THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-28-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group!

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

TOP NEWS

 

Migrant youth describe desperation to leave large shelters

AP: The children were interviewed by immigrant advocates from March to June, and their accounts were filed late Monday with a federal court in Los Angeles that oversees a longstanding settlement governing custody conditions for children who cross the border alone.

 

Driven by pandemic, Venezuelans uproot again to come to US

WaPo: Many of the nearly 17,306 Venezuelans who have crossed the southern border illegally since January had been living for years in other South American countries, part of an exodus of millions since President Nicolás Maduro took power in 2013.

 

Biden admin won’t oppose bid to revive immigration judges union

Reuters: DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) on Friday withdrew its opposition to the National Association of Immigration Judges’ motion for reconsideration of the November ruling, which said the judges were management employees who cannot unionize under federal law.

 

U.S. border arrests top 1 million in fiscal year 2021

Reuters: At the current pace, the total border arrests for the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, would be the highest since 2000, when nearly 1.7 million migrants were apprehended by U.S. authorities.

 

Touring the Border, Harris Asked Questions, and Had Few Answers

NYT: Advocates pushed the vice president to end Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allows the government to expel migrants for public health reasons.

 

Biden administration forces out Border Patrol chief, a supporter of Trump’s policies.

NYT: The Biden administration is forcing out the chief of the United States Border Patrol, Rodney S. Scott, who took over the agency during the final year of the Trump administration, a Department of Homeland Security official said on Wednesday.

 

U.S. planning to evacuate thousands of interpreters from Afghanistan

Politico: The plan is to use the Special Immigrant Visa category to process the interpreters once they’re moved to a third country, likely to happen in August.

 

NJ Senate Votes To End Immigration Detention

Law360: New Jersey is on track to join California and become the first East Coast state to ban U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities following a vote Thursday.

 

U.K. wants to send asylum seekers to offshore centers after Denmark passes similar law

WaPo: Downing Street is even exploring sharing a center in Africa with Denmark, the Times of London reported.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Justices Vet Court Review Of Non-Discretionary BIA Orders

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to assess an Eleventh Circuit decision holding that courts lack authority to review “non-discretionary” determinations by the Board of Immigration Appeals related to findings of inadmissibility.

 

High Court Wraps Up Moot ‘Remain In Mexico’ Suit

Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court undid two lower court rulings that blocked a Trump-era asylum policy Monday, deeming an injunction on the Migrant Protection Protocols moot three weeks after President Joe Biden formally ended the program.

 

BIA Remands for IJ to Determine Qualification for “Simple Possession” Exception

The BIA sustained the appeal and remanded to allow the IJ to evaluate if the respondent qualifies for the “simple possession” exception to §245(h)(2)(B) under the circumstance-specific approach. Matter of Moradel, 28 I&N Dec. 310 (BIA 2021) AILA Doc. No. 21062335

 

1st Circ. Won’t Nix Its Ruling On ICE Courthouse Arrests

Law360: The First Circuit stood by its decision to wipe a lower court ruling that had blocked federal immigration authorities from making arrests in and around Massachusetts courthouses, ruling Thursday that the Biden administration’s decision to curb many such arrests does not render the case moot.

 

CA3 Upholds BIA’s Denial of Motion to Reopen CAT Claim Based on Changed Country Circumstances in Jamaica

The court found that the BIA did not abuse its discretion in dismissing petitioner’s motion to reopen as untimely, finding that her motion did not contain any evidence that Jamaican officials would likely acquiesce to her torture if she were returned to Jamaica. (Darby v. Att’y Gen., 6/17/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062533

 

5th Circ. Nixes Mentally Ill Pakistani Man’s Asylum Bid

Law360: The Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to reinstate the asylum status of a schizophrenic Pakistani man who called his brother and threatened to kill up to 50 people in Amarillo, Texas, rejecting his counsel’s arguments that his threat wasn’t serious because he’s mentally ill.

 

CA7 On Niz-Chavez: Avila De La Rosa V. Garland

LexisNexis: Avila de la Rosa v. Garland “Cristian Avila de la Rosa received a procedurally defective Notice to Appear for his immigration removal proceedings, and (unlike many others) he made a timely objection to that Notice. The immigration judge, however, disregarded Avila’s objection, and the Board of Immigration Appeals thereafter insisted that Avila was not entitled to relief unless he could demonstrate prejudice.

 

CA9 On Voluntary Departure: Zamorano V. Garland

LexisNexis: Zamorano v. Garland “Victor Luis Angeles Zamorano, a native and citizen of Mexico, seeks review of a decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissing his appeal from a decision of the immigration judge (IJ) that denied his application for voluntary departure. Because the IJ failed to evaluate the factors weighing in favor of granting Zamorano voluntary departure, we grant the petition and remand.

 

9th Circ. Faults Credibility Finding For Asylum-Seeker

Law360: The Ninth Circuit ordered the immigration courts on Tuesday to reconsider a Ukrainian asylum-seeker’s request for protection, finding a series of errors with a judge’s ruling that the migrant wasn’t credible.

 

CA9 Finds Changed Country Conditions Exception Applies Where Personal Circumstances Changed in a Way Entirely Outside Petitioner’s Control

The court held that while a self-induced change in personal circumstances does not qualify for the changed country conditions exception, that principle does not apply when changed country circumstances, while personal to petitioner, are entirely outside her control. (Kaur v. Garland, 6/21/21) AILA Doc. No. 21062831

 

Obscure DHS Databases Make FOIA Impossible, Suit Says

Law360: An immigrant advocacy group wants to know more about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “obscure” network of databases and how immigration agencies store their enforcement data, but alleges that the agencies are dodging its records request in violation of the Freedom of Information Act.

 

DOJ Issues Guidance Regarding Adjudication of Motions to Reopen in MPP Cases

DOJ issued guidance to all immigration court and BIA personnel with information regarding the adjudication of motions to reopen in Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) cases. AILA Doc. No. 21062437

 

DHS Announces Expanded Criteria for MPP-Enrolled Individuals Who Are Eligible for Processing into the United States

DHS announced that it will expand the pool of MPP-enrolled individuals who are eligible for processing into the United States. Beginning June 23, 2021, DHS will include MPP enrollees who had their cases terminated or were ordered removed in absentia. AILA Doc. No. 21062332

 

Update Regarding VSC Address Change Announcement

In response to member inquiries, AILA updated its practice alert to inform members that the new zip code for Essex Junction is correct, however, it appears that some courier services do not yet recognize the new zip code, which goes into effect on 6/25/21. AILA Doc. No. 21061642

 

USCIS Will Now Provide Self-Service Kiosks for BIA and EOIR Payments

USCIS announced that, as of June 2021, will allow attorneys and accredited representatives to use self-service kiosks in USCIS field offices to pay the fees for filing an appeal of a DHS officer decision to the BIA or EOIR immigration court motions. AILA Doc. No. 21062231

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, June 28, 2021

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Friday, June 25, 2021

Thursday, June 24, 2021

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Monday, June 21, 2021

 

***************

Thanks for keeping us up to date, Elizabeth!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

07-01-21

🏴‍☠️SUPREMES’ GOP MAJ. SLAMS GULAG DOOR SHUT ON REFUGEES IN “WITHHOLDING ONLY PROCEEDINGS” 👎🏽 — “NO BOND HEARINGS FOR YOU, ALIENS!” — Johnson v. Guzmán Chavez (6-3) — Oh, To Be A “Pipeline Builder” Endowed With Legal & Human Rights That Even Elite GOP Supremes Will Recognize!

Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes
Supreme Court Reporter
Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/supreme-court-deported-immigrants-penneast-pipeline/2021/06/29/3e83164e-d8dc-11eb-8fb8-aea56b785b00_story.html

This WashPost headline and Post Supreme Court reporter Robert Barnes’s summary say it all!

Supreme Court rules against immigrants claiming safety fears after deportation and for pipeline builders

By Robert Barnes

June 29 at 5:22 PM ET

. . . .

In the immigration case, the court was considering the rights of a relatively small subset of immigrants: those who were deported once before but reentered the United States illegally because they say they faced threats at home.

At issue was a complex federal law that authorizes the government to detain immigrants and which section of it applies to these types of cases.

One piece of the law says, “the alien may receive a bond hearing before an immigration judge” and thus the chance to be free while proceedings continue, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for the majority. In the other, the immigrant is considered “removed,” and indefinite detention is warranted.

Alito and his fellow conservative justices said it was the second that applied, and the detainees do not get a bond hearing. The court’s three liberals objected.

The case involved people who an immigration officer found had credible fears of danger or persecution in their home countries. For instance, Rodriguez Zometa said he was threatened with death by the 18th Street Gang when he was removed to his home country of El Salvador.

The question of whether the government could hold the immigrants without a hearing before an immigration judge had divided courts around the country. The case was argued before President Biden took office, and lawyers for the Trump administration told the court immigrants were not entitled to a hearing.

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.

He was joined by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

The court’s liberals, Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, saw it differently and would have affirmed the victory the plaintiffs won at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond.

“Why would Congress want to deny a bond hearing to individuals who reasonably fear persecution or torture, and who, as a result, face proceedings that may last for many months or years?” Breyer wrote. “I can find no satisfactory answer to this question.”

The case is Johnson v. Guzman Chavez.

. . . .

Here’s the “full text” of the decision:

19-897_c07d

********************

Nice summary, Robert! You can read the rest of Barnes’s report at the link. Indeed, Justice Breyer’s cogent question quoted in the article remains unanswered by the wooden legal gobbledygook in the majority decision, devoid of much understanding of how the dysfunctional Immigration Courts and the DHS “New American Gulag” actually operate and dismissive of what it actually means to be a refugee seeking to exercise legal rights in today’s world.

At issue: The right of non-criminal foreign nationals who have established a “reasonable fear” of persecution or torture if deported to apply for bond pending Immigration Court hearings on the merits of their cases. Getting a bond hearing before an Immigration Judge does not in any way guarantee release; just that the decision to detain or release on bond will be based on the individual facts and circumstances. Individuals released from detention have a much better chance of obtaining counsel and gathering the documentation necessary to win their cases. They are also much less likely to be “coerced” by DHS detention into surrendering viable claims and appeal rights.

Majority’s response: These “aliens” have neither rights nor humanity that any life-tenured GOP-appointed judge is bound to respect.

Alternative: There is a readily available alternative statutory interpretation, adopted by the 4th Circuit and the dissent, that would recognize the human and legal rights of vulnerable refugees seeking legal protection and give them hearings on continuing custody in substandard conditions (in some instances, conditions in the “DHS New American Gulag” fall well below those that would be imposed on convicted felons).

You can’t win ‘em all: The Round Table was one of many organizations filing an amicus brief on behalf of the refugees and in support of the position adopted by the 4th Circuit and the dissent. While we were unsuccessful on this one, at least we are on the “right side of history.” 

Creative suggestion: Detainees should incorporate, perhaps as a pipeline company, or better yet a gun rights’ group, so that they would have legal rights and be treated as “persons” (e.g., “humans”) by the Supremes’ GOP majority.

Next steps:

  • Advocates should prevail on the Biden Administration to change the regulations to give this limited subclass of applicants for protection a chance to seek bond before an Immigration Judge;
  • Advocates should keep up the pressure on the Biden Administration and Garland to appoint better judges at EOIR: progressive practical experts, who know how to grant legal protection efficiently and fairly and who will establish appropriate legal precedents to help these cases move through the EOIR system on the merits in a timely and fundamentally fair manner consistent with due process. The length of time it takes “Withholding Only” cases to move through the Immigration Courts has lots to do with: unfair, coercive detention practices by DHS; poor judging and bad precedents at EOIR; incompetent “judicial administration” and politicized “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” @ EOIR by DOJ politicos and their EOIR “retainers.”

