigration Judge/Legal Assistant Directories (attached)
NEWS
‘A day without Latinx and immigrants’: Hundreds in Wisconsin expected to strike, march on Monday
NBC26: Organized by Voces de la Frontera, this action aims to increase economic and political pressure on President Biden, Vice President Harris and Congressional Democrats to deliver on their promise to pass a path to citizenship in the Build Back Better reconciliation budget bill this year.
Columbus Day Helped Italians Become ‘White’, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Explains
Teen Vogue: This excerpt from “Not ‘A Nation of Immigrants’” explains how Italian immigrants used Christopher Columbus to assimilate to American culture and whiteness. For decades, Native Americans and their allies have demanded the end of celebrating Columbus, rightly characterizing him as a mercenary of the Spanish monarchy, an actor in and symbol of the onset of European genocidal colonization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
3 US-based economists win Nobel for research on wages, jobs
WaPo: A U.S.-based economist won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for pioneering research that transformed widely held ideas about the labor force, showing how an increase in the minimum wage doesn’t hinder hiring and immigrants do not lower pay for native-born workers.
NYGov: Threats to report a person’s immigration status can currently be treated as a crime in cases of labor trafficking and sex trafficking, but were not previously treated as potential extortion or coercion offenses.
How Attorneys Wrangle New York’s Wildly Unpredictable Immigration Court Schedule
Documented: The courts have been pushing individual hearings forward often too soon for immigrants and attorneys to properly prepare. Individual hearings, particularly for asylum cases, require rigorous preparation both from immigrants, who must recount traumatic details of their lives for a successful case, and attorneys, who must submit dozens of pages of paperwork and work alongside their clients to equip them for the court date.
Anger in U.S. Customs and Border Protection as Biden administration’s vaccine mandate looms
WaPo: The NBPC does not encourage members to get vaccinated and has said it would like to file a legal challenge to Biden’s mandate that all federal employees be immunized by Nov. 22, but it has not yet found lawyers willing to take the case.
At Mexico-U.S. Security Talks, Migration Question Is Largely Avoided
NYT: As diplomats from both countries began negotiating a new security agreement on Friday, the focus was on stopping criminal activity while the border crisis was conspicuously sidestepped. See also The U.S. Is Organizing A $5 Million Gun Sale To Mexican Forces Accused Of Murder And Kidnapping.
Mexico police intercept 652 Central American migrants in three cargo trucks
Guardian: Almost 200 of the 652 migrants found in the white refrigerated trucks were unaccompanied children and teens, the police said in a statement.
Court tosses ban on private immigration jails in California
AP: A federal appeals court on Tuesday tossed out California’s ban on privately owned immigration detention facilities, keeping intact a key piece of the world’s largest detention system for immigrants.
Business Insider: During his appearance on Fox News, Trump repeatedly claimed that Haitians trying to enter the US are infected with AIDS… Contrary to his assertions, the prevalence of HIV among Haitian adults aged 15 to 49 is around 1.9%, according to data from the United Nations. While that’s higher than the global rate of 0.7%, reports say Haiti’s HIV prevalence rate has declined significantly in recent decades.
US resumes Afghan refugee flights after measles shots
AP: Afghan refugees will soon be arriving again in the U.S. after a massive campaign to vaccinate them against measles following a small outbreak that caused a three-week pause in evacuations, officials said Monday. See also Small nonprofits helping resettle Afghan evacuees say they need more foundation and government support.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
3rd Circ. Raps BIA For Cutting Proof From Vet’s Removal Case
Law360: A U.S. Air Force veteran has another chance to fight his deportation to Trinidad after the Third Circuit found that an immigration appeals board used the wrong legal standard to bar evidence that he may be tortured if deported.
CA9 Holds That BIA’s Summary Dismissal of Pro Se Litigant’s Appeal Violated Her Right to Due Process
AILA: The court held that, given petitioner’s status as a pro se litigant, her Notice of Appeal was sufficiently specific to inform the BIA of the issues challenged on appeal, and thus the BIA violated her right to due process by summarily dismissing her appeal. (Nolasco-Amaya v. Garland, 9/28/21)
9th Circ. Says Breadth Of Wash. Law Doesn’t Bar Deportation
Law360: The Ninth Circuit confirmed that a conviction under a state assault law criminalizing HIV transmission amounts to a federal “crime of violence” for the purposes of deporting a Salvadoran man who shot his friend, saying the key common ingredient is intent.
9th Circ. Rejects Calif. Ban On Private Prisons
Law360: A California law banning private immigration detention facilities and other private prisons doesn’t pass legal muster because it would impede the federal government’s immigration enforcement, a split Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday, undoing a lower court’s decision to keep most of the law in place as litigation proceeds.
