THE GIBSON REPORT — 12-24-18 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

Justices rebuff government on asylum ban

SCOTUSblog: Last week the federal government went to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to block a ruling by a federal judge that bars the Trump administration from denying asylum to immigrants who enter the United States illegally from Mexico. Today the justices turned down the government’s request, which means that the government will not be able to enforce its new policy on asylum while the government appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and, if it comes to that, the Supreme Court. See also Ruth Bader Ginsburg Voted From Hospital To Block Trump Asylum Restrictions.

 

Trump is officially turning back asylum seekers who come to the US through Mexico

Vox: The policy change means that people who are trying to exercise their legal right to seek asylum will be barred from the US for months or even years while they wait for their asylum claim to come before a judge. See also Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen Announces Historic Action to Confront Illegal Immigration.

 

EOIR Creates More Obstacles for Families

Jeffrey Chase: In a November 16 memo to immigration judges, EOIR’s Director, James McHenry, announced that after a nearly two-year reprieve,  “Family Unit” cases are again being prioritized, under conditions designed to speed them through the immigration court system, ready or not, with or without representation, due process be damned.

 

How Trump Is Stripping Immigrants of Their Citizenship

The Nation: Twin operations have been set up to accomplish this: Operation Janus, which is housed at an office in Los Angeles and had plans to refer 1,600 cases for prosecution and possible denaturalization, and Operation Second Look, which will review hundreds of thousands of petitions to locate the tiniest of discrepancies. See also Is Denaturalization the Next Front in the Trump Administration’s War on Immigration?

 

Trump’s crackdown hits legal immigrants

Politico: State Department data show visa issuances have slumped under Trump, according to government information reviewed and analyzed by POLITICO. The number of visas for temporary stays in the U.S. fell 13 percent in fiscal year 2018 compared with two years earlier, the last full year under President Barack Obama. Immigrant visas, which allow a person to apply for a green card, dropped by 14 percent over the same period.

 

Two Honduran teens from migrant caravan are killed in Tijuana

WaPo: Mexican authorities said the bodies of the two boys — thought to be 16 or 17 years old — were discovered last weekend. They had stab wounds and had been strangled after an apparent robbery attempt, according to the state police.… Mexican police said the two Hondurans, who were not identified, had left a shelter for migrant youths Saturday to visit a sports arena used as a migrant shelter in another part of the city.

 

Thousands of Migrant Children Could Be Released With Trump’s Major Policy Reversal

TexasMonthly: Federal officials have reversed course and announced they will reduce fingerprint requirements of potential sponsors for detained children.

 

‘A moral disaster’: AP reveals scope of migrant kids program

AP: Decades after the U.S. stopped institutionalizing kids because large and crowded orphanages were causing lasting trauma, it is happening again. The federal government has placed most of the 14,300 migrant toddlers, children and teens in its care in detention centers and residential facilities packed with hundreds, or thousands, of children. As the year draws to a close, about 5,400 detained migrant children in the U.S. are sleeping in shelters with more than 1,000 other children. Some 9,800 are in facilities with 100-plus total kids, according to confidential government data obtained and cross-checked by The Associated Press.

 

In Immigrant Children’s Shelters, Sexual Assault Cases Are Open and Shut

ProPublica: Across the country, kids are reporting sexual assaults in immigrant children’s shelters. Alex decided to come forward. He told the shelter two older teens dragged him into a bedroom. There was surveillance video. But Alex’s case wasn’t investigated. His isn’t the only one.

 

Growth in the Immigration Court Backlog Continues in FY 2019

TRAC: The Immigration Court backlog continues to rise. As of November 30, 2018, the number of pending cases on the court’s active docket topped eight-hundred thousand (809,041) cases. This is almost a fifty percent (49.1%) increase compared to the 542,411 cases pending at the end of January 2017 when President Trump took office. This figure does not include the additional 330,211 previously completed cases that EOIR placed back on the “pending” rolls that have not yet been put onto the active docket.

 

People smugglers arrested in several Latin American countries

BBC: A crackdown on migrant smuggling networks across the Americas has resulted in 49 arrests. The operation was co-ordinated by Interpol which said organised crime networks were helping to smuggle South Asian migrants into the US.

 

Healthcare, Immigration Down as Most Important Problem

Gallup: In the first survey after the midterm Congressional election, mentions of immigration and healthcare as the top problems facing the country are down. Sixteen percent of Americans cite immigration as the top problem, down from 21% last month, while those noting healthcare dropped to 5% from 11%.

 

‘Very possible’ shutdown could last into new year, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney says

WaPo: The partial shutdown paralyzing large portions of the federal government may last into January when Democrats retake control of the House, the White House acknowledged Sunday, as negotiations over funding for President Trump’s border wall sputtered to a near-standstill and congressional leaders abandoned Washington for Christmas.