Long term solution:

  • Support and vote for progressive legislators who will revise the immigration laws to do away with the unnecessary and wasteful  “New American Gulag;”
  • Vote progressive candidates for President and the Senate: political officials committed to putting better Federal Judges on the bench at all levels — “practical scholars” with real experience representing the most vulnerable in society and who will tirelessly enforce due process, equal protection, human rights, and fundamental fairness for all persons regardless of race, religion, or status; judges who understand and will seriously reflect on the “real life” human consequences of their decisions.  Better judges for a better America!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-30-21

⚖️🗽👍🏼TOUGH, SMART NDPA LITIGATORS DEFEAT GARLAND’S BIA AGAIN — Latest 7th Circuit Beat-Down Of BIA On “Modified Categorical Approach” Also Illustrates Clear Unconstitutionality Of Immigration Courts — NO Unrepresented Individual Would Have Had A Chance Of Producing This Result!

 

Subject: Illinois burglary

More good news from the Seventh Circuit – generic Illinois burglary is not an aggravated felony nor a turpitude offense!  

 

Parzych v. Garland, __ F.3d __ (7th Cir. June 28, 2021)

http://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2021/D06-28/C:20-2317:J:Brennan:aut:T:fnOp:N:2726021:S:0

If you congratulate anyone, you might include Hena Mansori, now at Cook County PD office, who represented Chester for years before leaving NIJC (and Diana Rashid handled it after Hena left).  It’s not fair that us appellate folks get all the glory.

Regards, 

Chuck 

 

Charles Roth

Director of Appellate Litigation

National Immigrant Justice Center

*****************

Thanks, Chuck. And, congrats to Hena Mansori, Diana Rashid, and you on another great victory!

Unrepresented individuals appearing before non-expert judges “supervised” by a BIA tilted in favor of DHS enforcement is not due process! Yet, that’s what happens every day in Immigration Courts.

Too many of these “courts” are “embedded” in the DHS “New American Gulag,” an inherently coercive environment that makes mincemeat out of fundamental fairness and mocks due process.

Tell AG Garland you’ve had enough of this scofflaw farce! Demand progressive changes starting with a new BIA with progressive expert judges, merit-based judicial selections, universal representation, and an end to Gulag courts and overused televideo “adjudication centers” that dehumanize and mechanize “justice” in a totally improper manner!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-29-21

HISTORY: YOUNGER THEN THAN NOW! — “Sir Jeffrey” Chase & Me @ The International Association of Refugee Law Judges’ Seminar in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, 1997

“Sir Jeffrey and Me
“Sir Jeffrey & Me
Nijmegen, The Netherlands 1997
PHOTO: Susan Chase

Well, we’re not as young as we were. But, we’re still working together to raise awareness and advance the principles of the U.N.Convention & Protocol on the Status of Refugees and to restore due process and fundamental fairness to the dysfunctional Immigration Courts through all of our amazing colleagues on the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges.

Jeffrey S. Chase
Hon. Jeffrey S. Chase
Jeffrey S. Chase Blog
Coordinator & Chief Spokesperson, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges
Me
Me

 

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-27-21

“DUH” OF THE DAY: GOP WHITE NATIONALIST RACISM & STUPIDITY, BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BUMBLING LEAD TO ONGOING BORDER CHAOS: “For people like Medina, neither restrictive immigration policies nor dangerous journeys through several countries, border walls, or even statements from politicians deter them from seeking to rebuild their lives in the United States.”

Maria Ramos Pacheco
Maria Ramos Pacheco
Bilingual Reporter
Dallas Morning News
PHOTO: ElPasomatters.com

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/immigration/2021/06/25/threat-of-death-in-their-homelands-continues-to-push-migrants-toward-us-mexico-border/

Maria Ramos Pacheco reports for the Dallas Morning News:

CIUDAD JUÁREZ, Mexico — While Vice President Kamala Harris said Friday the goal of her trip to El Paso was to understand the “root causes” of the rising influx of migrants from recent months, just across the border Honduran migrant Manuel Medina had a simple explanation for why thousands of people from other countries will continue to try to reach the United States: To stay alive while fleeing countries where their families are threatened by crime and violence.

“I did not leave my country and my wife because I wanted to. [Rising] crime forced me to leave everything; the only thing I want is for my family and me to be safe,” said Medina, 37, who left Honduras in May 2019 after receiving threats from gang members.

Amid a chorus of criticism coming mainly from Republican politicians, Harris made her first trip to the U.S. Southern border flanked by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas; Sen. Dick Durbin, D- Ill; and El Paso Rep. Verónica Escobar.

Amid a chorus of criticism coming mainly from Republican politicians, Harris made her first trip to the U.S. Southern border flanked by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro MayorkasSen.

For people like Medina, neither restrictive immigration policies nor dangerous journeys through several countries, border walls, or even statements from politicians deter them from seeking to rebuild their lives in the United States.

Medina has lived for two years in this city’s El Buen Samaritano shelter, managed by a religious organization, along with his 15-year-old son Nahúm Medina. Their asylum petition was initially rejected in 2019 and he stayed in Ciudad Juárez under the Migrants Protection Protocols, waiting for a second chance.

The MPP or “Remain in Mexico” program was created in 2019 by the Trump administration, which forced people seeking asylum to remain in Mexico. As of May, there were 71,002 active cases.

. . . .

****************

Read the rest of Maria’s article at the link.

Desperate people do desperate things! Duh!

You’ve heard it before on Courtside:

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2021/06/24/%e2%9a%a0%ef%b8%8f%f0%9f%9a%b8v-p-harris-is-going-to-the-border-she-should-talk-with-the-real-victims-of-her-governments-illegal-wrong-headed-immoral-and-ineffective-border-deterrence-p/

Indeed, since the day of inception in Dec. 2016, Courtside has been very consistent in speaking truth to bigots and misguided inept policy makers:   

https://immigrationcourtside.com/2016/12/31/family-detention-raids-expediting-cases-fails-to-deter-scared-central-americans/

Restrictionism, racism, nativism, cruelty, and scofflaw behavior will only continue to make things worse. And, AG Merick Garland, staffing your “courts” with “Miller Lite” holdovers and Trump toadies won’t stop the downward spiral of American justice on your watch!       

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-27-21

🇺🇸⚖️🗽DT-21 SPEAKS AGAIN! — All The News “They” Don’t Want You To Hear From Deep Inside The Bowels Of The Dysfunctional EOIR Bureaucracy! — Garland Moves In Slow-Mo As Democracy Crumbles & Voldemort’s Power Grows!🆘

Deep Throat
Deep Throat
Parking Garage
Is DOJ/EOIR “Management” staking out every one of these in the DELMARVA area to catch “DT-21?” Is that why they don’t have time to reform EOIR?  — Creative Commons
EOIR Tower
The EOIR Tower in Falls Church might appear shiny from the outside, but inside it’s still just about as opaque as the lives of those caught up in Garland’s Star Chambers!

1) The Richmond video “court” is opening soon to hear more cases in secret without public access.

2) Several IJs working from home are now hearing cases by VTC from their residences. But, there’s no provision for those hearings to be open to the public contrary to the regulations. More VTC just means more problems.

3) EOIR has hired 10 or 11 new IJs but hasn’t disclosed the names publicly. Can “Dandy Dan” Kowalski & other news-hounds smoke out the names again?

4) At least one inexcusable, major setback on long overdue progressive judicial leadership @ EOIR! Unfortunately, the AG decided not to remove Wetmore as Chairman and his probation period has passed. 

So, are we stuck with a Miller/Barr/Trump toady “plant” in charge of a “court” that probably has more to do with racial and gender justice in America than any “judicial” (using the term lightly) body short of the Supremes and that “gets it wrong” — often dead wrong — in well-publicized bad opinions “outed” by the Article IIIs on a regular basis?  No, doesn’t make sense! 

Progressives, the NDPA, and anybody who cares about due process and equal justice in America should be raising hell with the Administration until we get the change we voted for! 

“Passing probation” doesn’t guarantee anyone a particular SES position or a quasi-judicial position at EOIR. Just ask legions of past DOJ “Hallwalkers!” 

Garland was sitting around the Ivory Tower while the NDPA was fighting in the trenches for human lives and the survival of Americans democracy. That’s a big reason why Garland, Biden, Harris, and the rest of the Administration have their jobs now! Don’t stand for an immigration bureaucracy and justice system controlled and populated by disciples and plants of “Gauleiter Miller,” “Billy the Bigot,” and “Gonzo Apocalypto.”

5) On the much brighter side, Courtside has confirmed from several sources that the long-extinguished flames of due process, fundamental fairness, best practices, humanity, compassion, and intellectual courage should soon be re-ignited in the opaque darkness and “rabbit warrens” of the 24th Floor of the Tower where the BIA hangs out. 

Will the “walls  of bias and intentional exclusion of the best and brightest American justice has to offer from outside government” that has plagued the BIA and demeaned American Justice for the past two decades finally be cracked? Will that crack become a breach that eventually becomes a flood of scholarship, fairness, efficiency, respect, and teamwork that will transform a “Tower of Darkness” in to a “Beacon of Justice” that can be seen from coast to coast?

6) Stay tuned! And, keep demanding better, much much better, from Garland, Monaco, Gupta, Clarke, and the rest of the Biden immigration, civil rights, human bureaucracy at DOJ! They seem to think that “elections only have consequences” in immigration and human rights when the GOP wins. 

Evidently, they view themselves as above the fray just treating EOIR like another piece of their dysfunctional DOJ bureaucracy. Nothing very proactive or bold! Just let the abuses be unearthed by others and dribble out a bit at a time.Then do a little damage control and “message massaging.” 

That’s a prime reason why, despite representing the majority of Americans, and having access to better ideas, the Dems have had trouble governing, retaining power, and turning their agenda into action over the past half-century!  It’s also a prime reason why humanity is suffering in our dysfunctional Immigration “Courts,” in a broken DHS that continues to run Gulags and has shamefully retaliated against NDPA members fighting for justice, and in the inexcusable human carnage at our borders fueled by the DOJ’s participation in corruption, intellectual dishonesty, and the illegal suspension of the rule of law! 150 days in and still no functioning asylum system? Come on man!

Five years ago, after retiring, I tried to tell the Clinton folks that not appointing a progressive immigration/human rights expert to be Attorney General would be a huge mistake. Obviously, that became a “moot point” in November 2016.

Ironically, however, the Trump Administration got my message in a negative way. They turned the DOJ over to radical White Nationalist nativists determined to use the negative power of bureaucracy and immigration to batter down the foundations of Americans democracy and spread the gospel of racism, misogyny, and unbridled xenophobia. And,  it worked! Big time!

I’m certainly not the only one who vainly tried to tell the Biden Administration NOT to repeat the same mistakes at Justice. Better candidates for AG, folks like the Castro brothers, Chairman Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Jamie Ruskin, and Dean Kevin Johnson were out there. Real, courageous, dedicated progressive leaders and due process mavens! Folks who would have shaken up EOIR, gotten rid of the deadwood and incompetence, cut the unnecessary backlog, instituted best practices, and reestablished a robust, functioning asylum system at the border by now! Folks with the proven backbone to stand up for justice, against all threats, internal and external! Folks who would take seriously their oaths “to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic!”

The slow and ineffectual pace of personnel and other achievable internal reforms at EOIR continues to be an insult to those who are the future of American democracy — if American democracy indeed has a future! That’s still up in the air!

We can see the effect of delay in making the necessary bold progressive immigration and human rights reforms in VP Harris’s foundering performance at the border. No rule of law, no program for fairly and efficiently adjudicating asylum, no open ports of entry, no coherent message on the realities of human migration, no order, kids in bad placements, Border Patrol agents “apprehending” folks who only want their prompt, fair asylum screening from Asylum Officers! What an (avoidable) mess!

The nativist opposition hasn’t folded their tents! Stephen Miller & co. are energized by Garland’s failure to heed the advice of and bring in the expertise of progressives at EOIR. He’s like “Voldemort” — every day Garland dawdles, Miller gets stronger.

