Weekly Briefing
This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.
CONTENTS (jump to section)
- ◦NEWS
- ◦LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
- ◦RESOURCES
- ◦EVENTS
PRACTICE UPDATES
New Form I-485
USCIS: Starting Sept. 21, 2022, we will only accept the 07/15/22 edition. Until then, you can also use the 03/29/21 and 03/10/21 editions. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
NEWS
U.S. Supreme Court declines to allow Biden’s shift on immigration enforcement
Reuters: The justices on a 5-4 vote denied the Biden administration’s request to block a federal judge’s ruling that had prevented immigration officials from carrying out the enforcement guidelines while litigation over the legality of the policy continues. But the court said in a brief order that it would fast-track the Biden administration appeal and hear oral arguments in December.
Immigration judge union seeks recognition as top judge quits
AP: The National Association of Immigration Judges on Thursday asked the federal government to restore its union recognition after the Trump administration stripped its official status and the system’s chief judge resigned after two years on the job.
Governors Keep Busing Migrants to Washington
VOA: Three months into the program, local officials said more than 3,400 people have reached Washington by bus. Aid groups say they are overwhelmed. See also Mayors ask Biden to help with influx of asylum-seekers; Adams Blames Migrants for Shelter Woes. Critics Say That’s Too Simple.
‘They don’t have any humanity’: Black immigrants in Ice custody report abuse and neglect
Guardian: In the last month alone, FFI has received more than 2,100 complaints nationwide. The most common abuse-related ones are anti-Black discriminatory actions, ranging from forced strip-searches and unprovoked pepper-spraying to prolonged solitary confinement and critical medical treatment negligence.
Homeland Security records show ‘shocking’ use of phone data, ACLU says
Politico: The data, harvested from apps on hundreds of millions of phones, allowed the Department of Homeland Security to obtain data on e points across North America, the documents show. Those data points may reference only a small portion of the information that CBP has obtained.
Smuggling Migrants at the Border Now a Billion-Dollar Business
NYT: While migrants have long faced kidnappings and extortion in Mexican border cities, such incidents have been on the rise on the U.S. side, according to federal authorities. More than 5,046 people were arrested and charged with human smuggling last year, up from 2,762 in 2014.
A Timeline Of Migrant Family Separations
VOA: Five years later, court documents show, more than 5,000 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border under a practice known as the zero tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers. However, it was also used on migrants who presented themselves legally at ports of entry. Parents of 180 children have not yet been found by advocates working with families.
Documents detail the secret strategy behind Trump’s census citizenship question push
NPR: Former President Donald Trump’s administration spent years trying to add a census citizenship question as part of a secret strategy for altering the population numbers used to divide up seats in Congress and the Electoral College, internal documents released Wednesday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee confirm.
LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
High Court Won’t Reinstate Biden’s ICE Guidelines, For Now
Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden’s attempt to narrow immigration arrests and deportations to national security threats and other “priority” targets while his administration fights a court order that vacated the policy.
Ndudzi, CA5 Revised Decision on Credibility
CA5: In sum, the BIA and IJ’s adverse credibility determination rests largely on “inconsistencies” in the record that are not actually inconsistent.
5th Circ. Revives Angolan Asylum Bid Over Credibility Error
Law360: The Fifth Circuit has revived asylum claims from a woman who said she suffered a brutal home invasion by Angolan police over her political activities, rebuking an immigration judge for deeming her untruthful despite “largely consistent” testimony.
Unpub. CA5 “Exceptional Circumstances” Remand: Perez-Vasquez v. Garland
LexisNexis: Perez-Vasquez is correct that the BIA erred by failing to address key evidence…His case is REMANDED to the BIA for the limited purpose of considering—in light of the totality of the circumstances of his individual case—whether exceptional circumstances prevented his appearance at his removal hearing.
9th Circ. Tells BIA Past Torture Isn’t A Must For Removal Relief
Law360: The Ninth Circuit ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider a Guatemalan citizen’s bid for removal relief, saying that past torture, though relevant, was not required in determining whether he’d likely face future torture in Guatemala.
‘Miscarriage Of Justice’ Can’t Exempt Removal, 9th Circ. Says
Law360: Immigration judges and the Board of Immigration don’t have the authority to reopen reinstated orders deporting immigrants and corresponding proceedings after a deported individual has reentered the country, even if those orders result in a “gross miscarriage of justice,” the Ninth Circuit held Monday.