 

NY Expands Legal Aid Program for Immigrants

AP: New York state is expanding a legal defense project for immigrants launched in 2017 to include social and health care services for families. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the new “Project Golden Door” will provide family support services at 12 existing sites. In addition, a new Regional Rapid Response team will set up attorneys in the state’s 10 regional economic development council areas to respond to raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Judge Finds Attorney General’s Gutting of Asylum Protections Unlawful

AILA President Anastasia Tonello and Executive Director Benjamin Johnson responded to today’s ruling striking down key portions of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision in Matter of A-B-, which restricted asylum for victims of domestic and gang violence. AILA Doc. No. 18121940.

Matter of A.J. VALDEZ  27 I&N Dec. 496 (BIA 2018)

(1) An alien makes a willful misrepresentation under section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(6)(C)(i) (2012), when he or she knows of or authorizes false statements in an application filed on the alien’s behalf.

(2) An alien’s signature on an immigration application establishes a strong presumption that he or she knows of and has assented to the contents of the application, but the alien can rebut the presumption by establishing fraud, deceit, or other wrongful acts by another person.

 

ICE Blocks Immigrants From Lawyers With Draconian Phone Rules In California, ACLU Says

Newsweek: An immigration detention center in California has effectively worked to keep immigrants from contacting lawyers through phone rules, a lawsuit alleged last week.

 

U.S. Representatives Request to Investigate DHS’s TPS Termination Decision

On 12/4/18, over 80 members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to DHS Acting Inspector General requesting an immediate investigation into DHS’s decision to terminate TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Nepal, Haiti, El Salvador, and Honduras. AILA Doc. No. 18122033

 

ICE Releases Death Detainee Report

Congressional requirements described in the 2018 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Bill require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days. ICE has provided those reports, beginning in FY2018. AILA Doc. No. 18121905

 

EOIR Releases Memo on Internal Reporting of Suspected Ineffective Assistance of Counsel and Professional Misconduct

EOIR released guidance establishing policies and procedures for reporting suspected incidents of ineffective assistance of counsel or other violations of the EOIR Rules of Professional Conduct for Practitioners to the Office of General Counsel Attorney Discipline Program. Guidance effective 1/1/19. AILA Doc. No. 18121938

EOIR Announcement of Closing on December 24, 2018

EOIR announced that it would be closed on 12/24/18 in accordance with Executive Order 13854. Immigration court hearings scheduled for 12/24/18 will be rescheduled and new hearing notices will be sent to both parties. AILA Doc. No. 18122113

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Saturday, December 22, 2018

Friday, December 21, 2018

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Monday, December 17, 2018

 

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Thanks, Elizabeth.

PWS

12-30-18

THE GIBSON REPORT 12-17-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT 12-17-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

 

TOP UPDATES

 

ICE arrested 170 immigrants seeking to sponsor migrant children

NBC: Nearly two thirds of those arrested — 109 in total — had no criminal record…The arrests follow a move by President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this year that allowed immigration authorities to examine the criminal background and legal status of anyone who steps forward to sponsor unaccompanied migrant children — usually parents or close relatives already in the U.S. — as well as any other adults living in their home.

 

7-year-old migrant girl taken into Border Patrol custody dies of dehydration, exhaustion

WaPo: According to CBP records, the girl and her father were taken into custody about 10 p.m. Dec. 6 south of Lordsburg, N.M., as part of a group of 163 people who approached U.S. agents to turn themselves in. More than eight hours later, the child began having seizures at 6:25 a.m., CBP records show. Emergency responders, who arrived soon after, measured her body temperature at 105.7 degrees, and according to a statement from CBP, she “reportedly had not eaten or consumed water for several days.” See also NYT: Father of Migrant Girl Who Died in U.S. Custody Disputes Border Patrol Account

 

Stephen Miller says Trump is “absolutely” willing to shut down the government over border wall funding

Vox: Miller’s comments come after a very tense, very public week of funding negotiations: A televised White House meeting between Trump, incoming House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday ended with the president saying he would be “proud” to shut down the government over their refusal to allocate $5 billion in wall funding (the total cost of the wall ranges from $20 billion to $70 billion).

 

Immigration Arrests and Deportations Are Rising, I.C.E. Data Show

NYT: Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it arrested about 59,000 foreigners during the 2018 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year.

 

Asylum Claims Jump Despite Trump’s Attempt to Limit Immigration

NYT: Nearly 93,000 asylum seekers who crossed the border illegally or turned themselves in at official ports of entry in 2018 cited a credible fear of being targeted because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinions or social group. That is up from nearly 56,000 migrants who asked for asylum last year because they feared returning home, the data shows. See also HRF: CBP’s Figures on Credible Fear Claims – Out of Context

and Inaccurate.

 

Trump Moves to Deport Vietnam War Refugees

Atlantic: In essence, the administration has now decided that Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in the country before the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and Vietnam are subject to standard immigration law—meaning they are all eligible for deportation.

 

Federal Prosecution Levels Remain at Historic Highs

TRAC: The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during October 2018 the government reported 18,135 new prosecutions, an increase of 6.7 percent over the previous month, and 57.3 percent over this period last year[1]. The increase in federal criminal prosecutions is largely driven by a rise in immigration-related prosecutions beginning in March 2018. Nearly 70 percent of all criminal prosecutions in federal courts in October 2018 were immigration-related.