Voldemort
His power grows every day that Garland dawdles and progressives find themselves still playing defense, rather than running the show under tone deaf “management” that owes its very existence to them and their support! After 8 years of “lockout” by Obama — yielding a quite predictable human rights and legal disaster — are the folks who revived democracy and kept the fires burning in Immigraton Court REALLY willing to put up with another four years of THIS? Are Dems REALLY THIS DUMB (not to mention ungrateful)? 
By Blanca Toth, OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Creative Commons

Keep the outrage and opposition to intransigence and failure to bring reform to EOIR coming! NDPRers, my time on the stage is winding down! It’s YOUR future and YOUR CHILDREN’S future on the line today! 

Opaque procedures, regressive leadership, secret hearings, Miller cronies, bad precedents, lack of progressive jurisprudence, Article III embarrassments and travesties, mindlessly “expedited” dockets, Aimless Docket Reshuffling, idiotic due-process denying production quotas and “performance work plans,” contempt for advocates and experts, defense of the indefensible, and treating human lives and advocates as “fungible” at EOIR are NOT OK!

Keep the resistance building! Be outraged! Turn up the decibels until even Garland and the West Wing can’t ignore the uproar!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-25-21

⚠️🚸V.P. HARRIS IS GOING TO THE BORDER: SHE SHOULD TALK WITH THE REAL VICTIMS OF HER GOVERNMENT’S, ILLEGAL, WRONG-HEADED, IMMORAL, AND INEFFECTIVE BORDER DETERRENCE POLICIES — Avoid The CBP “Dog & Pony Show,” & The GOP’s Cowardly “Gunboat Cruz” — Cross Over The Border, View The Human Rights Catastrophe We Have Created, Understand People Have A Right To Seek Legal Refuge, & Fix The Legal Asylum System At Ports Of Entry & Immigration Courts With Humane, Practical Experts! — “The vice president seems to have bought into the… I can’t use another word, but the nativist party line, that somehow these immigrants are the cause of the problem when, in fact, they’re the victims of multiple problems in many cases.” — Stop Blaming, Shaming, & Dehumanizing The Victims & Start Fixing Our Asylum System & Solving The Problems That Force Them To Migrate!

“Floaters”
“Sadly, over the last two decades the US has been unable to get beyond this vision of ‘deterrence’ of legal asylum seekers.“ — Floaters — “How The World’s Richest Country Responds To Asylum Seekers”
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – The bodies of Salvadoran migrant Oscar Alberto Mart??nez Ram??rez and his nearly 2-year-old daughter Valeria lie on the bank of the Rio Grande in Matamoros, Mexico, Monday, June 24, 2019, after they drowned trying to cross the river to Brownsville, Texas. Martinez’ wife, Tania told Mexican authorities she watched her husband and child disappear in the strong current. (AP Photo/Julia Le Duc)
Vice President Kamala Harris
Vice President Kamala D. Harris
Vice President of the United States. — “So far, she hasn’t gotten beyond the mistakes of the past, either. Taking a tour with CBP won’t help.”
(Official Senate Photo)

https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2021/06/17/vice-president-kamala-harris-us-mexico-border-immigration-unaccompanied

J.D. Long-Garcia writes in America Magazine:

Last week, Ms. Harris traveled to Guatemala to meet with President Alejandro Giammattei and expressed the Biden administration’s goal to “help Guatelmalans find hope at home.” During a press conference on June 7, she told Guatemalans thinking of making the journey north to the United States: “Do not come. Do not come.”

pastedGraphic.png“O.K., that’s like saying, ‘Stay home and die,’” according to the Rev. Pat Murphy, a Scalabrini priest who runs the Casa del Migrante shelter in Tijuana, Baja California. “That message is falling on deaf ears.”

If Ms. Harris does travel to the border, Father Murphy said, she should be sure to make a visit to the Mexican side. “If she just stays on her side, she’s not going to find much,” he said.

In Tijuana, Ms. Harris would see a camp of 2,000 asylum seekers near the port of entry, Father Murphy said. “If she looked a little further, she would see the people who are victims of violence in Tijuana and Mexicali and other places,” he said. Migrants may be eager to escape bad situations in their home countries, Father Murphy said, but they often do not understand how difficult conditions at the border are “until they’re stuck in the middle of [a border city] with no place to go.”

“You can’t understand [border realities] by talking to government officials. You have to talk to the people who are working with migrants and hear about the suffering.”

At diminished capacity because of the pandemic, migrant shelters are full. The United States has started to accept some vulnerable people, like families with children with an illness or those being persecuted because of their sexual orientation, Father Murphy said. But there are also hundreds deported every day.

He believes if the vice president did decide to visit the border, it would be worth her while. “You can’t understand [border realities] by talking to government officials,” Father Murphy said. “You have to talk to the people who are working with migrants and hear about the suffering.”

. . . .

Donald M. Kerwin
Donald M. Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Donald Kerwin, the executive director of the Center for Migration Studies in New York, also noted that people have a right not to migrate—to stay in their home country. He sees immigration policy as an arena for a fruitful convergence of Catholic social teaching, international law and contemporary human rights principles.

The Biden administration’s recognition of the forces that drive migration should be applauded, but it can address root causes while re-establishing humane asylum policies at the border.

“States are responsible for ensuring that people can flourish at home,” he said. “But it’s an empty right at this point in many communities in the Northern Triangle countries. They’re facing impossible conditions, caused by natural disasters, climate change, gang violence and extraordinary poverty. So people have a right to flee those impossible conditions and seek lives that are worthy of human dignity. In some cases, that means leaving their countries.”

When they do leave their home countries, people have the right to seek protection wherever they can find it, Mr. Kerwin said. “The vice president seems to have bought into the… I can’t use another word, but the nativist party line, that somehow these immigrants are the cause of the problem when, in fact, they’re the victims of multiple problems in many cases.”

The United States needs a functioning refugee resettlement system, an asylum system and robust humanitarian programs to address the conditions in Central America that are driving people to migrate, he said. “They’re not in place right now,” Mr. Kerwin said, “and until they are in place, people will reluctantly, at a terrible cost…continue to migrate.”

If Ms. Harris visits the border, Mr. Kerwin suggested she speak with migrants that have entered the United States, starting with the children. “Find out why they’ve come, what drove them to the United States and also see what their situation is currently, in often overcrowded facilities,” he said. “At that point, it would be clear as day that these folks are not a problem. These folks fled terrible problems, but they themselves are not the problem.”

Earlier this month, more than 20 bishops, Vatican representatives and leaders of Catholic organizations met for an emergency immigration meeting at Mundelein Seminary, outside of Chicago. Mr. Kerwin, who attended the meeting, said organizers displayed notes written by immigrant children, often addressed to God.

“It’s clear from reading these notes that these are lovely children, who miss their parents and worry about them and are in difficult situations that are not of their own making. And that the United States should do right by them,” he said. “And the right thing is to protect them and reunify them with family members.”

Chloe Gunther, America intern, contributed to this story.

***********************

Read the full article at the link.

Politicians of both parties are averse to the truth. They don’t have the courage and backbone for it! But the truth is quite simple, if somewhat “inconvenient.”  

Unless and until we can solve the problems driving refugees to flee the Northern Triangle, we will have to take more of them. We should welcome them through an orderly legal system, including a robust, properly staffed, and honestly administered legal refugee and asylum system. 

Alternatively, we could continue our current policies of immorally and illegally killing some on the journey, “snuffing” some in the desert (where their bodies might never be found and “counted”), and enriching smugglers and cartels who will eventually get many determined survivors into the interior. 

There, they will join our highly exploitable, yet politically expedient for both parties (for differing reasons), “extralegal population.” A  limited number will be “in the wrong place at the wrong time” and be arbitrarily removed by ICE, usually at costs that far exceed any demonstrable benefits. Even fewer will commit misconduct leading to their arrest and removal.

But the bulk of them will blend in somehow and do what’s necessary for themselves and their families to survive, as has been happening for decades and generations. They will also enrich and improve our nation in ways both predictable and unpredictable. Some will eventually find it possible and advantageous to return to their nations of origin, most won’t. 

It would be far better for both the migrants and our nation, not to mention humanity as a whole, if we included the bulk of those forced to come here in our legal immigration system. But, whether we are enlightened enough “to do it the right way” or not, they will come as long as the alternatives are starvation, death, unspeakable abuse, and unending despair. 

Migration is both our oldest and most persistent human phenomenon and an essential survival skill for humanity. It’s going to take more than inane walls, cruel and illegal imprisonment in American Gulags, unworkable laws, mindless, yet expensive, enforcement, nativist rhetoric, bad judges, and cowardly politicians sending “don’t come” messages to make them “die in place.” Our politicians might be not be bright or brave enough to face reality — but, I guarantee that the forced migrants we like to dehumanize and look down upon are much smarter, braver, more aware, and far more creative, adaptable, and capable than we think!

🇺🇸🗽⚖️Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-24-21

 

THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-21-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group! — Lots Of Interesting Items Under “Top News,” Some Good, Some Not So Much!

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

TOP NEWS

 

The Justice Department Overturns Policy That Limited Asylum For Survivors Of Violence

NPR: In a pair of decisions announced Wednesday, Attorney General Merrick Garland is vacating several controversial legal rulings issued by his predecessors — in effect, restoring the possibility of asylum protections for women fleeing from domestic violence in other countries, and families targeted by violent gangs.

 

Advocates mark DACA’s 9th anniversary, urge Congress to act

AP: A pending federal court case in Texas is challenging whether the program’s creation was legal. If the challenge is successful, it could end protections, adding urgency to those pressing Congress for a more lasting solution.

 

White House eyes ending migrant family expulsion by July 31

Axios: The policy known as Title 42 has resulted in tens of thousands of migrant family members, including asylum seekers, being sent away — as well as thousands of kids then separating from their families to cross into the United States alone.

 

U.S. speeds visas for vulnerable Afghans as pullout looms, but Congress wants more

Reuters: As the U.S. military completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan in the coming weeks, the Biden administration says it is adding staff to hurry up the visa process for Afghans who worked for the U.S. government and want to flee to avoid Taliban reprisals.

 

NYC’s Latino Leaders Split Over the Best Mayoral Candidate for Immigrants

CityLimits: As they continue on the campaign trail, contenders of both parties who remain in the race speak openly about citizens’ concerns, such as crime, police reform, affordable housing, education, health, jobs and the Big Apple’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Latino voters, however, still feel that they have not heard concrete proposals regarding immigrants.

 

ICE Discussed Punishing Immigrant Advocates For Peaceful Protests

Intercept: Internal ICE records and emails, as well as a deposition by an ICE officer in a court case, show the agency referring to an advocacy group as a “known adversary” and closely surveilling the immigration and civil rights activists’ activities, both online and in person.

 

Desperate for Covid Care, Undocumented Immigrants Resort to Unproven Drugs

NYT: Health and consumer protection agencies have repeatedly warned that several of these treatments, as well as vitamin infusions and expensive injections of “peptide therapies” sold at alternative wellness clinics for more than $1,000, are not supported by reliable scientific evidence.

 

Biden Signals Big Changes to Legal Immigration and Asylum Law with Spring Regulatory Agenda

AIC: Although not every proposed rule put on the agenda will end up being finalized, the agenda signals an administration’s priorities and its goals for pursuing changes to our immigration system through executive action.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

DOJ Vacates Matter of A-B- and Matter of A-B-II

DOJ vacated Matter of A-B- and Matter of A-B-II and stated that immigration judges and the BIA should no longer follow these decisions when adjudicating pending or future cases. Matter of A-B-, 28 I&N Dec. 307 (A.G. 2021) AILA Doc. No. 21061639

 

DOJ Vacates Matter of L-E-A- II

DOJ vacated Matter of L-E-A- II in its entirely and immigration judges and the BIA should no longer follow Matter of L-E-A- II when adjudicating pending and future cases. Matter of L-E-A-, 28 I&N Dec. 304 (A.G. 2021)AILA Doc. No. 21061640

 

OIL Memo: Impact of Attorney General decisions in Matter of L-E-A-and Matter of A-B-

AAG: Please review any pending cases that may be affected by the Attorney General’s vacatur of L-E-A-II, A-B-I,  and A-B-II and take appropriate steps in light of that development, including seeking remands in appropriate cases to allow the Board to reconsider asylum claims based on this change in the law.