AILA: The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, holding that DOS’s interpretation of several Presidential Proclamations to prevent U.S. consulates and embassies in those countries from adjudicating visas was unlawful. (Kinsley, et al. v. Blinken, et al., 10/5/21)
Government Reaches Settlement with Flores Plaintiffs to Pay $1.15 Million in EAJA Fees
AILA: The parties reached a settlement to resolve the plaintiffs’ Motion for Award of Attorneys’ Fees and Costs under the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), in which the government agreed to pay $1,150,000 in attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. (Flores, et al. v. Garland, et al., 9/30/21)
CGRS: The Lowenstein Project at Yale Law School submitted today an emergency request for precautionary measures against the United States on behalf of asylum seekers who face grave dangers because the Biden administration continues to illegally block and expel them. The request was submitted under Article 25 of the Rules of Procedure to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
2 States Ask Full 5th Circ. To Block Biden’s Curbs On ICE Ops
Law360: Texas and Louisiana called on the full Fifth Circuit to reinstate a block on the Biden administration’s policy curbing immigration enforcement operations, saying Thursday that the federal government was ducking its obligation to arrest noncitizens convicted of serious crimes.
Ex-Gaddafi Worker Sues Feds Over Asylum Waiting Times
Law360: A Libyan man formerly employed as a government worker under the Gaddafi regime and his wife have filed suit in Michigan federal court against the federal government and the Chicago asylum processing center, saying five years is too long to wait for an asylum interview.
Afghan Ally Sues State Dept. To Bring Kids To US
Law360: An Afghan man who worked with the U.S. government in the Central Asian country told a California federal court that the U.S. Department of State failed to protect his children from the Taliban while their visa applications are processed.
Sens. Intro Bill Barring Warrantless Device Searches At Border
Law360: A bipartisan group of senators announced new legislation this week that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before searching Americans’ digital devices at the border.
Feds Want DACA Appeal Paused Until New Rule Is Finalized
Law360: The Biden administration asked the Fifth Circuit to shelve its appeal of a lower court order blocking the federal government from approving new applications to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while it firms up the details of a replacement rule.
ORR Announcement of Inflationary Increase to Refugee Cash Assistance Program Payment Ceilings
AILA: Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) announcement of an inflationary increase to the Refugee Cash Assistance program’s monthly payment ceilings, effective October 1, 2021. (86 FR 54466, 10/1/21)
ACTIONS
- Take Action: Demand a Clear System of Release from Immigration Detention
- Take Action: Get Immigration Reform Done on Reconciliation
- Call for Examples: BIA Motions to Reconsider
- Call for Examples: The Center for Gender and Refugee Studies (CGRS) is collecting the following information regarding the treatment of asylum and withholding of removal cases following Attorney General Garland’s vacatur of Matter of A-B- I/II, Matter of L-E-A- II, and Matter of A-C-A-A-. To report an outcome in your case and share any sample case documents, please follow the instructions here. To share information regarding OIL’s position in your case, please email the following to CGRS-ABTracking@uchastings.edu. To share information regarding ICE OCC’s position in your case, please complete this survey for each individual case.
- Access to Counsel Immigration Detention Survey
- Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers: Comments due 10/19/21.
- BIA Invites Amicus Briefs on Pereida v. Wilkinson (Regarding modified categorical approach): Briefs are due by 10/21/21.
- USCIS Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Public Charge: Comments due 10/22/21.
- USCIS 30-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form N-648: Comments are due November 5, 2021.
- USCIS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on DACA: Comments are due 11/29/21.
- DHS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Update Privacy Act Regulations: Comments are due December 6, 2021.
RESOURCES
- AIC: Immigration Lawsuits and the APA: The Basics of a District Court Action
- AILA: Practice Alert: What Comes Next for People Entering the U.S. from MPP
- AILA: Checklist to Avoid Data Breaches and Cyberattacks
- CRS: Human Trafficking: Key Federal Criminal Statutes
- CRS: Noncitizen Eligibility for Federal Housing Programs
- IDP: ICE Knows That You’re In NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS)
- ILRC: Community Breakdown of AB 32 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision
- ILRC: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Proposed Rule Breakdown
- ILRC: Understanding the Rights of and Unique Challenges Faced by Indigenous Migrants
MPI: Toward a Better Immigration System: Fixing Immigration Governance at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security- NIP/NLG: September 30th Mayorkas Memo – Quick FAQ (September 30, 2021)
- RAND: Undocumented and Asylum-Seeking Children from Central America and Mexico: Where They Are and How Schools Are Doing
EVENTS
- 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
- 10/14/21 The CIS Ombudsman’s Listening Session: Get to Know DHS’ New Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman
- 10/14/21 “Immigration Defense Strategies: Lessons from the Criminal Defense Context”
- 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 Univision National Network’s Jorge Ramos in Conversation with Three DREAMers Who Fought the President and Won
- 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.
