Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
ALERTS
Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify information with the government and colleagues.
EOIR plans to resume non-detained hearings July 6, 2021 at all remaining immigration courts.
TOP NEWS
Federal Informants Are Often Promised Visas. They Rarely Materialize.
Intercept: But data that Gershel was able to obtain for his report suggests that bad faith isn’t the primary problem. The S visa system itself is broken. Getting an S visa, an interagency process that requires an application from the Justice Department and then approvals by agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, can take up to a decade — a laborious process that dissuades officials at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other agencies from even applying for them. Making S visas even less appealing, the law requires that federal agencies monitor the applicant until the process is complete.
Biden administration formally launches effort to return deported veterans to U.S.
WaPo: The Biden administration unveiled plans Friday to bring hundreds, possibly thousands, of deported veterans and their immediate family members back to the United States, saying their removal “failed to live up to our highest values.”
U.S. looks into having 3 Central Asian states take in at-risk Afghans -sources
Reuters: They said Washington is in talks with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan about letting in the at-risk Afghan citizens. Two of the sources were U.S. officials and all requested anonymity.
US will close 4 emergency shelters for migrant children
AP: Four of the large-scale shelters will remain open, including one that has faced criticism from immigrant advocates at Fort Bliss Army Base in El Paso, Texas, she said. Others are in Albion, Michigan; Pecos, Texas; and Pomona, California, she said.
Supreme Court rules against immigrants claiming safety fears after deportation
WaPo: Alito said Congress had good reason to be more restrictive with those who came back into the country after being deported. “Aliens who reentered the country illegally after removal have demonstrated a willingness to violate the terms of a removal order, and they therefore may be less likely to comply with the reinstated order” that they leave, he said.
Republicans go all-in on immigration as a political weapon
Politico: With Donald Trump and a dozen House Republicans joining Abbott on the border on Wednesday, the GOP is loudly signaling its conviction that immigration will be a potent political weapon ahead of the midterm elections and presidential primary in 2024.
House Budget Trims ICE Funding, Ends Local Deputy Program
Law360: The House Appropriations Commission has released its homeland security budget for 2022, and it slashes U.S. Customs and Border Protection spending by $927 million, shaves ICE’s budget down a hair and cuts a controversial program that allowed local law enforcement to be deputized as immigration officials.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
The U.S. Supreme Court held that INA §241, not INA §236, governs the detention of noncitizens subject to reinstated orders of removal, meaning that such noncitizens are not entitled to a bond hearing while they pursue withholding of removal. (Johnson, et al. v. Guzman Chavez, et al., 6/29/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062935
Immigration in the Supreme Court, 2020 Term
ImmProf: The U.S. government prevailed in four of the five cases, an 80 percent success rate. This rate was higher than that seen in recent Terms.
SCOTUS Grants Cert in Patel v. Garland
The U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for writ of certiorari in Patel v. Garland to decide whether INA § 242(a)(2)(B)(i) “preserves the jurisdiction of federal courts to review a nondiscretionary determination that a noncitizen is ineligible for certain types of discretionary relief.” AILA Doc. No. 21070132
Flores settlement applies to minors detained amid pandemic – 9th Circ
Reuters: A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday said a longstanding settlement agreement requiring the government to detain minors who enter the U.S. illegally in licensed facilities rather than hotels applies to children who came to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CA2 on Finality of Convictions
PLS: Today, the Second Circuit issued a landmark decision in Brathwaite v. Garland, a case filed by PLS, finding that the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA’s) imposition of a presumption of finality to state criminal convictions that were under appellate review was arbitrary and unreasonable.
4th Circ. Upholds Illegal Reentry Law’s Constitutionality
Law360: The Fourth Circuit has affirmed the constitutionality of a federal illegal reentry law, dismissing a Honduran immigrant’s claim that it unlawfully allows an administrative agency, rather than a jury, to establish an element of a crime and incorporates the facts supporting a removal order.
5th Circ. Revives Honduran’s Asylum Bid Over Threats
Law360: The Fifth Circuit has sent an appeal by a Honduran asylum-seeker back to the Board of Immigration Appeals, saying the BIA needs to get the immigration judge in the case to clarify an “ambiguous” statement that the man is “likely” to be killed by cops in an order denying asylum.