 

CA2 Certifies Question of Whether New York Petit Larceny Constitutes a CIMT to State Court of Appeals

The court certified to New York State Court of Appeals the question of whether an intent to “appropriate” property requires an intent to deprive the owner of property permanently or under circumstances where their property rights are substantially eroded. (Ferreiras Veloz v. Garland, 6/7/21) AILA Doc. No. 21061635

 

3rd Circ. Won’t Halt Deportation Of Jamaican Woman

Law360: A split Third Circuit panel on Thursday refused to halt deportation proceedings for a Jamaican woman who pled guilty to defrauding the elderly in a lottery scam, ruling in a precedential decision that she didn’t prove she was likely to face retribution from the scam’s ringleader if sent back to her native country.

 

CA5 Says Government May Revoke Citizenship of Former Salvadoran Military Officer Involved in Extrajudicial Killings

The court held that although the defendant, a former military officer, refused to shoot civilians during the Salvadorian Civil War, the fact that he “assisted” and “participated in the commission of” extrajudicial killings permitted his denaturalization. (United States v. Vasquez, 6/11/21) AILA Doc. No. 21061737

 

CA6 Says IJs and BIA Have Authority to Grant Administrative Closure to Allow Noncitizens to Apply for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver

The court concluded that 8 CFR §212.7(e)(4)(iii), together with 8 CFR §§1003.10(b) and 1003.1(d)(1)(ii), gives IJs and the BIA the authority for administrative closure to permit noncitizens to apply for and receive provisional unlawful presence waivers. (Garcia-DeLeon v. Garland, 6/4/21) AILA Doc. No. 21061634

 

CA6 Holds That Petitioner Failed to Show Prejudice Due to Immigration Court’s Procedural Error of Improper Change of Venue

The court found that while the Memphis Immigration Court violated procedural rules in transferring the petitioner’s hearing to the Louisville Immigration Court, that violation was a procedural question relating to venue, not jurisdiction to hear the case. (Tobias-Chaves v. Garland, 6/8/21) AILA Doc. No. 21061636

 

CA9 Remands Case Involving Defective NTA Under Pereira in Light of Recent Supreme Court Decision

The court granted the petition for review and remanded the case to the BIA in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland. (Lorenzo Lopez v. Garland, 6/8/21) AILA Doc. No. 21061643

 

CA9 Reverses Denial of Deferral of Removal Where BIA Improperly Engaged in De Novo Review

The court held that the BIA erred by reviewing the IJ’s decision de novo rather than for clear error, and found that the record established that the petitioner had met her burden to show it was more likely than not she would be tortured if removed to Mexico. (Soto-Soto v. Garland, 6/11/21) AILA Doc. No. 21061644

 

10th Circ. Says Samoan Citizenship Question Not For Courts

Law360: A split Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday reversed a Utah federal judge’s order finding that American Samoans are birthright U.S. citizens, holding that the issue belongs in the hands of Congress, not the courts.

 

11th Circ. Says Rules Require New Review Of Asylum Bid

Law360: In a decision that established several court precedents, the Eleventh Circuit has revived a Sri Lankan man’s bid for asylum, ruling that both an immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals failed to properly reconsider his asylum application after allowing him to stay in the United States.

 

DC Circ. Says Asylum Policies Beyond Its Purview

Law360: The D.C. Circuit ruled Friday that it lacks jurisdiction to revive asylum-seekers’ challenge to how border officers carry out a policy that requires migrants to seek protections in other countries they pass en route to the U.S.

 

Resources Related to Lawsuit Challenging New DHS Asylum EAD Rules

AILA: DHS filed a motion for partial summary judgment in district court on all the plaintiffs’ claims regarding the 30-day timeline repeal rule, which was published on June 22, 2020.

 

DHS Asks Judge Not To Impose Asylum Work Permit Deadline

Law360: The Biden administration has asked a Maryland federal judge to keep intact a Trump-era asylum work rule that gives the U.S. Department of Homeland Security more time to process work permits, saying the increased flow of asylum-seekers justifies the change.

 

Migrants Fault USCIS Interpretation Of 10-Year Entry Ban

Law360: Three Mexican nationals have asked a Colorado federal court to declare that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services unlawfully denied their green card applications by finding them inadmissible under a 10-year bar on reentering the United States up to 20 years after they left the country.

 

USCIS Updates Policy Manual on the Bona Fide Determination Process for Victims of Qualifying Crimes and EADs and Deferred Action for Certain Petitioners

USCIS provided guidance in the Policy Manual on employment authorization and deferred action for principal petitioners for U nonimmigrant status and qualifying family members with pending, bona fide petitioners. Comments and feedback is due by July 14, 2021. AILA Doc. No. 21061433

 

DHS and DOS Issue Joint Statement on Expansion of Access to the Central American Minors Program

DHS and DOS issued a joint statement on the second phase of the Central American Minors (CAM) program’s reopening. Eligibility now includes legal guardians and parents and U.S.-based parents or legal guardians with pending asylum application or pending U visa petition filed before 5/15/21. AILA Doc. No. 21061631

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, June 21, 2021

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Friday, June 18, 2021

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Monday, June 14, 2021

 

************************

Thanks Elizabeth! As previously noted, I remain skeptical of Biden Administration plans to “reform” asylum law without bringing in the progressive human rights experts who can handle the job! 

Most needed “reforms” — like bringing in progressive judges, replacing the BIA, bringing in progressive managers and executives, slashing the largely self-created EOIR backlog, working with NGOs to provide universal representation to asylum seekers and other vulnerable individuals, eliminating unnecessary detention, issuing positive precedents to guide IJs and Asylum Officers, bringing on more Asylum Officers and offering them better training (see, e.g., VIISTA @ Villanova), restoring Administrative Closing, implementing e-filing at EOIR, expanding the Central American Minors Program and other refugee programs in Central America, and many others are “hiding in plain sight.” 

The “blueprints” are already about there — in bulk! All that’s missing is the dynamic new progressive leadership to implement them and insure compliance. 

Also, as I’ve pointed out before, no Administration in history has had the benefit of so much empirical data, practical scholarship, and “ready for prime time” workable solutions for such well-documented and glaring problems. The asylum and EOIR “fixes” are both highly doable and can produce immediate positive results with more to follow! 

But, not necessarily the way the Biden Administration is going about it, with far too many of those needed to turn “rhetoric into reality” still on sidelines in the private sector. In the meantime, folks who have already proved beyond a reasonable doubt that they can’t fix the system remain in key positions.

For Pete’s sake, several of my Georgetown Law students rattled off some of these solutions in class yesterday, and asked me why nobody was working on them. I told them I couldn’t figure out why the Biden Administration was so “slow on the uptake” with so many resources and experts out here in the private sector!

One of my most obvious ideas — hire my three colleagues, Georgetown Professors Phil Schrag, Andy Schoenholtz, and Temple Associate Dean Jaya Ramji-Nogales who recently wrote “instant immigration classic” The End of Asylum and earlier wrote the classic “bad government” expose Refugee Roulette — on a six month consulting contract to come in and fix EOIR and the Asylum Office.  

It’s not so much regulatory reform that’s needed (although to be sure improvements can be made), but rather bringing in progressive leadership and better judges in key positions at DHS, DOJ, and EOIR to insure that due process is maximized, best practices are instituted, and recalcitrant personnel still committed to the Trump/Miller White Nationalist agenda are placed in other jobs where they can’t overtly damage our justice system.

Not “rocket science!” 🚀 But, it’s not going to be solved by a “regulatory agenda” either! 

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-23-21

🆘🏴‍☠️ “ROGUE DEPARTMENT” 🤮— PROGRESSIVE IMMIGRATION/HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WERE THE FIRST TO ALERT AMERICA TO THE UNBRIDLED CORRUPTION AT TRUMP’S DOJ AND THE ASTOUNDING ETHICAL FAILURES & MALICIOUS INCOMPETENCE AMONG ITS EMPLOYEES! — Garland Might Think That “Going Slow” While DOJ Dishes Out Injustice Is “A-OK“ — Many Of Us Don’t!

 

Sessions in a cage
Jeff Sessions’ Cage by J.D. Crowe, Alabama Media Group/AL.com
Republished under license
Billy Barr Consigliere
Bill Barr Consigliere
Artist: Pat Bagley
Salt Lake Tribune
Reproduced under license

Judge Garland wonders whether there could be some “problems” with these guys and their corrupt agendas. Meanwhile, his DOJ continues to sink deeper into the muck every day! Hey, what’s the rush? It’s “only justice” and human lives at stake here! Garland seems to think that can’t compare with protecting important “Departmental prerogatives” to cover up past and perpetuate future injustices @ Justice! He’s wrong! Dead wrong in some cases!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/21/trump-doj-bill-bar-attorney-general-justice-department?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Peter Stone reports for The Guardian:

Donald Trump never did much to hide his dangerous belief that the US justice department and the attorneys general who helmed it should serve as his own personal lawyers and follow his political orders, regardless of norms and the law.

Former senior DoJ officials say the former president aggressively prodded his attorneys general to go after his enemies, protect his friends and his interests, and these moves succeeded with alarming results until Trump’s last few months in office.

The martyr who may rise again: Christian right’s faith in Trump not shaken

But now with Joe Biden sitting in the Oval Office, Merrick Garland as attorney general and Democrats controlling Congress, more and more revelations are emerging about just how far Trump’s justice department went rogue. New inquiries have been set up to investigate the scale of wrongdoing.

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Trump’s disdain for legal principles and the constitution revealed itself repeatedly – especially during Bill Barr’s tenure as attorney general, during most of 2019 and 2020. During Barr’s term in office, Trump ignored the tradition of justice as a separate branch of government, and flouted the principle of the rule of law, say former top justice lawyers and congressional Democrats.

In Barr, Trump appeared to find someone almost entirely aligned with the idea of doing his bidding. Barr sought to undermine the conclusions of Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, independent congressional oversight, and Trump critics in and out of government, while taking decisions that benefited close Trump allies.

But more political abuses have emerged, with revelations that – starting under attorney general Jeff Sessions in 2018 – subpoenas were issued in a classified leak inquiry to obtain communications records of top Democrats on the House intelligence committee. Targets were Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, who were investigating Kremlin election meddling, and also several committee staffers and journalists.

Democrats in Congress, as well as Garland, have forcefully denounced these Trumpian tactics. Garland has asked the department’s inspector general to launch his own inquiry, and examine the subpoenas involving members of Congress and the media. Congressional committees are eyeing their own investigations into the department’s extraordinary behavior.

“There was one thing after another where DoJ acted inappropriately and violated the fundamental principle that law enforcement must be even-handed. The DoJ must always make clear that no person is above the law,” said Donald Ayer, deputy attorney general in the George HW Bush administration.

Ayer thinks there could be more revelations to come. “The latest disclosure of subpoenas issued almost three years ago shows we don’t yet know the full extent of the misconduct that was engaged in.”

. . . .

***********************

Read the full article at the link. Once again, thanks to Don Ayer, a former colleague in both public and private practice, for speaking out!

  • Don Ayer
    Don Ayer
    American Lawyer
    Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General
    Photo: www.ali.org

The record of anti-immigrant, White Nationalist bias at EOIR and the DOJ’s “Dred Scott” approach to justice for asylum applicants and other migrants is crystal clear! Thanks to the NDPA, courageous journalists, some “inside sources,” and the remarkable number of rebuffs from Federal Courts, the record on misfeasance and bias at EOIR, OIL, and the SG’s Office is clear. 