- 10/21/21 U Visa Webinar Series: The Definition of Victim
- 10/22/21 Hiroshi Motomura in Conversation with Leading Advocates on Efforts Toward Executive Action Today
- 10/22/21 Ahilan Arulanantham in Conversation with Leading Scholars on the Scope and Limits of Executive Branch Authority Over Immigration
- 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
- 11/4/21 IDP Training: ICE Detainers in NYC: The Impact on State Criminal Cases
- 11/7/21 Together We Welcome: A National Faith Gathering to Strengthen Support for Refugees, Immigrants and Migrants
- 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
- 02/03/22 Basic Immigration Law 2022: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas
- 02/04/22 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2022
ImmProf
Monday, October 11, 2021
Sunday, October 10, 2021
- Poetry Break: Rupi Kaur’s immigrant
- Immigration Article of the Day: Revelation Out of Rupture: Building Human Rights from the Bottom Up by Daniel I. Morales
Saturday, October 9, 2021
- New NY Law: Protecting Undocumented Immigrants from Threats to Report Their Immigration Status
- A Blast from the Past (or Back to the Future)? Trump to Hannity: Haitians Seeking to Enter US ‘Probably Have AIDS’
- Immigration Article of the Day: The “Impractical and Anomalous” Consequences of Territorial Inequity by Jayanth K. Krishnan
Friday, October 8, 2021
- From The Bookshelves: Immigration: Key to the Future — The Benefits of Resettlement to Upstate New York
- RAND Study Says Undocumented Children Need More Teachers, Funding
- Abdulrazak Gurnah, Chronicler of Migrant Experience, Wins 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature
- UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy Announces Conference: The Road Ahead in Immigration Law: What Can the President Do?
- Cuban-born players make history in American League MLB Playoffs
Thursday, October 7, 2021
- Now Streaming: The Facility (Vimeo)
- LatCrit 2021 – begins Fri 10/8/21
- #Immigrants are Essential
- Sturat Anderson: Immigrants Keep Winning Nobel Prizes
- Black Immigrants Claim Racism, Abuses At Miami ICE Facility
- Enforced Misery: The Degrading Treatment of Migrant Children and Adults in Northern France
Wednesday, October 6, 2021
- Teenage People Smugglers on the U.S./Mexico Border
- In or Out? The Biden Administration’s Conflicting Messages on Immigration Policy
- National Immigrant Law Center: Immigrants are Essential!
- Jeffrey S. Chase: The Need For Full-Fledged Asylum Hearings
- 92 legal scholars call on Vice President to preside over Senate to include immigration in reconciliation
- Haitian Migration through the Americas: A Decade in the Making
Tuesday, October 5, 2021
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Rules in a Lawsuit Challenging AB 32, California’s Private Prison Ban
- Teaching with Sunday’s Poetry Break: This Matter by Haymanot
- Your Playlist: Robbie O’Connell & Finbar Clancy
- ABC News documentary ‘Asylum’ features the harrowing journey of two migrant families | Nightline
Monday, October 4, 2021
- Harold Koh leaves State Department post, rips President Biden’s use of Trump-era Title 42
- Symposium — Unequal Profession: Race and Gender in Legal Academia
- National Immigrant Integration Conference 2021: President Biden speaks TODAY 10/4/21 (free virtual programming)
- Announcing the 2022-2024 asylum law clinical fellowship at Georgetown Law
- Viet4Afghans links Vietnamese with Afghan refugees
- From the Bookshelves: Reluctant Reception by Lamis Abdelaaty (webinar Oct 15, 2021)
- U.S. to Pay $1.2 Million in Attorneys Fees in Migrant Minors Case
- Immigration activists follow Senator into bathroom, demanding action on reconciliation bill
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Shifting cases around without working with the parties in advance to insure that the new dates are achievable is totally insane! No experienced practitioner or expert would “run the railroad” this way! But, Garland does!
To state the obvious, many attorneys practice in multiple jurisdictions and are already fully or heavily booked. Additionally, my experience was that “move ups” without consultation with both parties, including ICE ACC, often resulted in missing ICE files, unavailable witnesses, unavailable interpreters, or incomplete fingerprint reports which caused additional unnecessary continuances and yet more “ADR.”
“Motions to continue” are not the answer. The system is already backlogged. In an obvious denial of due process, it actually discourages Immigration Judges from granting reasonable continuances in a number of ways, including bogus “case completion quotas” and onerous requirements for justifications for granting continuances. It’s ADR on steroids!
An obvious solution, ignored by Garland and his subordinates:
- Return “docket control” to the local Immigration Judges where it has always belonged;
- Have Immigration Judges and Court Administrators work cooperatively with the local bar, the ICE OCC, and NGOs, in advance, to come up with rational scheduling procedures that meet everyone’s legitimate needs;
- Encourage ICE and the local bar to work cooperatively to identify cases that can potentially be moved up for “short hearings.” Let the parties, who have a strong joint interest in rational dockets, propose the solutions, rather than having politicos impose them from above through clueless agency bureaucrats who are unqualified to “micromanage” dockets!
The real fundamental problem here: Garland is improperly trying to “run” his huge, dysfunctional court system with bureaucrats and politicos who have no recent “real life” experience representing individuals in Immigration Court.
Garland’s inexplicable determination to eschew appointing “progressive practical experts’ with the skills and courage to fix this system has become a (totally unnecessary) national disgrace!
🇺🇸Due Process Forever!
PWS
10-12-21