 

Trump “public charge” plan gets over 200,000 comments

Vox: While most of the comments haven’t yet been publicly posted online, it’s fair to say that most of the activity around the proposal has come from outraged immigrant-rights and economic-justice groups — as well as medical associations deeply concerned about the potential for families to forego necessary health services for fear of jeopardizing their immigration status.

 

Are there really 600 criminals in the migrant caravan at the border?

NBC: Kirstjen Nielsen said 600 immigrants in the caravan are criminal. NBC News has learned most of those charges are for entering the U.S. illegally or DUIs.

 

Use Of Video Technology Surges In Immigration Courts

WNYC: Immigration courts are increasingly relying on video technology during President Trump’s administration, with more than 9 percent of all hearings conducted by video teleconferencing in fiscal year 2018, according to data obtained by WNYC. The government considers video more efficient, but immigration lawyers believe it can put their clients at a disadvantage.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Government asks justices to intervene on asylum ban

SCOTUSblog: [T]oday the federal government went to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to put Tigar’s order on hold while it appeals the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit – and, if necessary, the Supreme Court.

 

CA9 Denies Government’s Motion for Stay of Restraining Order Enjoining Interim Final Rule on Asylum Claims

The court denied the government’s motion for a stay of the district court’s temporary restraining order enjoining the government from implementing the 11/9/18 interim final rule on asylum claims along the southern border. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump, 12/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18121000

 

DHS OIG Issues Management Alert Stating that CBP Needs to Address Serious Performance Issues

DHS OIG issued a management alert on the Accenture hiring contract, stating that as of 10/1/18, CBP has paid Accenture approximately $13.6 million for startup costs, security requirements, recruiting, and applicant support. In return, Accenture has processed two accepted job offers. AILA Doc. No. 18121100

 

ICE Announces Surge in Worksite Enforcement Investigations in FY2018

ICE announced that during FY2018, worksite investigations, I-9 audits, and administrative worksite-related arrests surged between 300 to 750% over FY2017. HSI’s worksite enforcement strategy focuses on criminal prosecution of employers who knowingly break the law and use of I-9 audits/civil fines. AILA Doc. No. 18121138

 

USCIS Releases Information on Rosario v. USCIS Class Action

USCIS released information on the Rosario v. USCIS class action lawsuit, including who is a Rosario class member. AILA Doc. No. 18121038

 

USCIS Issued Policy Memo on Revised Interview Waiver Guidance for Form I-751

USCIS issued a policy memo that provides guidance to USCIS officers on waiving the interview requirement for Form I-751, Petition to Removal Conditions on Residence. The memo goes into effect on 12/10/18 and applies to all Form I-751 petitions received on or after 12/10/18. AILA Doc. No. 18121035

 

USCIS Issued a Policy Memo on Sufficiency of Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions (Form N-648)

USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update and clarify filing procedures and adjudications on the Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions (Form N-648). Comments are due 12/27/18. Guidance is effective on 2/12/19. AILA Doc. No. 18121234

 

USCIS 60-Day Notice and Request for Comments on Proposed Revisions to Form G-639

Proposed changes appear to focus on collecting additional information relating to requestors and instructions for paying processing fees.

 

EOIR and USCIS Release Information on the 180-Day Asylum EAD Clock

EOIR and USCIS released information on the 180-day Asylum EAD clock, including what starts and stops the clock, what to do if there is an erroring the calculation of time, and what to do if there is an error in the adjudication of the Form I-765. AILA Doc. No. 18121040

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, December 17, 2018

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Friday, December 14, 2018

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Monday, December 10, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Wonder why the Administration’s immigration enforcement policy is ineffective, totally screwed up, and constantly losing in the real (Article III) Courts (where DOJ throws contemptuous “zingers” at life-tenured Article III Judges, but actually can’t convince them to buy their often disingenuous legal arguments)? Look no further than the idiotic rantings of Stephen “Hairboy” Miller linked above.  Why would they let this lunatic loose on national TV?

Thanks, Elizabeth, for all you do!

PWS

12-19-18

THE GIBSON REPORT 12-10-18 – COMPILED BY ELIZABETH GIBSON, ESQUIRE, NY LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

THE GIBSON REPORT  12-10-18 – COMPILED BY ELIZABETH GIBSON, ESQUIRE, NY LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

 

TOP UPDATES

 

The Department of Justice just took a step to make asylum even more difficult for Central Americans

CBS: Although his asylum claim was rejected in 2013, then dismissed again in 2017 on appeal, courts affirmed that Mr. L-E-A-‘s claim that kinship constituted “membership in a particular social group” was legally sound.…Stripped of the legalese, in Monday’s filing Whitaker raised Mr. L-E-A-‘s immigration case as an opportunity to reconsider whether persecution based on family ties is an acceptable reason to be granted asylum in the United States. While a decision won’t be issued until at least late January, immigration advocates aren’t optimistic.