Migrant’s Criminal Past Backs Indictment, Split 9th Circ. Rules
Law360: A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday affirmed a district court’s order refusing to dismiss an indictment against a Mexican national charged with illegal reentry, finding that his drunk-driving and shoplifting convictions make it tough to show that he would have plausibly been granted voluntary departure relief.
11th Circ. Splits With 9th Circ. In Deportation Notice Case
Law360: An immigrant who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2003 cannot challenge removal proceedings launched when he didn’t appear for a hearing, despite a defect in the notice he received, because a subsequent notice had complete information, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in a split with the Ninth Circuit.
DC Circ. Says Agencies Must Allow Comments Before Rule Ax
Law360: A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Friday ruled agencies cannot simply withdraw a new rule, even if it has not yet been published in the Federal Register, once that rule has been subject to public inspection.
Detainees Call Fla. ICE Detention Center A ‘Living Hell’
Law360: Immigrants detained at the Baker County Detention Center in northern Florida filed a federal civil rights complaint Thursday asking for the immediate closure of the facility because of inhumane treatment and abuse.
USCIS Updates Guidance for Afghans and Iraqis Seeking Special Immigrant Classification
USCIS: USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding Afghan and Iraqi nationals seeking special immigrant classification. See also Legislative Changes and Transition Affecting Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visas.
RESOURCES
NIJC
Other
EVENTS
- 7/26/22 EOIR Stakeholder Meeting: Request for Record of Proceeding
- 7/26/22 USCIS Engagement: Sudan Temporary Protected Status Designation
- 7/27/22 Data Criminalization and Immigration Enforcement
- 7/27/22 USCIS: An Overview of the T Visa, U Visa, and VAWA Self-Petition
- 7/27/22 Substance Use Disorders and Recovery 2022: Representing the Legal Services, Nonprofit, and Pro Bono Client
- 7/27/22 National Asylee Benefits Orientation
- 7/27/22 Counseling Your Client about Exposure to Enforcement and Seeking Prosecutorial Discretion
- 7/28/22 VAWA in 2022: Breaking Barriers and Finding Solutions for Relief
- 7/28/22 Intermediate/Advanced U Visa Topics
- 7/29/22 Immigration Policy in the Biden Era: Promises Kept, Promises Broken, and What Comes Next?
- 8/2/22 Navigating the Post-Roe Landscape: The Impact of the Dobbs Decision
- 8/4/22 Refugee and Asylee Family Reunification
- 8/5/22 Afghans and Humanitarian Parole: We Have to Do Better
- 8/5/22-8/12/22 NITA-NIPNLG “Advocacy in Immigration Matters” Training
- 8/10/22 Preparing Criminal Waivers of Inadmissibility
- 8/10/22-8/11/22 2022 AILA Paralegals Virtual Conference
- 8/16/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)
- 8/16/22 The Child Status Protection Act: Strategies for Keeping the Family Intact
- 8/23/22 Preparing Solid Affidavits of Support: “Show Me the Money!”
- 8/23/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)
- 8/30/22 Naturalization During the Pandemic: “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times”
- 8/31/22 What to Do When You Get a Decision from the Ninth Circuit
- 9/8/22-9/29/22 Webinar Series: Dealing With Denials
- 9/8/22 Post-Conviction Relief: “If I Could Turn Back Time!”
- 9/8/22 Trial Advocacy Skills – Working with Expert Witnesses in Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention Against Torture Claims
- 9/13/22 PLI: Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2022: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices
- 9/14/22 Partial to Full Accreditation Initiative 2022
- 9/15/22 Advanced Mandamus Trends
- 9/20/22 Nonprofit and For-Profit Entity Intersection 2022: Achieving Charitable Goals Through Innovative and Nontraditional Mechanisms
- 9/21/22 Breaking Down the Record in a Ninth Circuit Petition for Review
- 9/22/22 Maximizing Second Chances: Filing Appeals, Motions, and Practicing before the BIA
- 9/29/22 Consular Processing Roundup for Families and Survivors
To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit: https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.
You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.
Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)
Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship
National Immigrant Justice Center
A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program
224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org
www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter
Weekly Briefing
This briefing is designed as a quick-reference aggregation of developments in immigration law, practice, and policy that you can scan for anything you missed over the last week. The contents of the news, links, and events do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Immigrant Justice Center. If you have items that you would like considered for inclusion, please email them to egibson@heartlandalliance.org.
CONTENTS (jump to section)
- ◦NEWS
- ◦LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
- ◦RESOURCES
- ◦EVENTS
PRACTICE UPDATES
New Form I-485
USCIS: Starting Sept. 21, 2022, we will only accept the 07/15/22 edition. Until then, you can also use the 03/29/21 and 03/10/21 editions. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.