On rehearing en banc, the court held that where a petitioner is a child at the time of the alleged persecution, IJs and the BIA must take the child’s age into account in analyzing past persecution and fear of future persecution for purposes of asylum. (Portillo-Flores v. Garland, 6/29/21) AILA Doc. No. 21063030
CA11 Finds BIA Failed to Properly Reconsider Discretionary Denial of Asylum Under 8 CFR §1208.16(e)
The court held that when an applicant is discretionarily denied asylum but granted withholding of removal and the IJ fails to reconsider its discretionary denial of asylum, the BIA must remand for the IJ to conduct this required reconsideration. (Thamotar v. Att’y Gen., 6/17/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062832
The D.C. Circuit Court affirmed the district court’s determination that the IIRAIRA barred its review of 10 of the 11 alleged policies, because either the policy was unwritten or the challenges to it were untimely. (M.M.V., et al. v. Garland, et al., 6/18/21) AILA Doc. No. 19092532
BIA Finds IJs May Exercise Discretion to Rescind In Absentia Removal Orders
The BIA rescinded the absentia order of removal, after finding that an IJ, who has properly entered an in absentia order of removal, has the authority to determine whether a late arrival constitutes “exceptional circumstances.” Matter of S-L-H- & L-B-L- 28 I&N Dec. 318 (BIA 2021) AILA Doc. No. 21070137
Challenge to the Biden Administration’s Interim Enforcement Priorities Dismissed Without Prejudice
The district court denied Arizona and Montana’s request for preliminary injunction and dismissed the case without prejudice. (State of Arizona, et al., v. DHS, et al., 6/30/21)
ILA Doc. No. 21063099
ACLU Files First Lawsuit Against Biden Admin Over Transportation of Migrants by ICE
Newsweek: The first-ever lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was filed Wednesday over long-distance transportation of detained migrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Tech Group Says Schools’ OPT Support ‘Nakedly Political’
Law360: A technology union has urged the D.C. Circuit to bar over 150 colleges and universities from having a say in its lawsuit challenging work permit extensions for foreign graduates, saying that the schools’ arguments are purely political.
DHS releases Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization
USCIS: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization (PDF, 3.77 MB), a whole-of-government approach to breaking down barriers to U.S. citizenship and promoting naturalization to all who are eligible, as outlined in President Biden’s Executive Order 14012.
ACTIONS
- Take Action: Urge the Administration to Rescind Policies that Restrict Entry to the U.S. and Address the DOS Backlogs and Delays
- Take Action: Congress Needs to Stop Feeding the Immigration Detention Machine
- Sign-on Letter Urging Members of Congress to Co-sponsor the Improving Opportunities for New Americans Act
- Racial Justice and Immigrant Rights Leaders Launch “Until We’re Free” Table to Mobilize Against Biden’s Border and Enforcement Policies
- Sign On to Support Call for Transparency in NYC ICE Field Office
RESOURCES
- AILA: Practice Pointer: AG Garland Precedential Decisions in Matter of A-B- and Matter of L-E-A
- AILA: Practice Advisory: Strategies and Considerations in the Wake of Niz-Chavez v. Garland
- AILA: Update: Summary of Examples Following Reports of USCIS Waiving the In-Person Interview Requirement
- AILA: Withdrawal of Representation in Immigration Practice
- AILA: Overcoming Secondary Trauma in Immigration Practice
- Asylos
- Nigeria: Yoruba Christian Priests (AFR2021-02)
- Dominican Republic: The Situation of Women in the Country and Domestic Violence (AME2021-06)
- Sudan: Unaccompanied Eritrean Minors (MEN2021-06)
- CLINIC: Practice Advisory: Stays of Removal
- CLINIC: USCIS Policy Manual Updates on Naturalization and False Claims to Citizenship and Unlawful Voting
- CLINIC: Supreme Court Rules Grant of TPS Not an Admission
- CLINIC: Supreme Court Addresses Asylum Credibility in Garland v. Dai
- CLINIC: Bona Fide U Status Petitioners to be Given Deferred Action and EADs
- CLINIC: Biden Administration Announces New Prosecutorial Discretion Policy
- CRS: Primer on U.S. Immigration Policy
- CRS: Asylum Eligibility for Applicants Fleeing Gang and Domestic Violence: Recent Developments