 

Asylum Decisions and Denials Jump in 2018

TRAC: Fiscal year 2018 broke records for the number of decisions (42,224) by immigration judges granting or denying asylum. Denials grew faster than grants, pushing denial rates up as well. The 42,224 decisions represented a 40 percent jump from decisions during FY 2017, and an 89 percent increase over the number of asylum decisions of two years ago.

 

The Trump Administration Is Considering Making People Pay For The Right To Apply For Asylum

Buzzfeed: The proposal, included in a not-yet-finalized draft regulation, would charge applicants, if they are already residing in the US, $50 to apply for asylum.

 

U.N. Approves Sweeping Deal on Migration, but Without U.S. Support

NYT: More than 160 countries adopted a sweeping international accord on migration on Monday…The text of the accord was approved in July by every member of the United Nations except the United States. But it has since gotten caught up in a nationalist movement in Europe that has centered on the issue of immigration and prompted around a dozen countries to reject the compact outright, or to pull back from endorsing it in Morocco.

 

AG Nominee William Barr

ImmProf: Westlaw research – checking out his mentions in Law Reviews & Journals. Here are a few choice snippets, arranged by topic.

 

Paying to Be Locked Up

The American Scholar: The contracts, corporate relationships, and procedures that CCA and GEO Group cultivated in running private prisons were all too easy to duplicate in private detention centers—never mind that the stated purposes of these two operations are fundamentally different. When we privatize functions the government has traditionally undertaken, such as incarceration and detention, corporations then set the rules governing human interaction, using profit rather than legal or human rights standards as their guidelines.

 

At least 4,000 migrants on way to U.S. have died or gone missing in last four years

AP: These Latin American migrants are among about 56,800 worldwide who died or disappeared over the same period, the AP found. While migrants everywhere face risks, the Mexico route holds the added danger of drug trafficking and gang violence. More than 37,000 people have gone missing throughout Mexico because of this violence, with the highest number in the border state of Tamaulipas, through which many migrants cross.

 

Migrants relocated to New Shelter in Tijuana

WaPo: Several thousand people are now sleeping in tents and bedrolls at the government-run shelter formerly known as El Barretal. It was set up over the weekend after a sports complex where migrants had been staying became overrun by trash and raw sewage during days of heavy rain.

 

After losing court battle, Pentagon will send green-card holders to recruit training 

WaPo: The Pentagon will begin sending a backlog of thousands of green-card holders to recruit training, suspending a policy adopted by the Trump administration last year that required more-stringent background checks for some immigrants wanting to serve, according to two defense officials and an internal memo. See also: He’s a U.S. soldier deployed on the southern border — and an unlawful immigrant.

 

Court Defeat Leads DA to Change Tune on Jury-Trial Limits

CourthouseNews: Just a week after New York’s highest court found that the risk of deportation entitles noncitizens to jury trials on misdemeanor charges, the Bronx district attorney changed her tune Tuesday about seeking the U.S. Supreme Court’s review.

 

One Reason The US And Mexico Can’t Agree On Having Asylum-Seekers Wait In Mexico: The Trump Administration Itself Is Divided

Buzzfeed: The Justice Department wants asylum applicants turned away without any vetting of their claims. Homeland Security wants them screened for fears of staying in Mexico.

 

Death is waiting for him

WaPo: “Your honor, this is a difficult case,” Osorio told Judge John Bryant, asking to speed the process. “I represented their father, Santos Chirino Cruz. . . . I lost the case in this courtroom . . . . He was murdered in April.”

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

The Council and Other Immigrant Rights Organizations File Amicus Brief Arguing Acting AG Whitaker Lacks Authority to Decide Immigration Case

AIC: In Matter of Negusie, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions referred to himself the question of whether coercion and duress are relevant to the application of the immigration statute’s persecutor bar for individuals seeking asylum or withholding of removal. Sessions resigned as Attorney General before adjudicating the case. Following his resignation, President Trump designated Sessions’ chief of staff, Matthew G. Whitaker, as Acting Attorney General. The amicus brief argues that Mr. Whitaker lacks the authority to adjudicate Matter of Negusie, or any other immigration matter.