NEWS
U.S. Supreme Court declines to allow Biden’s shift on immigration enforcement
Reuters: The justices on a 5-4 vote denied the Biden administration’s request to block a federal judge’s ruling that had prevented immigration officials from carrying out the enforcement guidelines while litigation over the legality of the policy continues. But the court said in a brief order that it would fast-track the Biden administration appeal and hear oral arguments in December.
Immigration judge union seeks recognition as top judge quits
AP: The National Association of Immigration Judges on Thursday asked the federal government to restore its union recognition after the Trump administration stripped its official status and the system’s chief judge resigned after two years on the job.
Governors Keep Busing Migrants to Washington
VOA: Three months into the program, local officials said more than 3,400 people have reached Washington by bus. Aid groups say they are overwhelmed. See also Mayors ask Biden to help with influx of asylum-seekers; Adams Blames Migrants for Shelter Woes. Critics Say That’s Too Simple.
‘They don’t have any humanity’: Black immigrants in Ice custody report abuse and neglect
Guardian: In the last month alone, FFI has received more than 2,100 complaints nationwide. The most common abuse-related ones are anti-Black discriminatory actions, ranging from forced strip-searches and unprovoked pepper-spraying to prolonged solitary confinement and critical medical treatment negligence.
Homeland Security records show ‘shocking’ use of phone data, ACLU says
Politico: The data, harvested from apps on hundreds of millions of phones, allowed the Department of Homeland Security to obtain data on more than 336,000 location data points across North America, the documents show. Those data points may reference only a small portion of the information that CBP has obtained.
Smuggling Migrants at the Border Now a Billion-Dollar Business
NYT: While migrants have long faced kidnappings and extortion in Mexican border cities, such incidents have been on the rise on the U.S. side, according to federal authorities. More than 5,046 people were arrested and charged with human smuggling last year, up from 2,762 in 2014.
A Timeline Of Migrant Family Separations
VOA: Five years later, court documents show, more than 5,000 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border under a practice known as the zero tolerance policy for unauthorized border crossers. However, it was also used on migrants who presented themselves legally at ports of entry. Parents of 180 children have not yet been found by advocates working with families.
Documents detail the secret strategy behind Trump’s census citizenship question push
NPR: Former President Donald Trump’s administration spent years trying to add a census citizenship question as part of a secret strategy for altering the population numbers used to divide up seats in Congress and the Electoral College, internal documents released Wednesday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee confirm.
LITIGATION & AGENCY UPDATES
High Court Won’t Reinstate Biden’s ICE Guidelines, For Now
Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday refused to reinstate President Joe Biden’s attempt to narrow immigration arrests and deportations to national security threats and other “priority” targets while his administration fights a court order that vacated the policy.
Ndudzi, CA5 Revised Decision on Credibility
CA5: In sum, the BIA and IJ’s adverse credibility determination rests largely on “inconsistencies” in the record that are not actually inconsistent.
5th Circ. Revives Angolan Asylum Bid Over Credibility Error
Law360: The Fifth Circuit has revived asylum claims from a woman who said she suffered a brutal home invasion by Angolan police over her political activities, rebuking an immigration judge for deeming her untruthful despite “largely consistent” testimony.
Unpub. CA5 “Exceptional Circumstances” Remand: Perez-Vasquez v. Garland
LexisNexis: Perez-Vasquez is correct that the BIA erred by failing to address key evidence…His case is REMANDED to the BIA for the limited purpose of considering—in light of the totality of the circumstances of his individual case—whether exceptional circumstances prevented his appearance at his removal hearing.
9th Circ. Tells BIA Past Torture Isn’t A Must For Removal Relief
Law360: The Ninth Circuit ordered the Board of Immigration Appeals to reconsider a Guatemalan citizen’s bid for removal relief, saying that past torture, though relevant, was not required in determining whether he’d likely face future torture in Guatemala.
‘Miscarriage Of Justice’ Can’t Exempt Removal, 9th Circ. Says
Law360: Immigration judges and the Board of Immigration don’t have the authority to reopen reinstated orders deporting immigrants and corresponding proceedings after a deported individual has reentered the country, even if those orders result in a “gross miscarriage of justice,” the Ninth Circuit held Monday.
Migrant’s Criminal Past Backs Indictment, Split 9th Circ. Rules
Law360: A divided Ninth Circuit panel on Monday affirmed a district court’s order refusing to dismiss an indictment against a Mexican national charged with illegal reentry, finding that his drunk-driving and shoplifting convictions make it tough to show that he would have plausibly been granted voluntary departure relief.
