⚠️🚸🆘☠️☹️THE GIBSON REPORT —10-25-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Posts Show How USG’s Scofflaw Asylum Policies Generate Unnecessary Irregular Entries, Misleading Statistics, More Unnecessary CBP “Apprehensions,” More CBP Abuses, No Accountability For Abusers, & No Plans By Biden Administration To Rectify Situation — Lack Of Principled, Realistic, Legally Compliant Border Policy Undermines Democracy!

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

NEWS

 

9th Circ. nixes order mandating more COVID protections for ICE detainees

Reuters: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling said the preliminary injunction issued last year improperly placed ICE’s entire network of detention facilities under the direction of a single federal judge, an error because the plaintiffs failed to show systemic nationwide shortfalls in detainee health protections.

 

DOJ lifts Trump-era case quotas for immigration judges

ABA: Immigration judges will no longer be required to close 700 cases per year to get a “satisfactory” rating.

 

Border Patrol apprehensions hit a record high. But that’s only part of the story

NPR: The Border Patrol recorded nearly 1.7 million migrant apprehensions at the Southern border over the past year — the highest number ever, eclipsing the record set more than two decades ago. But that doesn’t mean it’s the biggest number of individual migrants who’ve illegally crossed from Mexico into the U.S. in a single year. In fact, it’s probably not even close. See also Tired of waiting for asylum in southern Mexico, thousands of migrants march north.

 

New York Set Aside $2.1 Billion for Undocumented Workers. It Isn’t Enough.

NYT: A demand for aid has depleted the Excluded Workers Fund in New York, and thousands of those who qualify could miss out on payments. See also Immigrant families struggle to access child tax credit payments.

 

A Leaked US Government Report Documents How People With Medical Conditions And Disabilities Were Forced Into The “Remain In Mexico” Program

BuzzFeed: The report offers a rare window into the behind-the-scenes dysfunction and confusion surrounding the so-called Remain in Mexico program, which is set to come back.

 

‘It Should Not Have Happened’: Asylum Officers Detail Migrants’ Accounts of Abuse

NYT: More than 160 reports, obtained by Human Rights Watch, reveal details of mistreatment that asylum seekers described experiencing from border officials and while in U.S. custody.

 

Border agents who made violent, lewd Facebook posts faced flawed disciplinary process at CBP, House investigation finds

WaPo: A U.S. Customs and Border Protection discipline board found that 60 agents “committed misconduct” by sharing violent and obscene posts in secret Facebook groups but fired only two — far fewer than an internal discipline board had recommended, according to a House Oversight and Reform Committee report released Monday.

 

ICE Review Of Immigrant’s Suicide Finds Falsified Documents, Neglect, And Improper Confinement

Intercept: An internal review of Efraín Romero de la Rosa’s death in ICE custody found almost two dozen policy violations during his stint in detention.

 

Biden’s Pick To Lead CBP Supports Two Of Trump’s Most Controversial Border Initiatives

Intercept: In a confirmation hearing, Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus signaled support for Title 42 and border wall construction.

 

Biden’s Embrace Of Border Tech Raises Privacy Concerns

Law360: President Joe Biden hasn’t shied away from using controversial technologies for immigration enforcement, raising concerns that his predecessor’s pet project to build a border wall is being replaced with a “virtual wall” rife with privacy and civil liberties problems.

 

California Hires Border Wall Contractors to Screen, Vaccinate Migrants

Newsweek: SLS was previously assigned to build the border wall under the Donald Trump administration, but now it is expected to work with the health department to also offer migrants prescription services and transportation for “safe onward travel.”

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Justices Revive Citizenship Suit After Feds Yield Ground

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday vacated a Third Circuit ruling in a deportation case that barred a Yemeni man from acquiring citizenship through his naturalized but divorced parents, after the Biden administration said the lower court overlooked precedent.

 

Anti-Immigration Group Asks Justices To Nix Bond Hearings

Law360: Advocates of drastically reduced immigration urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to overturn decisions in the Third and Ninth circuits that said migrants who have been detained more than six months should get a bond review hearing.

 

High Court Urged To Reverse ‘Impossible’ Review Standard

Law360: A coalition of conservationists and ranchers has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Ninth Circuit ruling that the federal government need not subject immigration policies to environmental review, saying it created an “impossible” standard for challenging immigration programs.

 

1st Circ. Orders BIA To Weigh Honduran Man’s Testimony

Law360: The First Circuit revived a Honduran man’s bid for protection from a deportation order, ruling that immigration authorities saw discrepancies in his testimony that he faced persecution as an HIV-positive gay man where there were none.

 

CA2 Finds Connecticut Convictions for Possession of Narcotics with Intent to Sell Were Aggravated Felony Drug Trafficking Offenses

AILA: The court held that the petitioners’ convictions under Connecticut General Statute §21a-277(a) were controlled substance offenses and aggravated felony drug trafficking crimes, and that the jurisdictional holding of Banegas Gomez v. Barr remained good law. (Chery v. Garland, 10/15/21)

 

CA3 Finds BIA Misapprehended Applicable Law by Not Considering Religious Persecution Against Chinese Petitioner Cumulatively

AILA: Granting the petition for review and remanding, the court held that while the BIA was correct in finding that the petitioner had not suffered political persecution in China, its reasons for rejecting religious persecution were flawed. (Liang v. Att’y Gen., 10/12/21)

 

CA4 Strikes Down Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-

AILA: The court abrogated Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-, holding that 8 CFR §§1003.10(b) and 1003.1(d)(1)(ii) unambiguously grant IJs and the BIA the general power to terminate removal proceedings. (Chavez Gonzalez v. Garland, 10/20/21)

 

5th Circ. Wants DOJ Input On Full Court Review Of ICE Policy

Law360: The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday asked the federal government to respond to Texas and Louisiana’s petition for the full appellate court to review a panel’s decision allowing the Biden administration’s policy curbing immigration enforcement operations to remain in place.

