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)
- NEWS
- LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
- RESOURCES
- EVENTS
NEWS
Analysts Don’t Expect Significant Changes in Immigration Policy After the Midterms
VOA: The three analysts said that no one is willing to form a framework to write immigration legislation because they do not see an electoral advantage. See also Democrats Twist and Turn on Immigration as Republicans Attack in Waves; Canada plans record immigration targets amid labour crunch.
Attention Travelers: New Rules Will Require More Caution When Entering USA
Forbes: Evidently, USCBP is eliminating the passport entry stamp to streamline the entry process. So now, foreign nationals will only have access to the Form I-94 website as proof of their lawful immigration status.
Abrupt New Border Expulsions Split Venezuelan Families
NYT: The decision to expel Venezuelans under a pandemic-era policy that allows swift expulsions, previously applied mainly to Mexicans and Central Americans, has had the unintended effect of trapping many Venezuelan families on opposite sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. See also Tougher US Asylum Laws Trigger Drop in Venezuelan Migrants Traveling Through Panama; Migrants Encounter ‘Chaos and Confusion’ in New York Immigration Courts; Nearly 500 Venezuelans admitted to U.S., thousands approved via new plan.
Accounts of migrants’ documents being confiscated by border officials prompt federal review
CBS: The department confirmed the review when asked to respond to accounts from migrants who told “60 Minutes” that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials along the U.S.-Mexico border kept their documents, despite agency policy instructing agents to return migrants’ personal property unless they are fraudulent.
130+ Civil Rights Groups Call On President Biden To Include Immigrants In Pardon Process
NIJC: More than 130 immigration, criminal justice, and civil rights organizations released a letter today urging the Biden administration to include immigrants in the pardon process.
Over 100 Orgs Want Visits For Detained Immigrants Restored
Law360: More than 100 immigrant rights organizations are urging the Biden administration to fully reinstate visitation at immigration detention facilities, saying in a Thursday letter that visitation is crucial for detainees’ mental health and monitoring human rights violations.
ACLU condemns Texas Border Patrol agents’ use of pepper balls against protesting migrants
SA Current: The ACLU is condemning the actions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents allegedly caught on video firing pepper balls at a group of Venezuelan migrants protesting along the banks of the Rio Grande River near El Paso.
LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
2nd Circ. Won’t Review Honduran Man, Son’s Asylum Request
Law360: The Second Circuit on Wednesday declined to review a decision denying an asylum application from a Honduran man and his son who claim they will be killed by gang members if they return home, finding the Board of Immigration Appeals properly reviewed the immigration judge’s decision.
2nd Circ. Won’t Revive Ecuadorian’s Asylum Bid
Law360: The Second Circuit on Tuesday backed the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeal’s decision to apply a persecution motive standard used in asylum requests to an Ecuadorian’s withholding of removal request, saying it was reasonable for the agency to do so.
3rd Circ. Nixes Asylum Over Evangelical Christianity Link
Law360: The Third Circuit on Tuesday knocked down a Guatemalan man’s asylum bid after concluding he failed to back up his fears of violence in the Central American nation based on gang recruitment efforts and his rejection of gangs due to his evangelical Christian faith.
8th Circ. Denies Family’s Asylum Bid Over Gang Fears
Law360: The Eighth Circuit has upheld a Board of Immigration Appeals ruling that denied a family asylum based on alleged gang threats for lack of evidence that the government of El Salvador could not or would not protect them.
9th Circ. Upholds Ruling Denying Bisexual Man Asylum
Law360: A Mexican citizen who said police and criminal gangs would torture him for being bisexual and suffering from mental illness if he is deported a third time
9th Circ. Backs Juvenile Immigrant Adjudication Deadline
Law360: The Ninth Circuit on Thursday backed an order requiring U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to adjudicate Special Immigrant Juvenile petitions within 180 days, rejecting the government’s argument that a lower court relied on “stale evidence” and disregarded hardship considerations.
States Cry Foul Over Steep Drop In Title 42 Haitian Expulsions
Law360: Republican state attorneys general accused the Biden administration of violating an injunction requiring it to repel migrants from the border under pandemic-era restrictions, saying a sharp drop in Haitian expulsions indicated the administration was selectively lifting the so-called Title 42 border block.
DHS Begins Limited Implementation of DACA Final Rule
AILA: On 10/31/22, DHS began limited implementation of the DACA final rule. USCIS will continue to accept and process applications for deferred action, work authorization, and advance parole for current DACA recipients. Due to litigation, USCIS will accept but cannot process initial DACA requests.
EOIR 30-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Forms EOIR-42A and EOIR-42B
AILA: EOIR 30-day notice and request for comments on proposed revisions to Form EOIR-42A and Form EOIR-42B. Comments are due 12/5/22. (87 FR 66326, 11/3/22)
EOIR 30-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form EOIR-31A
AILA: EOIR 30-day notice-and-comment period for proposed revisions to Form EOIR-31A, which allows an organization to seek accreditation or renewal of accreditation of a non-attorney representative to appear before EOIR and/or DHS. Comments are due by 12/5/22.
CIS Ombudsman Introduces Revised Form for Requesting Case Assistance
AILA: The CIS Ombudsman’s Office updated the DHS Form 7001, Request for Case Assistance, used for requesting case assistance.