11th Circ. Splits With 9th Circ. In Deportation Notice Case
Law360: An immigrant who crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2003 cannot challenge removal proceedings launched when he didn’t appear for a hearing, despite a defect in the notice he received, because a subsequent notice had complete information, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled in a split with the Ninth Circuit.
DC Circ. Says Agencies Must Allow Comments Before Rule Ax
Law360: A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Friday ruled agencies cannot simply withdraw a new rule, even if it has not yet been published in the Federal Register, once that rule has been subject to public inspection.
Detainees Call Fla. ICE Detention Center A ‘Living Hell’
Law360: Immigrants detained at the Baker County Detention Center in northern Florida filed a federal civil rights complaint Thursday asking for the immediate closure of the facility because of inhumane treatment and abuse.
USCIS Updates Guidance for Afghans and Iraqis Seeking Special Immigrant Classification
USCIS: USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding Afghan and Iraqi nationals seeking special immigrant classification. See also Legislative Changes and Transition Affecting Afghan and Iraqi Special Immigrant Visas.
RESOURCES
NIJC
Other
EVENTS
- 7/26/22 EOIR Stakeholder Meeting: Request for Record of Proceeding
- 7/26/22 USCIS Engagement: Sudan Temporary Protected Status Designation
- 7/27/22 Data Criminalization and Immigration Enforcement
- 7/27/22 USCIS: An Overview of the T Visa, U Visa, and VAWA Self-Petition
- 7/27/22 Substance Use Disorders and Recovery 2022: Representing the Legal Services, Nonprofit, and Pro Bono Client
- 7/27/22 National Asylee Benefits Orientation
- 7/27/22 Counseling Your Client about Exposure to Enforcement and Seeking Prosecutorial Discretion
- 7/28/22 VAWA in 2022: Breaking Barriers and Finding Solutions for Relief
- 7/28/22 Intermediate/Advanced U Visa Topics
- 7/29/22 Immigration Policy in the Biden Era: Promises Kept, Promises Broken, and What Comes Next?
- 8/2/22 Navigating the Post-Roe Landscape: The Impact of the Dobbs Decision
- 8/4/22 Refugee and Asylee Family Reunification
- 8/5/22 Afghans and Humanitarian Parole: We Have to Do Better
- 8/5/22-8/12/22 NITA-NIPNLG “Advocacy in Immigration Matters” Training
- 8/10/22 Preparing Criminal Waivers of Inadmissibility
- 8/10/22-8/11/22 2022 AILA Paralegals Virtual Conference
- 8/16/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)
- 8/16/22 The Child Status Protection Act: Strategies for Keeping the Family Intact
- 8/23/22 Preparing Solid Affidavits of Support: “Show Me the Money!”
- 8/23/22 Comprehensive Overview of Immigration Law (COIL)
- 8/30/22 Naturalization During the Pandemic: “It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times”
- 8/31/22 What to Do When You Get a Decision from the Ninth Circuit
- 9/8/22-9/29/22 Webinar Series: Dealing With Denials
- 9/8/22 Post-Conviction Relief: “If I Could Turn Back Time!”
- 9/8/22 Trial Advocacy Skills – Working with Expert Witnesses in Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and Convention Against Torture Claims
- 9/13/22 PLI: Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2022: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices
- 9/14/22 Partial to Full Accreditation Initiative 2022
- 9/15/22 Advanced Mandamus Trends
- 9/20/22 Nonprofit and For-Profit Entity Intersection 2022: Achieving Charitable Goals Through Innovative and Nontraditional Mechanisms
- 9/21/22 Breaking Down the Record in a Ninth Circuit Petition for Review
- 9/22/22 Maximizing Second Chances: Filing Appeals, Motions, and Practicing before the BIA
- 9/29/22 Consular Processing Roundup for Families and Survivors
To sign up for additional NIJC newsletters, visit: https://immigrantjustice.org/subscribe.
You now can change your email settings or search the archives using the Google Group. If you are receiving this briefing from a third party, you can visit the Google Group and request to be added.
Elizabeth Gibson (Pronouns: she/her/ella)
Managing Attorney for Capacity Building and Mentorship
National Immigrant Justice Center
A HEARTLAND ALLIANCE Program
224 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 600, Chicago, IL 60604
T: (312) 660-1688| F: (312) 660-1688| E: egibson@heartlandalliance.org
www.immigrantjustice.org | Facebook | Twitter
Failed “deterrence” gimmicks and righty Federal Judges who enable them by not standing up against anti-immigrant racism thinly disguised as security or health measures are a bad combination.