For example, there is no “issue” that Sessions’s “child separation policy” violated the Constitution, that he and other Government officials like Rod Rosenstein and Kristen Nielsen lied about it ( ‘We Need to Take Away Children,’ No Matter How Young, Justice Dept. Officials Said
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/us/politics/family-separation-border-immigration-jeff-sessions-rod-rosenstein.html?referringSource=articleShare), and that the DOJ attorneys defending this abomination at least failed to do “due diligence” and probably misrepresented to Federal Courts.

In many illegal child separation cases, as the Biden Administration is discovering, the damage is irreparable! Yet, only the the victims have suffered! The “perps” go about their daily business without accountability!

Every day, Garland’s lackadaisical approach to restoring “justice @ Justice” and his apparent indifference to individual human rights and fair judging continue to harm vulnerable asylum seekers and other individuals and disintegrate our legal system. It’s “not OK!”

Progressives and members of the NDPA must recognize, if they haven’t already, that they can’t count on Garland! They will have to continue to use litigation, legislation, oversight, FOIA, public opinion, and political pressure to get the immediate common sense progressive reforms and overdue personnel changes that Garland, Monaco, Gupta, and Clarke are avoiding. Garland might view “justice” as too abstract a concept to require his immediate attention. Many of us don’t agree! 

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-22-21

🏴‍☠️☠️⚰️🤮👎IT JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE @ GARLAND’S BIA — Plethora of Errors, Mischaracterizations, Misogyny, and Abuses Emanate From Garland’s Deadly, Out Of Control Star Chambers In Falls Church — How Many Deaths & Embarrassments Is It Going To Take For  Judge G. To Finally Pull The Plug 🔌 On This Dangerous, Incompetent Band Of Scofflaws?  — Issue = Asylum For Rape Victim/Abused Widow In India!

Woman Tortured
“When will it end, Judge G? When will it ever end?” –“She struggled madly in the torturing Ray”
Amazing StoriesArtist Unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

 

https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2021/06/21/18-72786.pdf

Kaur v. Garland, 9th Cir., 06-21-21, published

PANEL:Mary M. Schroeder and Marsha S. Berzon, Circuit Judges, and Salvador Mendoza, Jr.,* District Judge.

OPINION BY: Judge Mendoza

STAFF SUMMARY:

Granting Ravinder Kaur’s petition for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals, and remanding, the panel held that the Board erred in concluding that Kaur failed to establish material changed circumstances to warrant an exception to the time limitation on her motion to reopen, and in concluding that she failed to establish prima facie eligibility for asylum, withholding of removal, or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

Kaur sought to reopen her removal proceedings based on a combination of changed personal circumstances – the death of her abusive husband and his family’s threats that they would kill her if she returned to India because she was responsible for his death, and changed country conditions – including worsening conditions in India for women and widows.

The panel held that the Board mischaracterized the record and erred in concluding that Kaur presented evidence of only changed personal circumstances in support of reopening. The panel explained that while a self-induced change in personal circumstances does not qualify for the changed circumstances exception, that principle cannot apply rigidly when changed circumstances in the country of origin, while personal to the petitioner, are entirely outside her control, as was the case here. The panel further

** This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.

   

KAUR V. GARLAND 3

explained that even where any change in personal circumstances is voluntary and did not originate in the country of nationality, the changed circumstances exception applies where changes in personal circumstances are made relevant due to changes in country conditions. The panel wrote that Kaur’s husband’s death, and his family’s death threats, were made relevant by increased violence in India against women, and in particular against widows. The panel further wrote that, contrary to the Board’s determination that Kaur provided evidence of only generalized conditions, Kaur presented evidence demonstrating that the prevalence and severity of human rights violations against women and widows had materially worsened in many respects.

The panel held that the Board also erred in concluding that Kaur failed to establish prima facie eligibility for asylum and withholding of removal relief. First, the panel concluded that the Board erred in determining that Kaur failed to establish that a protected ground, including her membership in a family social group, would be one central reason, or a reason, for the harm she fears. The panel wrote that a person may share an identity with a persecutor, and if a member of a particular social group is persecuted by other members of that same group because those members perceive the applicant as being “insufficiently loyal or authentic” to that group, she has been persecuted on account of a protected ground. Second, the panel concluded that the Board erred by requiring Kaur to show that her similarly situated family members had been mistreated. The panel explained that the safety of similarly situated members of the family who remained in the country of origin may be pertinent to a claim of future persecution, but does not itself disprove it, and in this case, the Board relied on the safety of Kaur’s daughter, who was not similarly situated. Third, the

 

4 KAUR V. GARLAND

panel concluded that the cultural context and Kaur’s evidence established more than a mere personal vendetta.

The panel held that the Board erred in concluding that Kaur failed to establish prima facie eligibility for CAT protection. First, the panel held that the Board erred in applying a “more likely than not” standard, rather than requiring Kaur to show a “reasonable likelihood” of meeting the statutory requirements for CAT protection. Moreover, the panel concluded that the Board abused its discretion in determining that Kaur did not meet the government consent or acquiescence requirement. The panel pointed out that Kaur presented evidence that her husband’s family is wealthy and has the means of carrying out their threats, that India suffers from widespread corruption, and that officials respond ineffectively to crimes, especially those against women. Based on that evidence, the panel concluded that the Board did not have substantial evidence to dismiss Kaur’s fears as speculation.

***********************

This is outrageous! In addition to raising issues about Garland’s failure to replace the “Killer BIA” with real progressive judges who are experts in human rights, due process, and immigration law, as almost every expert recommended, it raises serious concerns about Associate AG Vanita Gupta’s inexplicable failure to bring in litigation competence at OIL. Presenting and defending this mess as acceptable performance by DOJ quasi-judicial officials raises very serious ethical questions about both the “judges” and the attorneys defending their obviously defective, bias-based, anti-asylum, anti-female work product.   

As many of us have been saying ever since the election, the “thorough housecleaning” at DOJ can’t wait! There is plenty of evidence to get the government lawyers participating in this mockery of justice out of leadership and decision-making positions, at a minimum! The fact that this case was argued under the Trump regime does not change the unethical performance at OIL or the incompetence of the BIA. Folks who “go along to get along” with violations of law and ethics, particularly in support of a White Nationalist agenda, should not be holding responsible Government legal positions. PERIOD!

Every individual and group who believes in due process, equal justice, gender fairness, good government, humanity, racial justice, and legal ethical norms should be demanding that Garland, Monaco, Gupta, and Clarke change leadership at EOIR, immediately relieve and replace (even if on a temporary basis) the BIA, and bring ethics, expertise, and competence to OIL. 

Kristen Clarke, some the most outrageous “civil rights abuses” in America here taking place right at the DOJ — at EOIR and OIL! Others are “hidden in plain sight” at DHS, particularly in their “New American Gulag.” You’re NOT going to solve voting rights, police misconduct, or any other civil rights problem in America without first getting the DOJ’s house in order. And, that means standing up to your dawdling and, to date, remarkably ineffective “political bosses” and demanding immediate change!

It’s YOUR REPUTATION, along with the lives of refugee women like Ms. Kaur, that are on the line here!

🇺🇸 Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-21-21

🤮👎🏽ULTIMATE HIPOCRACY: EVEN AS AMERICA FINALLY CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY, DRED SCOTT & INSTITUTIONALIZED RACIST DEHUMANIZATION REMAIN REALITIES FOR BLACKS & OTHER MIGRANTS OF COLOR AT EOIR & DHS — Imprisonment Without Trial, Bogus Bonds, Mistreatment In The New American Gulag, Jim Crow “Courts,” No Rule Of Law,  Still Realities For Those Of Color Exercising Legal Rights In Broken System!

 

“They had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit.”

Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice, Supreme Court, March 1857, Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857)

“Congress is entitled to set the conditions for an alien’s lawful entry into this country and that, as a result, an alien at the threshold of initial entry cannot claim any greater rights under the due process clause.”

Justice Samuel Alito, Department of Homeland Security v. Thuraissigiam, 591 U.S. ___ (2020)

Dred Scott
Dred Scott (circa 1857)
Public Realm — Black asylum seekers and other migrants aren’t celebrating the continuing disgraceful “Dred Scottification of the other” in Mayorkas’s “New American Gulag” and Garland’s “Miller Lite” Immigration “Courts” that aren’t “courts” at all!

 

 

Rowaida Abdelaziz
Rowaida Abdelaziz
Immigration Reporter
PHOTO: Twitter

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/institutional-racism-immigration-system_n_60cbc554e4b0b50d622b66d7

By Rowaida Abdelaziz in HuffPost:

Yacouba, a political activist in Ivory Coast, knew if he didn’t immediately flee his home country, he wouldn’t survive.

After being threatened, attacked and tortured by people sympathetic to those in power, Yacouba fled his country in 2018. He went to Brazil for a few years, then made a perilous trek through Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Mexico before finally arriving in the United States.

The journey was one of the two most challenging periods of his life. The second was being detained as a Black immigrant in the U.S.

As the nation celebrates Juneteenth — a day commemorating the emancipation of African Americans who had been enslaved in the United States — as a federal holiday for the first time, Black Americans and immigrants are fighting to dismantle institutional racism, including within the immigration system. Black immigrants are disproportionately detained, receive higher bond costs, and say they face racist treatment within detention centers.

Recognizing and celebrating the emancipation of slaves is vital, activists say ― but continuing to take down systemic racism needs to come with it.

“From an immigration perspective, Black immigrants face disproportionate levels of detention and exclusion,” Diana Konate, policy director at the advocacy group African Communities Together, said Thursday on a press call. “These can be life-threatening, as Black immigrants often get deported back to unsafe and dangerous conditions. While we celebrate the victories, we keep in mind that a lot of work remains.”

. . . .

*********************

Read the rest of Rowaida’s article at the link.

Every day that Garland, Monaco, Gupta, and Clarke drag their collective feet on ending “Dred Scottification,” racial bias, and xenophobia at EOIR diminishes their credibility on all racial and social justice issues. To date, Garland has appointed zero (O) progressive judges at EOIR, has only scratched the surface of the White Nationalist bias in decision-making in the Immigration Courts, and has failed to re-establish due process and the rule of law for Blacks and other migrants of color at the border.

Justice Alito and his colleagues in the majority disgracefully basically “dressed up” the core of Dred Scott dehumanization and bias in “21st century faux constitutional gobbledygook and intentional, disingenuous fictionalization!” Make no mistake: asylum seekers applying at our borders with their lives and humanity at stake are “persons” subject to our jurisdiction and are entitled to full Constitutional due process and statutory rights that are being denied to them every day, currently by the Biden Administration.

While Alito & Co. are wrong, DEAD WRONG in all too many cases, nothing in their dishonest and misguided “jurisprudence” prevents Garland from providing due process to individuals, regardless of status, in Immigration Court and to ending the racism and dehumanization underneath both the mess at EOIR and the cowardly abdication of duty by the Supremes’ majority in Thuraissigiam! In human rights, you either solve the problem or become part of it. And, experts, journalists, and historians are making a permanent record of the actions of the Supremes and the Biden Administration when democracy and racial justice are under stress!

You don’t have to look very far to “connect the dots” between Alito’s dismissive attitude toward the human rights of Asians and other asylum seekers of color and the increase in hate crimes directed against Asian Americans and unfair policing of African Americans. Once courts and government officials endorse “dehumanization of the other based largely on ethnicity” the “protections” and “distinctions” of citizenship tend to also vanish. If the lives of migrants of color can be declared worthless, what difference does citizenship mean for those of the same ethnic heritage that Alito deems below humanity? Obviously, the  Trump kakistocracy’s attack on migrants of color was just a “place holder” for their attack on the rights of all persons of color in America! 

How can Garland’s DOJ demand racial justice in state law enforcement while operating America’s most notorious “Jim Crow Court System?”

James “Jim” Crow
James “Jim” Crow
Symbol of American Racism — He still “rules the roost” at Garland’s EOIR!