 

Acting AG Refers BIA Case to Himself and Invites Amicus Regarding “Particular Social Group” Membership

The Acting AG referred a BIA decision to himself for review whether an individual may establish persecution on account of membership in a “particular social group” based on membership in a family unit. Amicus briefs are due by 1/18/19. Matter of L-E-A-, 27 I&N Dec. 494 (A.G. 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18120432

 

Acting AG Refers BIA Case to Himself and Invites Amicus Regarding Cancellation of Removal and Impact of Multiple DUIs

The Acting AG to review cancellation of removal eligibility and the impact of multiple convictions for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence with regards to “good moral character.” Amicus briefs are due by 1/18/19. Matter of Castillo-Perez, 27 I&N Dec. 495 (A.G. 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18120437

 

BIA Holds North Dakota Statute Is Not a Crime of Child Abuse

Unpublished BIA decision holds that contributing to deprivation of a minor under N.D. Code 14-10-06(1) is not a crime of child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment because it prohibits allowing a minor to enter a liquor store. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kuot, 12/6/17) AILA Doc. No. 18120509

 

CA1 Upholds IJ/BIA Denial for Lack of Corroborating Evidence to Support Otherwise Inconsistent Claims

The court held that substantial evidence supported IJ/BIA denial because petitioner failed to adequately corroborate vague and inconsistent testimony of past persecution with reasonably-available evidence. (Avelar-Gonzalez v. Whitaker, 11/15/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120435

 

CA1 Upholds BIA Denial of Untimely MTR for Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Noting Failure of Due Diligence

The court held petitioner’s four and a half-year delay in filing MTR was failure to pursue case with the due diligence needed for equitable tolling and held it did not have jurisdiction to review due process claims not raised previously before BIA. (Pineda v. Whitaker, 11/19/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120436

 

CA3 Grants in Part and Denies in Part, Holds Child Pornography Conviction Per NJ Statute Is Not Aggravated Felony But Is Removable Ground of Child Abuse

The court overruled BIA, holding NJ Stat. Ann. 2C:24-4(b)(5)(b) is broader than its agg felony federal counterpart, but agreed with BIA that it matches federal (BIA) definition of “child abuse”; thus, petitioner is removable, but can request cancellation. (Salmoran v. Att’y Gen., 11/26/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120407

 

CA5 Affirms BIA’s Refusal to Reopen, Finds Petitioner Was Not Entitled to Actual Notice of Hearing and Failed to Rebut Presumption of Delivery

The court held BIA was not arbitrary in determining that because petitioner failed to correct address error on personally-served NTA, he was not entitled to actual notice; and that affidavit did not rebut presumption of delivery of unreturned NOH. (Mauricio-Benitez v. Sessions, 11/8/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120408

 

CA5 Vacates Deportation Order, Holds Petitioner Was a Naturalized Citizen—Not Alien—on Date of Conviction and Not Subject to Removal Statute

The court held BIA erred in misapplying §1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) to a naturalized citizen at time of conviction; it found, per Costello, that a denaturalization could not retroactively make petitioner an “alien as matter of law” at time of conviction. (Okpala v. Whitaker, 11/15/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120409

 

CA6 Upholds Denial of Cancellation for a “Habitual Drunkard”; Rejects Void for Vagueness Due Process and Equal Protection Challenges to the Term

The court held petitioner does not have liberty interest in discretionary cancellation, thus, does not reach void for vagueness argument; it also held “habitual drunkard” is rationally related to “good moral character” and does not violate equal protection. (Tomaszczuk v. Whitaker, 11/20/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120410

 

CA9 Votes to Deny Petitions for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc for Class of Unrepresented Children in Removal Proceedings Claiming Right-to-Counsel

The court denied, pursuant to §1252(b)(9), the habeas petitions for a class of thousands of children seeking asylum, SIJS, or relief from removal who claim due process and statutory rights to appointed counsel during their removal hearings. (J.E.F.M. v. Whitaker, 11/13/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120411

 

CA9 Upholds BIA Denial of Cancellation, Finds Bribery a CIMT and “CIMT” Not Unconstitutionally Vague

The court held that bribery under 18 USC §666(a)(2) categorically matches federal definition of CIMT; it also held that “CIMT” is not unconstitutionally vague per Jordan and Tseung-Chu. (Martinez-de Ryan v. Whitaker, 11/16/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120412

 

CA9 Denies Government’s Motion for Stay of Restraining Order Enjoining Interim Final Rule on Asylum Claims

The court denied the government’s motion for a stay of the district court’s temporary restraining order enjoining the government from implementing the 11/9/18 interim final rule on asylum claims along the southern border. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump, 12/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18121000

 

Case Challenging Interim Final Rule on Asylum Claims at the Southern Border

The Ninth Circuit issued an order denying the government’s motion for a stay of the district court’s 11/19/18 temporary restraining order enjoining the government from implementing the 11/9/18 interim final rule on asylum claims along the southern border. The court wrote that it “agree[s] with the district court that the Rule is likely inconsistent with existing United States law.” (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump, 12/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18110942.