 

Feds Can’t Put DACA Challenge On Hold For Rulemaking

Law360: The Fifth Circuit refused to freeze the Biden administration’s appeal of a lower court order stopping the federal government from approving new applications under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program while it inks a replacement rule.

 

CA9 (2-1) Reverses Fraihat Preliminary Injunction

LexisNexis: Fraihat v. ICE Maj. – “COVID-19 presents inherent challenges in institutional settings, and it has without question imposed greater risks on persons in custody. But plaintiffs had to demonstrate considerably more than that to warrant the extraordinary, system-wide relief that they sought.

 

District Court Orders Government to Begin Processing 9,905 FY2020 Diversity Visas as Soon as Is Feasible

AILA: The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered the defendants to commence processing the 9,905 DV-2020 visas as soon as is feasible, and to conclude such processing no later than the end of FY2022, or September 30, 2022. (Gomez, et al. v. Biden, et al., 10/13/21)

 

Feds Say DC Court Wrong To Narrow Power To Expel Migrants

Law360: The federal government urged the D.C. Circuit to erase a lower court’s injunction blocking its use of a public health law to expel migrant families, arguing that the lower court interpreted its powers under the authority too narrowly.

 

Judge Scolds CBP In Partial Win For Press Freedom Group

Law360: A D.C. federal judge ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday to release previously withheld documents related to the government’s 2017 attempt to unmask a Trump administration critic’s Twitter account, while scolding the agency for its “lackluster efforts” to comply with Freedom of Information Act requirements.

 

Mich. Judge Drops DACA Holders’ Travel Permit Suit

Law360: A Michigan federal judge rejected two brothers’ claims that their due process and religious freedom rights were violated when they were denied travel authorization to Mexico for their grandfather’s funeral, saying that they had no recourse against the officials involved.

 

Documents Related to Lawsuit Seeking to Make Unpublished BIA Decisions Publicly Available

AILA: DOJ provided a status update to the court, which states that the BIA and NYLAG are in discussions regarding the possibility of posting certain unpublished BIA decisions online, both prospectively and retrospectively. (NYLAG v. BIA, 10/15/21)

 

DOD Denies Flouting Immigrant Soldier Citizenship Order

Law360: The Pentagon denied foreign-born soldiers’ contention that it was flouting an injunction to process their citizenship requests, telling a Washington, D.C., court that it was complying and close to doubling the number of requests that are processed annually.

 

IJ Finds Respondent Merits Favorable Exercise of Discretion for Fraud Waiver Under INA §237(a)(1)(H)

AILA: In balancing respondent’s desirability as a permanent resident with social and humane considerations, the IJ found that respondent was entitled to a waiver of removability for fraud or misrepresentation under INA §237(a)(1)(H). Courtesy of Christopher Helt. (Matter of Mohammed, 9/13/21)

 

CBP Notification of Continuation of Travel Restrictions from Mexico and Intent to Lift Restrictions for Vaccinated Individuals

AILA: CBP notification of the continuation of travel restrictions limiting non-essential travel from Mexico into the U.S. at land ports of entry through 1/21/22, while also announcing the intent to lift these restrictions for individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (86 FR 58216, 10/21/21)

 

DHS Notice on Implementation of Employment Authorization for Individuals Covered by DED for Hong Kong

AILA: DHS notice establishing procedures for individuals covered by Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Hong Kong to apply for employment authorization through 2/5/23. (86 FR 58296, 10/21/21)

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

Monday, October 25, 2021

Sunday, October 24, 2021

Saturday, October 23, 2021

Friday, October 22, 2021

Thursday, October 21, 2021

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Monday, October 18, 2021

 

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Sadly, more than eight months in, the Biden Administration lacks:

  • A coherent vision for the border;
  • A cogent plan to restore the refugee system and the legal asylum system (the poorly conceived “proposed asylum regs” — mostly opposed by our Round Table and other asylum experts — don’t make it);
  • The tough, courageous, well-informed leadership to make the necessary border enforcement and Immigration Court reforms and to stand up to the entirely predictable, well-organized nativist opposition, led by Stephen “Gauleiter” Miller and his accomplices.

Not a “recipe for success,” in my view! 

Another item worthy of note: The pending settlement between NYLAG and EOIR on making unpublished decisions readily accessible to the public could open new avenues for advocates.

For example, the 1st Circuit recently cited an unpublished BIA decision in reversing the BIA on “equitable tolling.” https://www.lexisnexis.com/LegalNewsRoom/immigration/b/insidenews/posts/ca1-equitable-tolling-remand-james-v-garland#

BIA panel decisions favorable to respondents are almost never published as precedents by an organization where judicial independence and due process have long taken a back seat to “job preservation” within the DOJ. Politicos @ DOJ are normally much more interested in supporting enforcement and “false deterrence” goals than with enhancing due process, enforcing immigrants’ rights, and achieving racial justice when it comes to immigrants.

🇺🇸Due Process Forever! 

PWS 

1-26-21