It’s time for all civil rights and civil liberties organizations to join forces in demanding an end to bias and “Dred Scottification of the other” in Garland’s disgracefully dysfunctional Immigration “Courts.” Not rocket science!🚀 Just human decency, common sense, available (yet ignored) progressive expertise, and Con Law 101!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-21-21

🤯THIS IS THE “CHANGE” PROGRESSIVES VOTED FOR? — 🏴‍☠️ GARLAND DEFENDS UNCONSTITUTIONAL IMMIGRATION DETENTION AS LOSSES CONTINUE TO MOUNT — U.S. Judge In N.D. Cal. Unimpressed With Biden Administration’s Continued Intransigence!

Judah Lakin
Judah Larkin
Partner, Lakin & Wille
Oakland, CA
PHOTO: Larkin & Wille

Subject: [fedcourtlitigation] Habeas Win on Post-Preap Constitutional Challenge to 236(c)

 

Dear All:

 

We wanted to share an exciting decision we received on Friday from Judge Freeman in the Northern District of California on Friday granting our client a bond hearing.

 

We, together with our co-counsel Jenny Zhao and Monica Ramsy from Asian Americans Advancing Justice—Asian Law Caucus, and Scott Mossman, brought a habeas challenging mandatory detention under 1226(c) for an individual who was arrested by ICE in the community, 6 years after he finished his criminal sentence. Our client is an LPR with an aggravated felony conviction (drug trafficking). We asked for the local ICE office to follow the Johnson memo and release him, but they refused. We elevated it to headquarters and they likewise refused.

 

As a result, we brought an as-applied constitutional challenge to his detention without a bond hearing—a claim which was expressly left open by the Supreme Court in Preap. He had been detained for about 6 weeks at the time we filed the habeas, so it is a non-prolonged detention case.

 

Judge Freeman applied the Mathews framework and granted our TRO motion, concluding that the Constitution requires a bond hearing in this case. The bond hearing is scheduled for this week, pursuant to the TRO order, so we are optimistic he will be free soon. We’re also hopeful that this case can be used by others as we continue to work to dismantle mandatory detention.

 

The TRO decision is attached and is available at: Perera v. Jennings, No. 21-CV-04136-BLF, 2021 WL 2400981 (N.D. Cal. June 11, 2021).

Judah Lakin (he/him/his/Él)

Attorney at Law | Lakin & Wille LLP

Here’s a copy of Judge Freeman’s decision, basically a “primer” on Matthews v. Eldridge due process and its blatant violation under immigration bureaucracies of Administrations of both parties.

 

Judge Freeman’s Order

********************

Seems like “Con Law 101” to me! So, how come it’s “above Garland’s pay grade?” 

Many congrats to Judah and all others involved to this effort!

🇺🇸⚖️🗽Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-16-21

THE GIBSON REPORT — 06-14-21 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group — Circuit Judge Robert Katzmann, Tireless Supporter Of Representation For Migrants, Dies At 68; OPLA Will Join Some Niz-Perez Motions; Supremes Nix Reckless Intent As Sufficient For Crime of Violence; Biden Administration Continues To Ignore Plight Of Refugee Women,☠️⚰️🤮 & Many Other Important Items This Week!

Elizabeth Gibson
Elizabeth Gibson
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 Status Overview & EOIR Court Status Map/List

EOIR plans to resume non-detained hearings on July 6, 2021 at all remaining immigration courts. Attorneys have reported seeing non-detained cases advanced or continued with less than 30 days’ notice before the individual hearing, so check your EOIR portal.

 

Prosecutorial Discretion and the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA)

New York City ICE-OPLA-NYC-PD@ice.dhs.gov

Varick  ICE-OPLA-NYC-VRK-PD@ice.dhs.gov

And in case you need a refresher on PD: NIP/NLG: What is the new Prosecutorial Discretion (“PD”) memo?

 

Vermont Service Center Address Change: Effective June 14, 2021.

 

OPLA NY Varick Address Change (not reflected on OPLA website yet)

Office of the Principal Legal Advisor

U.S. DHS/ICE

201 Varick Street, Suite 738

New York, NY 10014

Phone: 212-367-6334

Duty Attorney: OPLA-NY-VARICK-DutyAttorney@ice.dhs.gov

Reception window: weekdays 8:30am – 12:00pm.  In-person, hard-copy service of documents will only be accepted at the window for detained cases pending at the Varick Street Immigration Court.

eService: For detained and non-detained cases pending before the Varick Street Immigration Court, you must use the “Varick Street NYC” location.   For cases pending before the Immigration Courts at 26 Federal Plaza and 290 Broadway, you must use the “New York City” location.  Beginning July 6, 2021, documents submitted with the wrong location designation will be rejected.

 

TOP NEWS

Judge Robert A. Katzmann
Judge Robert A. Katzmann (1954-2021)
Second Circuit Court of Appeals
PHOTO: US Courts.com

Robert Katzmann, U.S. Judge With Reach Beyond the Bench, Dies at 68

NYT: “Almost single-handedly he convinced the organized bar to provide free quality representation for thousands of needy immigrants,” said Jed S. Rakoff, a senior U.S. District Court Judge. “No judge ever took a broader view of the role of a judge in promoting justice in our society, or was more successful in turning those views into practical accomplishment.”

 

New York gave every detained immigrant a lawyer. It could serve as a national model.

Vox: While details of the plan are short, [Biden] has asked the Justice Department to restart its access to justice work, which was on hiatus during the Trump administration, and convened a roundtable of civil legal aid organizations to advise him. But the Biden administration need not look far for potential solutions: The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, a first-of-its-kind program that provides publicly funded lawyers to every detained or incarcerated immigrant in the state, offers a helpful model.

 

Biden Regulatory Playbook Revives More Active Government

Bloomberg: The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security plan to propose new criteria for asylum-seekers as part of Biden’s broader goal to retool the nation’s immigration system. The Department of Homeland Security will draft ways to strengthen protections for undocumented individuals brought to the U.S. illegally as children, under the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). See also Aaron Reichlin-Melnick’s Twitter thread summarizing the agenda.

 

U.S. to expand work permits for immigrants who are crime victims

Reuters: A new U.S. immigration policy announced on Monday will expand access to work permits and deportation relief to some immigrants who are crime victims while their visa cases are pending.

 

Central American women are fleeing domestic violence amid a pandemic. Few find refuge in U.S.

WaPo: Though President Biden quickly signed several executive orders to roll back some of President Donald Trump’s most draconian policies — including one that sent asylum seekers back to Mexico to await their court hearings — a number of other restrictive measures and rulings that directly affect domestic violence survivors remain in place.

 

Immigration judges decide who gets into the U.S. They say they’re overworked and under political pressure.

NBC: Among the judges’ concerns, as described to NBC News: There aren’t enough of them, they need more support staff, and they’ve felt political pressure from their bosses at the Justice Department.

 

US closes Trump-era office for victims of immigrant crime

AP: VOICE will be replaced by The Victims Engagement and Services Line, which will combine longstanding existing services, such as methods for people to report abuse and mistreatment in immigration detention centers and a notification system for lawyers and others with a vested interest in immigration cases.

 

U.S. reunites only seven immigrant children with parents since Feb

Reuters: An effort by U.S. President Joe Biden to reunite migrant families separated by the previous administration is moving slowly, with only seven children reunited with parents by a task force launched in February, according to a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report released on Tuesday. Another 29 families are set to be reunited in the coming weeks, the report said.

 

New data shows that fewer migrant children arrived alone at the southern border last month.

NYT: There was a slight increase in the number of border crossings, encounters and apprehensions overall during the same time period, a sign that the record surge of migrants trying to get into the country this spring could be starting to stabilize.

 

Panic attacks highlight stress at shelters for migrant kids

WaPo: As of May 31, nearly 9,000 children were kept at unlicensed sites, compared with 7,200 at licensed shelters, court filings by the U.S. government said. While the unlicensed facilities were running at near capacity in May, the licensed facilities were only about half full, according to a report filed by the agency tasked with the children’s care.

 

Fewer migrant families being expelled at border under Title 42, but critics still push for its end

WaPo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehension numbers for May released recently show the share of families — about 20 percent — being expelled under Title 42 continued to decline. Although the overall number of families reaching the Southwest border declined as well, the data shows that eight out of 10 families that Border Patrol encountered were released into the country and allowed to pursue immigration cases.

 

Harris defends telling migrants ‘do not come,’ not visiting US-Mexico border

ABC: Her trip to meet with Guatemalan and Mexican leaders is part of a two-track approach to the issue, senior administration officials have said, of “stemming the flow” of migration in the near term and establishing a “strategic partnership” with Mexico and Northern Triangle countries “to enhance prosperity, combat corruption and strengthen the rule of law” in the longer term.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

SCOTUS Holds Recklessness Insufficient for Crime of Violence

ImmProf: It’s one of those wonky SCOTUS plurality opinions. Justice Kagan announces the judgement of the court and gets three justices (Sotomayor, Kennedy, and Gorsuch) to sign onto her opinion, which focuses on the statutory phrase “against the person of another.” Justice Thomas concurs, agreeing in the judgment that Borden’s conviction doesn’t qualify as a violent felony, though he focuses on different statutory language: “use of physical force.”

 

El Salvador Crime Not Basis For Relief, 5th Circ. Says

Law360: The Fifth Circuit declined to review a Salvadoran man’s appeal for humanitarian deportation relief Wednesday, finding that immigration judges had rightfully denied his claims after he failed to show he was a member of a persecuted group.

 

CA5 Denaturalizes Former Salvadoran Military Officer: USA V. Vasquez

LexisNexis: Arnoldo Antonio Vasquez, a former Salvadorian military officer, was a naturalized American citizen. Based on his role in extrajudicial killings and a subsequent cover-up occurring during armed conflict in El Salvador, the government sought to revoke his citizenship, that is, to denaturalize him.

 

CA8 Upholds Denial of Asylum to Honduran Petitioner After Finding Her PSG of Family Membership Was Not a Central Reason for Threats

The court held that the Honduran petitioner did not face past persecution based on her membership in a particular social group (PSG) consisting of her family; rather, the court found she was targeted because she owned land that once belonged to her father. (Padilla-Franco v. Garland, 6/2/21) AILA Doc. No. 21060736

 

CA8 Upholds BIA’s Conclusion That There Was “Reason to Believe” Petitioner Was Involved in Illicit Drug Trafficking

Applying the “reason to believe” standard under INA §212(a)(2)(C), the court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that there was probable cause to believe that petitioner was involved in illicit drug trafficking and was thus inadmissible. (Rojas v. Garland, 5/27/21) AILA Doc. No. 21060735

 

CA9 Says Government May Parole Returning LPR into U.S. Without Proving He or She Meets an INA §101(a)(13)(C) Exception

The court held that the government is not required to prove that a returning lawful permanent resident (LPR) meets an exception under INA §101(a)(13)(C) before it can parole the returning LPR into the United States for prosecution under INA §212(d)(5). (Vazquez Romero v. Garland, 5/28/21) AILA Doc. No. 21060737

 

CA11 Finds Salvadoran Petitioner Whose Family Was Targeted by Gang Failed to Satisfy Nexus Requirement for Asylum

Denying the petition for review, the court held that the Salvadoran petitioner was ineligible for asylum, because the gang that targeted her family had done so only as a means to the end of obtaining funds, not because of any animus against her family. (Sanchez-Castro v. Att’y Gen., 6/1/21) AILA Doc. No. 21060738

 

BIA Issues Ruling on Changed Circumstances Exception to the One-Year Filing Bar for Asylum Applications

The BIA ruled that a mere continuation of an activity in the United States that is substantially similar to the activity from which an initial claim of past persecution is alleged cannot establish changed circumstances under INA §208(a)(2)(D). Matter of D-G-C-, 28 I&N Dec. 297 (BIA 2021) AILA Doc. No. 21060899

 

Feds Tell 1st Circ. Not To Wipe ICE Courthouse Arrest Ruling

Law360: The First Circuit should stand by its decision to wipe a lower court ruling that blocked federal immigration authorities from making arrests in and around Massachusetts courthouses, despite the Biden administration’s order curbing many such arrests, the federal government argued Thursday.