 

NY App. Div. 2d Dept. Grants Habeas, Holds State/Local Law Enforcement Not Authorized by NY Law to Make Arrests for Civil Immigration Violations

The court held that sheriff’s additional 48-hour detention of a released prisoner pursuant to ICE detainer/warrant constituted a new arrest and sheriff did not have authority per NY law to effectuate such arrest for a civil immigration violation. (Francis v. DeMarco, 11/14/18) AILA Doc. No. 18120413

 

AILA and the Council Submit Amicus Brief Challenging BIA Decision on Motions to Reopen

AILA and the American Immigration Council submitted an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit’s Amaya v. Whitaker, challenging the BIA decision that the reinstatement statute bars all motions to reopen. AILA Doc. No. 18120406

 

U.S. Representatives Send Letter to President Trump on “Remain in Mexico” Policy

On 11/30/18, Representatives Meng (D-NY), Price (D-NC), and Castro (D-TX) sent a letter to President Trump urging him to stop negotiations with incoming President of Mexico Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on the “remain in Mexico” plan for asylum seekers. AILA Doc. No. 18120333

 

Announcements of ICE Enforcement Actions

ICE arrested 105 individuals during a five-day period in New Jersey. AILA Doc. No. 17041232

 

EOIR Data

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, December 10, 2018

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Friday, December 7, 2018

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Monday, December 3, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

 

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

Elizabeth’s first item reminds us of the cruelty and stupidity of the Trump Administration. Rather than working with the UNHCR, NGOs, and the international community to solve the humanitarian problem of refugees fleeing the Northern Triangle, the Administration continues to focus on petty and likely illegal steps to “further shaft” vulnerable asylum seekers. Certainly not America’s finest moment. Not to mention that the Administration’s racist driven, unilateral, “enforcement only” approach to humanitarian flows of migrants is not solving the problem (in fact, making it worse) and is also losing in the Article III Courts on a regular basis.

It’s what we referred to in Government as “fraud, waste, and abuse!”

PWS

12-10-18

THE GIBSON REPORT – 12-03-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group – Learn About Trump’s Self-Created “Bogus Border Crisis!”

THE GIBSON REPORT – 12-03-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group – Learn About Trump’s Self-Created “Bogus Border Crisis!”

 

TOP UPDATES

Trump designates Dec. 5 as National Day of Mourning for President George H.W. Bush, federal offices to close

It’s unclear what this means for EOIR and USCIS at this time with mixed reports.

The US has made migrants at the border wait months to apply for asylum. Now the dam is breaking.

Vox: Before 2016, and in some cases as recently as six months ago, they would have had no problem and no delay. But for the last several months, the Trump administration has made a practice of limiting the number of asylum seekers allowed to enter the US each day — a policy it calls “metering.”

 

Incoming Mexican president faces immediate border test

Politico: The new Mexican government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador will press the United States to invest least $20 billion in Central America and, reportedly, faster asylum processing in exchange for allowing migrants to remain in Mexico while they seek refugee status in the U.S.

Caravan women launch hunger strike, putting pressure on U.S. and Mexico

Politico: A group of migrant women in the caravan announced Thursday that it would begin a hunger strike to protest the slow pace at which the women are being allowed to apply for asylum, as officials from the United States and Mexico are set to meet this weekend to negotiate a plan to process their claims.

 

U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Total Dips to Lowest Level in a Decade

Pew: The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to new Pew Research Center estimates based on 2016 government data. The decline is due almost entirely to a sharp decrease in the number of Mexicans entering the country without authorization.

 

The key reason why Central Americans don’t want asylum in Mexico

Quartz: Mexican immigration authorities are even less prepared than the US to process them. The Mexican agency charged with helping refugees, COMAR by its Spanish acronym, only has four offices, and none near the border. Earlier this year, Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission warned of the “possible collapse” of the country’s refugee protection system as COMAR’s backlog grew to 60% of applications. It also identified “situations of risk of torture and abuse” in immigrant detention centers, which it found had no adequate living conditions or access to medical attention.

 

ICE Threatens ‘Likely Increase’ of Immigration Raids in New Jersey

NBC: The federal agency’s threat came a day after the New Jersey attorney general announced new restrictions on local law enforcement cooperation with ICE.

Successes at One Year and Expanding the Movement for Universal Representation

Vera: The Vera Institute of Justice is excited to announce that we are expanding our Safety and Fairness for Everyone (SAFE) Network –  currently a diverse group of a dozen cities and counties across America dedicated to providing publicly funded universal representation for people facing deportation.

 

Senate panel delays vote on Trump pick to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement

WaPo: A key Senate committee postponed a vote Wednesday on President Trump’s pick to lead the main agency handling immigration enforcement as a coalition of unions raised “serious concern” about Ronald D. Vitiello’s ability to effectively oversee the agency.

 

Immigrant rights groups find Trump is their best fundraiser

CBS: The American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed more than 50 immigrants’ rights lawsuits against the Trump administration, recorded its most successful #GivingTuesday in years. That wasn’t just the case just for the ACLU. This year’s day for charitable giving was the biggest ever, raking in nearly $400 million in donations online in the U.S. alone, according to the 92nd Street Y.

 

Campaign is under way to close Alabama facility routinely identified by advocates and detainees as one of the worst in US

Guardian: Housed in the Gadsden county jail since the late 1990s, the gray slab of concrete that is the Etowah Detention Center, is routinely identified by lawyers, advocates and detainees as one of the worst Ice facilities in the United States. It has one of the longest detention times of all Ice facilities.