RESOURCES
- AILA: Practice Alert: DOS Updates Visa Appointment Wait Times Page to Include Additional Categories Including Applications Being Processed through Interview Waiver
- AILA Policy Brief: Case Management: An Effective and Humane Alternative to Detention
- CLINIC: Frequently Asked Questions: EADs for Afghans
- CLINIC: Frequently Asked Questions on the Venezuelan Parole Process
- DOJ OIG: Audit of the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s Electronic Case Management System Awards
- ILRC: New Options for Survivors of Trafficking and Domestic Violence
- ILRC: Alert-October 2022 Changes to USCIS FORM N-648 and to the USCIS Policy Manual
- NIJC: FAQ: Post-Win Information For Asylees And Pro Bono Attorneys (National Cases)
- OpenBorders: The Free Immigration Guide (App)
EVENTS
- 11/8/22 SIJS-based Adjustment of Status with Delinquency or Crimes
- 11/9/22 CMS: 2022 Hybrid Academic and Policy Symposium, Building Our Common Home: Honoring the Dignity and Resilience of Migrants
- 11/10/22 Punishing Trauma: Incident Reporting and Immigrant Children in Government Custody
- 11/10/22 Immigration Pro Bono: You Don’t Need to Know It All on Day One
- 11/14/22 ASISTA: Navigating Systems with your Immigrant Survivor Clients
- 11/15/22 NIJC’s Fall Pro Bono Asylum Training
- 11/15/22 AILA: Parole Potpourri
- 11/16/22 Introduction to Conditional Permanent Residence and Filing the I-751
- 11/16/22 NIJC Lunch & Learn For Pro Bono Attorneys In Indiana
- 11/16/22 AILA: New EOIR Limited Representation Regulations Are Here: How Do They Change My Practice?
- 11/17/22 EOIR: Chicago Stakeholder Session
- 11/17/22 NLG: Updates on Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds (TRIG) with guest speaker, Jay Gairson
- 11/18/22 Fall 2022 Asylum Conference
- 11/18/22 AILA: Borders Imposed: Indigenous Communities and Immigration
- 11/29/22 Building an Asylum Claim
- 11/30/22 CGRS Preserving the Record for Appeal in a Fear-of-Return Claim
- 12/6/22 Emerging Strategies for Prolonged Detention
- 12/6/22 Immigration Reform: Might Past Be Prologue?
- 12/7/22-12/8/22 Defending Survivors: Strategies for Immigrant Survivors Seeking Justice
- 12/7/22 Parole in Immigration
- 12/13/22 The Effects of Absences on Naturalization
- 12/13/22 USCIS: Asylum Quarterly Stakeholder Engagement
- 12/14/22 Hot Topics in Asylum Law
- 12/14/22 CLINIC Working Through Vicarious Trauma With Self-Care Strategies
- 12/15/22 NLG: Obtaining Criminal Records with guest speaker, Gabriela Kahrl
- 01/19/23 NLG: Top Ethical Issues Facing Legal Representatives in Removal Hearings with guest speaker, Retired Immigration Judge Dana Marks
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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.org
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Supposedly, the main political issues right now are the economy and inflation. But, the economy and inflation are largely determined by the Fed, markets, global conditions, weather, and a certain amount of pure luck — all things beyond the direct control of the political branches of the USG.
As mentioned by Chuck Todd on last Sunday’s NBC “Meet the Press,” many experts say that the most effective tool that the Administration and Congress have to improve the economy without triggering a recession is to increase legal immigration — sooner rather than later. But, neither party is interested. The GOP sees an anti-immigrant stance as a key to political success. And, the Dems are “actively disinterested” in the issue. So, the opportunity passes.
But, the reality is that, in the long run, no amount of shipping containers, walls, prisons, family separations, deportations, exclusions to death or despair, hate rhetoric, or restrictive legal roadblocks will halt the future flow of human migration, and not incidentally, the internal relocation in America as certain areas become “unlivable.”
According to a government report published in today’s Washington Post:
The U.S. can expect more forced migration and displacement
Already, the authors of Monday’s report said, major storms such as Hurricane Maria, as well as extended droughts that strained lives and livelihoods, have led people to leave their homes in search of more-stable places.
In the hotter world that lies ahead, they write, additional climate impacts — along with other factors such as the housing market, job trends and pandemics — are expected to increasingly influence migration patterns.
“More severe wildfires in California, sea level rise in Florida, and more frequent flooding in Texas are expected to displace millions of people, while climate-driven economic changes abroad continue to increase the rate of emigration to the United States,” the report finds.
Such shifts are inherently complicated and fraught.
Several Indigenous tribes in coastal regions, facing fast-rising seas, have already sought government help to relocate, but have struggled to do so without significant hurdles.
“Forced migrations and displacements disrupt social networks, decrease housing security, and exacerbate grief, anxiety and mental health outcomes,” the authors write.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/11/07/cop27-climate-change-report-us/
Neither political party appears serious about addressing these migration realities — already underway. The ideas that we can wall ourselves off, invest in “sending countries,” detain, and deport our way out of migration are not “solutions.”
Failure to act boldly and expansively on legal immigration will create a huge class of exploitable, disenfranchised, extralegal residents and plenty of work for border agents, internal police, righty judges, and jailers. It will also be a huge boon to smugglers and cartels who basically will “own” the American migration franchise. But, in the long run, building a large “underground humanity” won’t be enough to offset the “downside” of lacking a robust, realistic, orderly, legal immigration process.
Eventually, those nation-states that figure out how to harness, welcome, and distribute the power of human migration will rule the future. Right now, America’s leaders, of both parties, seem wedded to a “sure to fail” approach of either opposing or ignoring the realities and unlimited potential of human migration. Too bad — for all of us!
🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!
PWS
11-08-22