 

DHS Hit With Suit Over Spousal Visa Processing Delay

Law360: A lawful permanent resident of the U.S. sued the Department of Homeland Security in Maryland federal court Wednesday, claiming an unreasonable delay in processing his wife’s spousal visa application, which he says has not been acted on since it was filed in January 2020.

 

USCIS Issues Three Policy Updates to “Improve Immigration Services”

USCIS issued three policy updates in the Policy Manual to clarify the expedited processing, improve RFE and NOID guidance, and increase the validity period for initial and renewal EADs for certain pending adjustment of status applications. AILA Doc. No. 21060934

 

USCIS Issues Updated Policy Guidance on Criteria for Expedite Requests

USCIS updated policy guidance in its Policy Manual regarding the criteria used to determine whether a case warrants expedited treatment. AILA Doc. No. 21060936

 

USCIS Issues Policy Update to Better Protect Victims of Crime (U Visa Petitioners)

USCIS: USCIS is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to implement a new process, referred to as Bona Fide Determination, which will give victims of crime in the United States access to employment authorization sooner, providing them with stability and better equipping them to cooperate with and assist law enforcement investigations and prosecutions.

 

USCIS Launches ‘History’ Tab for Policy Manual

USCIS: USCIS has made historical versions of the USCIS Policy Manual available to the public. These historical versions will reflect the pertinent policy in effect on a particular date and are being provided for research and reference purposes only. Users can find the historical versions under the “History” tab within the Policy Manual chapters. However, this tab will only reflect historical changes moving forward. For historical versions before June 11, you can visit the Internet Archive.

 

ICE Provides Interim Litigation Position Regarding Motions to Reopen in Light of Niz-Chavez v. Garland

ICE provided interim guidance on motions to reopen in light of SCOTUS’s decision in Niz-Chavez v. Garland, stating that some noncitizens may now be eligible for cancellation of removal. Until 11/16/21, ICE attorneys will presumptively exercise prosecutorial discretion for these individuals. AILA Doc. No. 21061030

 

ICE Provides Guidance on Submitting Prosecutorial Discretion Requests to OPLA

ICE provided guidance on submitting a prosecutorial discretion request to OPLA including a listing of relevant email addresses that can be used when submitting a request to OPLA field locations. AILA Doc. No. 21061430

 

EOIR Issues Guidance After DHS Issued Updated Enforcement Priorities and Initiatives

EOIR issued a memo that provides EOIR policies regarding the effect of DHS’s updated enforcement priorities and initiatives. Memo is effective as of 6/11/21. AILA Doc. No. 21061133

 

EOIR Cancellation Of Policy Memorandum 21-10 And Information On EOIR Fees And Fee Waivers

EOIR: As part of EOIR’s ongoing efforts to improve operations and review existing policy memoranda, the following Policy Memorandum (PM) is rescinded: 1.PM 21-10, Fees.

 

RESOURCES

 

·         AILA: Client Flyer: How a Bill Becomes a Law

·         AILA: Client Flyer: The Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Process

·         AILA: Sample Motion to Stay or Recall the Mandate at Court of Appeals

·         Amnesty: USA and Mexico deporting thousands of unaccompanied migrant children into harm’s way

·         ASISTA: Updated Practice Alert Regarding Certain U and T After-Acquired Cases

·         CLINIC: TPS Burma – Initial Application Checklist

·         CRS: Formal Removal Proceedings: An Introduction

·         ILRC: Applying for Adjustment of Status Through VAWA

·         NIP/NLG: What is the new Prosecutorial Discretion (“PD”) memo?

·         NIP/NLG: Settling FTCA Litigation for Immigration Relief

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, June 14, 2021

·         Immigration influences on “In the Heights,” by AK Sandoval-Strausz

·         At the Movies: In the Heights (2021)

·         With a backlog of over 1.3 million cases, the 500 immigration judges in the US feel overburdened and pressured to deport

·         Immigration Article of the Day: The DACA decision: Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California and its implications by Brian Wolfman

Sunday, June 13, 2021

·         FAIR’s take on “Amnesty” — a classroom tool?

·         Rethinking the US Legal Immigration System

·         Immigrant Article of the Day: Missing Immigrants in the Rhetoric of Sanctuary by Ava (formerly Andrew) Ayers

Saturday, June 12, 2021

·         Your Playlist: Diana Jones

·         Immigration Law and FOIA webinar

·         Immigration Article of the Day: Labor Citizenship for the Twenty-First Century by Michael Sullivan

Friday, June 11, 2021

·         From The Bookshelves: The Book of Rosy by Rosayra Pablo Cruz & Julie Schwietert Collazo

·         Immigration Article of the Day: The Case for Chevron Deference to Immigration Adjudications by Patrick J. Glen

·         House Democrats push Garland for immigration court reforms

Thursday, June 10, 2021

·         RIP Judge Robert A. Katzmann (2d Circuit)

·         Book Review of Adam Cox and Cristina Rodriguez’s book, The President and Immigration (2020)

·         Breaking News: SCOTUS Holds Recklessness Insufficient for Crime of Violence

·         Guest Post Jude Joffe-Block on Driving While Brown

·         President Biden wants to expand immigrants’ access to legal representation

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

·         Center for Migration Studies Webinar on new report: making citizenship an organizing principle of US immigration

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

·         Netflix’s Army of the Dead: “U.S. Constitutional Law — Not In Effect”

·         VP Harris Speaks on Migration in Mexico City

·         Progess Report Released on Reuniting Migrant Familes

·         VP Harris to Guatemalan Asylum Seekers: “Do Not Come”

Monday, June 7, 2021

·         Children Thrive Action Network: I ❤️ My Immigrant Family, a video celebration

·         Prosecutorial Discretion in the Biden Administration

·         Virtual Book Event (June 14): Driving While Brown: Sheriff Joe Arpaio versus the Latino Resistance

·         Job Announcement: Fellow @ UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy

·         Job Announcement: Cornell Legal Fellow, Farmworker Legal Assistance Clinic

·         Supreme Court Rules Against TPS Recipient in Adjustment Case

·         Student Is Denied High School Diploma for Wearing Mexican Flag

·         VP Harris to Visit Guatemala, Mexico to Discuss Migration, Human Trafficking, Corruption

****************

Thanks, Elizabeth! 

I note that Judge Robert A. Katzmann spoke at several of our Immigration Judge Conferences and also attended a Georgetown Law Judicial seminar on inconsistency in asylum adjudication that I participated in as an Immigration Judge. He was instrumental in creating both the Immigrant Justice Corps and the NYC representation program for migrants.

Notably, Liz Gibson, of “The Gibson Report,” one of my former Georgetown Law students was also selected by Judge Katzmann and other experts for the super-competitive Immigrant Justice Corps! And we can see what a difference Liz is making every day!

Those of us committed to due process and fundamental fairness mourn Judge Katzmann’s passing. His enlightened,  humane, and compassionate leadership will be missed. 

Lots of important information for practitioners here. It illustrates that while ICE and USCIS are moving forward with some modest, long overdue due process and “best practices” reforms, EOIR under Garland continues to lag behind.

This week’s disclosures about the deep problems at the Trump DOJ, which have not been effectively addressed, show that under Garland the DOJ isn’t inclined to fix even the most obvious defects at Justice until they are exposed by outside groups and the public pressure grows. At a time when the DOJ needs bold, proactive progressive leadership, Garland’s “reactive” style of management and lack of aggressive progressive leadership continues to erode confidence in our justice system. 

As illustrated by last week’s NBC Nightly News report on dysfunction, polarization, and lack of due process and fundamental fairness at EOIR, the ongoing disaster in our Immigration Courts actually dwarfs all of the other problems at the DOJ. And, it certainly adversely affects more human lives and American communities.

Due process, human rights, and racial justice advocates and experts should not trust Garland and his team to fix EOIR before it’s too late. In the first place, he currently has nobody on his “team” with the Immigration Court experience and the progressive expertise to get the job done! 

So it’s going to take more aggressive litigation, more demands to Congress for Article I, more op-eds, more front page articles and news reports, more calls and letters to the White House, and more “creative disruption” to force Garland’s hand on EOIR reform.

Additionally, rather remarkably, and contravening the Biden Administration’s pledge of honoring diversity, the DOJ has done nothing on its own to recruit or attract a diverse group of expert progressive judges. Indeed, Garland actively undermined the effort with an outrageous “17-judge giveaway” to the disgraced Billy Barr. This week’s revelations showed just how ridiculous was Garland’s inappropriate “deference” to Barr-selected, non-progressive, non-diverse judges!

Therefore, it’s absolutely critical that the rest of us keep beating the drum and encouraging the “best and brightest” progressive immigration experts to apply for judicial and executive positions at EOIR. In particular, the immigration judiciary lacks representation by talented Latina and Latino judges with experience representing asylum applicants and other migrants. 

They are out there, for sure! But EOIR’s aggressively anti-Hispanic, often misogynist culture, the anti-Hispanic “jurisprudence” churned out by Sessions, Barr, and the BIA, and the demeaning and “dumbing down” of the Immigration Judge jobs to be nothing more than glorified “deportation clerks” has effectively discouraged the folks we need on the bench from applying. And, posting for short periods on “USA JOBS” is not a serious effort at recruiting from the outside or creating a more representative pool of applicants. 

NAIJ is doing some of the “diversity outreach” that that should be DOJ’s job. But, they need help! Another reason why Garland’s failure to restore NAIJ as the representative of Immigration Judges is highly problematic! These things should be “no brainless” under a Dem Administration. Instead, at Garland’s DOJ, it’s like pulling teeth!

A number of minority attorneys have told me that they felt unwelcome at the “Trump EOIR” or thought that they couldn’t function independently and effectively in a culture that obviously demeaned and dehumanized people of color. 

We can’t force positive, progressive change in the toxic culture at EOIR without getting “agents of change” and judicial role models from currently underrepresented communities on the inside, where they belong. Also, those who actually have represented individuals in Immigration Court have both organizational skills beyond those of many government bureaucrats and practical problem solving ability that simply isn’t promoted or recognized within the inefficient “top-down” EOIR bureaucracy. 

So, members of the NDPA, get those EOIR applications in there! Garland is tone deaf to the necessity and the opportunity for a progressive judiciary at EOIR that he squanders every day with his lackadaisical non-leadership. So, as is often the case with Dem Administrations, you’re going to have to take the initiative, break down the the doors of bias and incompetence at EOIR, and create the progressive judiciary of the future with or without Garland’s support! 

EOIR is going to have trouble continuing to keep the “best and brightest” progressives out of the Immigration Judiciary. Don’t wait for change to come to you — not going to happen under Garland! Be an agent of aggressive, progressive change! Take the due process/racial justice revolution to the halls of justice @ Justice!

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-16-21

⚖️🧑🏽‍⚖️🗽NBC NEWS: IMMIGRATION JUDGES KHAN, MARKS, HONEYMAN, & DORNELL SPEAK OUT ON STRESS, MESS, IN GARLAND’S BROKEN IMMIGRATION COURTS 🆘 🏴‍☠️  — Gabe Gutierrez Reports!

Gabe Gutierrez
Gabe Gutierrez
NBC News Correspondent
Atlanta, GA
Judge Amiena Khan is the executive vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ)
Judge Amiena Khan, President National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ)
Hon. Diana Leigh Marks
Hon. Dana Leigh Marks
U.S. Immigration Judge
San Francisco Immigration Court
Past President, National Association of Immigration Judges
Hon. Charles Honeyman
Honorable Charles Honeyman
Retired U.S. Immigration Judge
Member, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges
Honorable Lisa Dornell
Honorable Lisa Dornell
U.S. Immigration Judge (Retired)
Member, Round Table of Former Immigration Judges

https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/immigration-judges-speak-out-on-rise-in-u-s-border-crossings-114715205902

 

**********************

Judges Khan and Marks are already on the DOJ payroll. Garland should have brought them in to Falls Church, on at least a temporary basis, to start cleaning up the mess and instituting long overdue due process and judicial independence reforms! The NAIJ which they represent should have been reinstated to represent Immigration Judges.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am a retired member of the NAIJ.