 

USCIS FY 2019 budget

In what appears to be a new development, Page 71 of the USCIS FY 2019 budget indicates that USCIS wants to transfer “$207.6 million in Immigration Examinations Fee Account (IEFA) fees to ICE to support immigration investigation and enforcement.”

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Deportation may be worse than jail, a court just ruled. Why that’s a big deal.

WaPo: New York’s highest court boldly ruled Tuesday that deportation may be a more severe consequence than even a few months behind bars. The divided decision created a situation in which two individuals charged with the same low-level offense have vastly different trial rights — a noncitizen is entitled to a jury trial, while a U.S. citizen is not. [Note: This is obviously being appealed.]

Baltimore sues Trump administration over legal immigrants’ access to public benefits

WaPo: The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration’s expanded definition of “public charges” has had a chilling effect on the city’s immigrant community, which Baltimore officials see as key to its revival. Legal immigrants have stopped using school programs, food subsidies, housing vouchers and health clinics for which they are eligible, the lawsuit says, hurting the city’s mission to welcome immigrants and creating long-term expenses as Baltimore deals with a sicker and less-educated community.

 

US sued for $60 million after infant in detention later died

AP: Juarez’s lawyers said Mariee developed a respiratory illness while she and her mother were detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. They accused U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of releasing the pair while Mariee was still sick.

The National Vetting Center Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Working Group Releases Its Charter

Approved National Vetting Center Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Working Group Charter, established pursuant to National Security Presidential Memorandum-9, “Optimizing the Use of Federal Government Information in Support of the National Vetting Enterprise,” dated February 6, 2018. AILA Doc. No. 18112870

CBP Commissioner Issues Statement on Closing of San Ysidro Port Due to Caravan

CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan conducted a call with media and released his opening remarks, “We will continue to monitor the situation closely. And while we seek to maintain lawful trade and travel to the maximum extent, we will be prepared to close San Ysidro again if….”AILA Doc. No. 18112762

 

DHS Issues Statement on San Ysidro Port of Entry Closure

DHS Secretary Nielsen issued a statement after CBP closed the San Ysidro port of entry on 11/25/18, stating “As I have continually stated, DHS will not tolerate this type of lawlessness and will not hesitate to shut down ports of entry for security and public safety reasons.” AILA Doc. No. 18112734

 

Deaths at Adult Detention Centers

Continually updated list of press releases issued by ICE announcing deaths in adult immigration detention. AILA Doc. No. 16050900

 

CBP Describes Logistics of Operation Secure Line

CBP released information on the role that the American military troops plays with CBP along the United States/Mexico border. AILA Doc. No. 18112831

 

USCIS Provides Q&As from Teleconference on Continued Expansion of NTA Policy Guidance

USCIS provided Q&As from a 11/15/18 teleconference on the continued expansion of the implementation process of the 6/28/18 NTA memorandum. AILA Doc. No. 18110836

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Friday, November 30, 2018

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Monday, November 26, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

I draw your attention to Elizabeth’s “Item 2” which is a lengthy, outstanding article by Dara Lind of Vox News on the fake, self-created “Trump Border Crisis.”

The only quibble I have with Dara’s article is the suggestion that there might be a need for more detention space. I say BS! Unquestionably, by working together with the UNHCR, the Mexican Government, and NGOs such as the ACLU, KIND, and the ABA, the DHS could find suitable placements for individuals waiting for credible fear interviews once they had passed a basic screening and background check.

Indeed, one of the key findings of a recent TRAC Report on Immigration Court Asylum Decisions is that 98.6% of asylum seekers appear in court for their decisions, win or lose! http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/539/ This stands in sharp contrast to the false claims by the Administration and its “bureaucratic mouthpieces” that asylum seekers “bolt” once they get into the country.

When given access to competent legal assistance and a chance to understand both the system and their obligations, almost all appear. Clearly, the Administration should be working with the private sector to get asylum seekers represented rather than undertaking cruel and overall futile and wasteful efforts to detain, deter, and punish them.

And how about some truthful narratives, rather than the bogus ones taken right out of the right-wing restrictionist playbook? Again, it’s past time for some Congressional oversight and accountability for the many falsehoods about immigration purveyed not only by the Trump politicos (like Sessions, Nielsen, Miller, et al.) but also by career officials who should know better. Indeed, in many cases, such as TPS and the Travel Ban, the Administration’s bogus narratives directly and demonstrably contradict the Government’s own information and recommendations by career officials with expertise in the areas. This shameful abuse of our civil service system and its expertise by biased, prejudiced, and unqualified politicos must stop.

And, as always, thanks Elizabeth for all you do for the New Due Process Army!

PWS

12-03-18

 

THE GIBSON REPORT – 11-26-18 & 11-19-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT – 11-26-18 & 11-19-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

11-26-18

U.S. closes major crossing as caravan migrants mass at border in Mexico

WaPo: U.S. authorities closed off the busiest port of entry along the U.S. border with Mexico on Sunday and fired tear gas at members of a Central American migrant caravan who had rushed the fencing that separates the countries. See also:

Incoming Mexico Gov’t: No Deal to Host US Asylum-Seekers

AP: Mexico’s incoming government denied a report Saturday that it plans to allow asylum-seekers to wait in the country while their claims move through U.S. immigration courts… Hours earlier, The Washington Post quoted her as saying that the incoming administration of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had agreed to allow migrants to stay in Mexico as a “short-term solution” while the U.S. considered their applications for asylum.