- CRS: Increasing Numbers of Unaccompanied Alien Children at the Southwest Border
- DMRS: Unredacted documents related to the Migrant Protection Protocols
- GAO: ICE Efforts to Address COVID-19 in Detention Facilities
- ILRC: Special Considerations when Screening Youth for T Visa Eligibility
- Legal Aid: U Visa EAD FAQ
- LSNYC Practice Advisory on continuances: fifth edition
- NIP/NLG: Practice Advisory: Strategies and Considerations in the Wake of Niz-Chavez v. Garland
EVENTS
- 7/7/21-7/21/21 Webinar Series: Navigating Refugee and Asylee Issues
- 7/8/21-7/29/21 Webinar Series: Overview of Removal Proceedings and Orders of Removal
- 7/9/21 FOIA Requests with DHS
- 7/15/21 Using litigation to end statelessness
- 7/15/21 Build Bridges, Not Walls: A Journey to a World Without Borders
- 7/15/21 Hot Topics in Crimmigration: The Modified Categorical Approach and State Decriminalization and Reclassification Statutes
- 7/16/21 Review of Attorney General Decisions and BIA on Asylum In Effect and Practice Tips
- 7/18/21 Prosecutorial Discretion in Removal Proceedings
- 7/21/21 The ethics of dual representation (child and guardian) in SIJS practice
- 7/21/21 Ethical Considerations for Immigration Law
- 7/21/21 Litigation Updates: Implications for Survivor Representation
- 7/22/21 PLI: Defending Immigration Removal Proceedings 2021
- 7/26/21 Understanding Parole
- 9/23/21 Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2021: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices
ImmProf
Monday, July 5, 2021
- Republicans eyeing White House take hard line on immigration
- What a Reagan-era law can teach Democrats about legalizing undocumented immigrants
Sunday, July 4, 2021
- The Immigrant History Behind Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest
- From the Bookshelves: End of the Myth
- Happy Independence Day!
- Immigration Doesn’t Just Mean Coming To America. These 4 Books Are Good Reminders.
Saturday, July 3, 2021
Friday, July 2, 2021
- Biden’s interagency strategy for promoting naturalization
- From The Bookshelves: The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henríquez
- Capitol rioter accompanied members of Congress on trip to US-Mexico border
- Los Jornaleros del norte “Sabor a mi”
- Citizenship Studies special issue (vol 25, issue 02): Decarceral Futures: Bridging Migrant and Prison Justice towards an Abolitionist Future
- The structural racism of our immigration system
Thursday, July 1, 2021
- Your Playlist: María del Pilar
- Strategies and Considerations in the Wake of Niz-Chavez v. Garland
- Happy July 4: USCIS to Celebrate Independence Day with Naturalization Ceremonies Across the Country
- From the Bookshelves: Immigration Matters: Movements, Visions, and Strategies for a Progressive Future (2021). Editors, Ruth Milkman, Deepak Bhargava, Penny Lewis
- Immigration Article of the Day: Attacking Democracy Through Immigration Workplace Raids by Bill Ong Hing
- TED-Ed Video: Professor Robert Chang Explains the Chinese Exclusion Act
- ACLU Files First Immigration Lawsuit Against Biden Administration
- Trump pans Biden’s immigration policies during trip to southern border
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
- The EOIR is Hiring
- The false promises of more immigration enforcement
- Ninth Circuit Leaves Flores Settlement Intact
- Immigration Article of the Day: Remand and Dialogue in Administrative Law by Christopher J. Walker and James Saywell
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
- Civil Immigration Suits Continue to Rise
- Immigration in the Supreme Court, 2020 Term
- Analysis of Johnson v. Guzman Chavez by Gabriel Chin
- Supreme Court Decides Immigrant Detention Case
- Podcast: Migrations: A World on the Move
- Immigration Article of the Day: Estimating the Economic Impact of the 2021 Dream Act by Ike Brannon and M. Kevin McGee
Monday, June 28, 2021
- National Association of Immigration Judges
- Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Judicial Review/Adjustment of Status Case
- Immigration Article of the Day: Terrorism and the Inherent Right to Self-Defense in Immigration Law by Faiza W. Sayed
- Nolan Rappaport: “Border crisis deepens as governors assert control”
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s #Pride tweet conceals a violent history
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Thanks for keeping us up to date, Liz! 😎👍🏼
PWS
07-06-21