Recent retirees on the Round Table like Judges Honeyman and Dornell could have been rehired on a temporary basis under available authority to help root out and change the inane quotas, bad precedents, terrible exclusionary hiring processes, and mind-boggling “Aimless Docket Reshuffling” that continues to build backlog, deny due process, and promote reactionary White Nationalist policies in the failed and flailing Immigration “Courts.”

The continuing problems at Garland’s DOJ start with EOIR, but by no means end there! Apparently, Garland’s lackadaisical, permissive attitude toward corruption at DOJ under Trump & his cronies doesn’t get the Hill Dems’ attention unless they and their families were personally targeted by the illegality and misconduct. Otherwise, it’s just the lives of immigrants, asylum seekers, and “the others,” mostly people of color and abused women and children, so who cares? 

It’s worthy of noting that it has largely fallen to the press and public interest groups to expose the corruption allowed to fester at Trump’s DOJ. Only then does Garland make tardy and half-hearted efforts to investigate or take action. Cleaning up corruption, changing bad and illegal policies, and rooting out those who carried out such abuses should have been “job one” for the incoming Attorney General. Instead, it’s an “afterthought,” at best!

And, of course, good government and ethics aren’t part of the “institutional culture” @ DOJ that Garland is so anxious to defend. Does every Administration have a “right” to have its illegal actions and corruption covered up and defended by its successor? Will it really deter “good government” if you believe that you might be held accountable by the next Administration for acts of unconstitutionality or illegality? 

How come using the law as a “deterrent” is fine as applied to migrants of color, but “deterring” present and future DOJ bureaucrats and politicos from abusing the law in support of a corrupt Administration’s illegal policies isn’t?

Sure, I recognize that guys like Sessions and Barr have a perverted view of what’s unconstitutional. But, the object is to make it difficult for horrible opponents of American democracy like them to become Attorney General in the future and to insure that there will be institutional resistance to any future efforts to corrupt our justice system.

“Normalizing” the unprecedented overtly corrupt behavior of theTrump regime is a continuing problem! We need to fight it all levels of our society and government!

Dishonesty appears to be the main “bipartisan institutional value” at DOJ. No wonder it was so easy for Sessions and Barr to get their corrupt agendas carried out by career lawyers and bureaucrats! 

Unless and until Congress finally lights a fire under Garland and his team, and creates an independent Article I Immigration Court, that’s unlikely to change.

Our DOJ is quite obviously broken and reeling. Why isn’t fixing it one of our highest national priorities?

🇺🇸Due Process Forever!

PWS

06-13-21

🗽⚖️LEADING GENDER JUSTICE NGO RIPS HARRIS’S TONE-DEAF “DIE WHERE YOU ARE, WE DON’T CARE” MESSAGE TO NORTHERN TRIANGLE REFUGEES! — Whatever Happened To Biden Administration’s Promise To Restore The Rule of Law @ The Border? — US Is The Problem — USG Lawlessness, Dishonest, Wasteful Policies Go Unchecked By Biden, Harris, Garland, Mayorkas!

Karen Musalo
Professor Karen Musalo
Director, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Hastings Law

Dear colleagues,

Please find below and online CGRS’s bilingual statement in response to Vice President Harris’ remarks in Guatemala earlier this week.

*en español abajo*

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Brianna Krong, (415) 581-8835, krongbrianna@uchastings.edu

CGRS Urges V.P. Harris to Reject Short-Sighted Policies that Endanger Central Americans

San Francisco, CA (June 10, 2021) – This week Vice President Kamala Harris visited Guatemala and Mexico, meeting with government and civil society leaders to discuss issues of corruption, violence, and poverty. During a Monday press conference with Guatemalan president Alejandro Giammattei, Harris offered a callous and woefully misguided message to Central Americans. “I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border,” Harris said. “Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws … If you come to our border, you will be turned back.” These remarks reflect a deep misunderstanding of our laws and of the conditions forcing people to seek asylum at our border. The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) urges the vice president and the Biden-Harris administration to do better.

For people fleeing Central America it is no secret that the voyage north is dangerous, and that they will likely face hostility at the U.S. border. Yet thousands continue to make the treacherous journey because widespread violence, poverty, and disasters in their home countries leave them no other option. Vice President Harris and the Biden-Harris administration should understand this: People flee home because their lives, and the lives of their children, depend on it. The administration’s advice that Central Americans, Haitians, and others escaping grave dangers simply “not come” – as if they have any choice in the matter – is cruel and wildly out of touch. Moreover “enforcing our laws” should mean upholding the right to seek asylum, which is enshrined in both U.S. and international law. Turning people away without the slightest concern for the dangers they’ll face, as the Biden-Harris administration has continued to do under the illegal Title 42 policy, is a blatant violation of our laws.

“Our country has played a direct role in the dangerous conditions that plague Central America by bolstering oppressive regimes and contributing to the violence and instability driving refugee flight from the region,” CGRS Manager of Regional Initiatives Felipe Navarro Lux said today. “Instead of taking responsibility and addressing the harm we have caused, the United States time and time again has doubled down on ineffective and draconian policies that punish Central Americans and other refugees for seeking U.S. protection. We have a legal and moral obligation to do better.”

Our immigration and foreign policies should seek not to suppress migration, but to expand safe and orderly pathways to refugee protection and, in the long term, to make the region safer, so that migration is increasingly an option, rather than a necessity, for Central Americans. We can do so by:

  • Encouraging transparent and accountable governments that uphold the rights of their residents: The United States should stand with Central American civil society organizations (CSOs) working for change – not abusive or authoritarian governments – to combat corruption, advance the rule of law, and promote respect for human rights, particularly for vulnerable groups including youth, women, Indigenous, Black, and LGBTQ+ people.
  • Prioritizing humanitarian protection over deterrence. Pressuring countries in the region to increase migration enforcement and militarize their borders only forces people seeking protection to make more dangerous journeys, exposing them to increased human rights violations.
  • Expanding and developing new pathways for migrants and asylum seekers: We should expand protections those fleeing persecution, increase opportunities for family reunification, and address the needs of those displaced by climate change.
  • Designating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Guatemala, and re-designating TPS for Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua: TPS allows immigrant communities in the United States to live and work without fear of deportation, and to send remittances to family members in their home countries still recovering from the effects of back-to-back hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to read CGRS’s recommendations for expanding access to protections for refugees and migrants in Central America and Mexico, with Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc., Church World Service, Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, AC (IMUMI), Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF), Washington Office on Latin America, and Women’s Refugee Commission.

CGRS urge a la vicepresidente Harris rechazar políticas miopes que ponen en peligro a los centroamericanos

San Francisco, CA (10 de junio de 2021) – Esta semana la vicepresidente Kamala Harris visitó Guatemala y México, reuniéndose con líderes de los gobiernos y la sociedad civil para discutir asuntos de corrupción, violencia, y pobreza. Durante una rueda de prensa junto con el presidente guatemalteco Alejandro Giammattei, Harris leofreció un mensaje cruel y tristemente equivocado a los centroamericanos. “Quiero ser clara con las personas en la región que están pensando en hacer el peligroso viaje a la frontera de Estados Unidos-México”, dijo Harris. “No vengan. Estados Unidos hará cumplir sus leyes… Si vienen a nuestra frontera, serán regresados”. Estas palabras relejan un profundo desconocimiento de nuestra legislación y de las condiciones que obligan a las personas a pedir asilo en nuestra frontera. El Centro de Estudios de Género y Refugiados (CGRS por sus siglas en inglés) urge a la vicepresidenta y al gobierno Biden-Harris a realizar un mejor trabajo.

Para las personas que huyen de Centroamérica no es un secreto que el viaje al norte es peligroso, y que muy seguramente serán recibidos con hostilidad en la frontera de EE. UU. Aun así, miles continúan migrando porque la violencia, pobreza, y desastres en sus países de origen no les dejan otra opción. La vicepresidente Harris y el gobierno Biden-Harris deben entender esto: Las personas huyen de sus hogares porque sus vidas, y las vidas de sus hijos, dependen de ello. El consejo que este gobierno le da a los centroamericanos, haitianos, y otros que escapan de graves peligros cuando les dice que “no vengan” – como si fuera una opción – es cruel y se aleja de la realidad. Mas aún, “hacer cumplir nuestras leyes” debería significar proteger el derecho a solicitar asilo, el cual se encuentra consagrado en la ley nacional e internacional. Retornar a personas en la frontera sin la menor preocupación por los peligros que puedan enfrentar, como el gobierno Biden-Harris continúa haciendo bajo la ilegal política del “Título 42”, es una violación descarada de nuestras leyes.

“Al apoyar gobiernos opresivos y contribuir a la violencia e inestabilidad en Centroamérica, nuestro país ha jugado un papel directo en la creación de los peligros que obligan a miles a huir”, dijo Felipe Navarro-Lux, Gerente de Iniciativas Regionales de CGRS. “En vez de asumir nuestra responsabilidad y aminorar el daño que hemos causado, una y otra vez Estados Unidos ha implementado políticas ineficientes y draconianas que castigan a los centroamericanos y otros refugiados por buscar protección en este país. Es hora de cumplir nuestras obligaciones legales y morales.”

En vez de buscar suprimir la migración, nuestras políticas exteriores y migratorias se deben enfocar en crear y ampliar opciones seguras y ordenadas de acceso a protección para refugiados y, a largo plazo, mejorar las condiciones en la región para que la migración sea cada vez más una opción, y no una necesidad, para los centroamericanos. Podemos hacer esto al:

  • Promover gobiernos que respeten los derechos de todos sus residentes, urgiendo transparencia y rendición de cuentas: Estados Unidos debe apoyar a las organizaciones de la sociedad civil que trabajan para efectuar cambios – y no a gobiernos corruptos y autoritarios – para combatir la corrupción, reforzar el estado de derecho, y promover el respeto por los derechos humanos, particularmente para la juventud, mujeres, personas indígenas, negras y LGBTQ+.
  • Priorizar la protección humanitaria sobre la disuasión migratoria. Presionar a los países de la región a aumentar sus controles migratorios y militarizar sus fronteras solo obliga a las personas que buscan protección a tomar caminos más peligrosos, exponiéndolas a mayores violaciones de derechos humanos.
  • Ampliar y desarrollar nuevas oportunidades para migrantes y solicitantes de asilo: Debemos ofrecer más opciones para aquellos que huyen de la persecución, aumentar las oportunidades de reunificación familiar, y atender las necesidades de aquellos desplazados por el cambio climático.
  • Designar Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS, por sus siglas en inglés) para Guatemala, y re-designar TPS para Honduras, El Salvador, y Nicaragua: Con TPS, las comunidades inmigrantes en Estados Unidos pueden vivir y trabajar sin temor a ser deportadas, y enviar remesas a sus familias en sus países de origen, los cuales aún están sintiendo los devastadores efectos de huracanes y la pandemia COVID-19.

Haga click aquí para leer recomendaciones para ampliar el acceso a protección para refugiados y migrantes en Centro América y México, desarrolladas por CGRS, Centro de los Derechos del Migrante, Inc., Church World Service, Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, AC (IMUMI), Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF), Washington Office on Latin America, y Women’s Refugee Commission.

Brianna Krong | Communications and Advocacy Coordinator

Center for Gender and Refugee Studies

200 McAllister Street | San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) 581-8835 (Phone) | (415) 581-8824 (Fax)

krongbrianna@uchastings.edu

Pronouns: she/her/hers

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**************************

Casey might ask:

Casey Stengel
“Can’t anyone here play this game?”
PHOTO: Rudi Reit
Creative Commons

When it comes to the Biden Administration on human rights, racial justice, gender justice, due process, immigration, border strategy, and cleaning up corruption, unhappily the answer is “No!” 

🇺🇸🗽Due ProcessForever!

PWS

06-10-21