 

Misinformation in the News on LPRs and Public Charge

Univision and several other news organizations ran erroneous stories last week stoking fear among LPRs that they cannot travel if they have received public benefits. Here’s a more nuanced look at the actual issue from Cyrus Mehta: The Vulnerable Returning Green Card Holder Under the Proposed Public Charge Rule.

 

Your Credit Score Isn’t a Reflection of Your Moral Character: But the Department of Homeland Security seems to think it is.

Slate: The agency charged with safeguarding the nation would like to make immigrants submit their credit scores when applying for legal resident status. The new rule, contained in a proposal signed by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, is designed to help immigration officers identify applicants likely to become a “public charge”—that is, a person primarily dependent on government assistance for food, housing, or medical care.

 

Pelosi calls illegal immigrant youths ‘patriotic,’ promises amnesty

Wash Examiner: Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is doubling down on her plan to open America’s doors to undocumented immigrants with a promise to pass the Dream Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Under pressure to move on the two packages in the face of opposition from the GOP and White House, Pelosi indicated that they will be among the initial moves by the new Democratic majority.

 

The Border Patrol Academy is training its newest recruits to work in a particularly hostile environment

WaPo: The Border Patrol has long struggled with recruitment, currently lagging 2,000 agents short of its quota — not including the 5,000 agents that Trump wants to add… Most of the 46 cadets in Herrgott’s class, which arrived at the academy in late August, are in their 20s, with no prior law enforcement experience or college degrees.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

Judge blocks Trump administration from denying asylum claims to immigrants who cross border illegally

CNN: In an order laced with language accusing President Donald Trump of attempting to rewrite immigration laws, a federal judge based in San Francisco temporarily blocked the government late Monday night from denying asylum to those crossing over the southern border between ports of entry.

 

Court Blocks Trump’s Effective Ban On Green-Card Holders In The Military

ACLU: Judge Jon S. Tigar granted a preliminary injunction, holding that the Department of Defense likely violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act after it implemented a policy discriminating against lawful permanent resident enlistees.

BIA Dismisses Appeal and Denies Adjustment, After Ex-Spouse Withdrew Affidavit of Support

The BIA dismissed the appeal and found respondent was inadmissible due to her likelihood of becoming a public charge, stating that even though the respondent divorced, she was required to provide an affidavit support from her former husband. Matter of Song, 27 I&N Dec. 488 (BIA 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18111937

CA7 Upholds IJ/BIA Denial of Withholding for Lack of Nexus to Particular Social Group

The court held that the IJ/BIA determination that petitioner failed to prove that a gang attack in Mexico was due to family membership since no other family member ever was threatened or attacked was supported by substantial evidence. (Plaza-Ramirez v. Sessions, 11/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111970

 

CA9 Reviews “Particularly Serious Crime” Language In Light of Johnson and Dimaya, Holds Statute Is Not Unconstitutionally Vague

The court overturned its prior standard for assessing vagueness, but maintained “particularly serious crime” was not unconstitutionally vague; it held that while statute’s standard is uncertain, it is applied to real world facts as opposed to idealized crimes. (Guerrero v. Whitaker, 11/9/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111971

 

CA9 Grants Review in Two Cases, Holds BIA Erred in Finding CA Penal Code §288(c)(1) Categorically CIMT and Categorically “Crime of Child Abuse”

The court held statute overbroad in actus reus and mens rea compared to generic CIMT and “child abuse” provisions; it lacks CIMT’s corrupt scienter and intent to/actually injure, and does not match “child abuse” elements of intent/actual injury/risk of harm. (Menendez v. Whitaker, 11/8/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111902

 

CBP Closed the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Sunday, November 25

CBP temporarily suspended operations at the San Ysidro port of entry on 11/25/18 at 11:30 am and as of 2:00 pm, operations have not resumed. All northbound and southbound crossings for both pedestrian and vehicles has been suspended. AILA Doc. No. 18111660

 

EOIR Provides Guidance Regarding the Adjudication of Asylum Applications Consistent with INA §208(d)(5)(A)(iii)

EOIR issued a memo with guidance to assist immigration judges in the timely adjudication of asylum applications consistent with INA §208(d)(5)(A)(iii), which states that in the absence of exceptional circumstances, asylum applications shall be adjudicated within 180 days of being filed. AILA Doc. No. 18111941

 

Queens Immigration Attorney Found Guilty of Operating Asylum Fraud Scheme

A United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced that Andreea Dumitru, a/k/a “Andreea Dumitru Parcalaboiu,” an immigration attorney based in Queens, New York, was found guilty of asylum fraud, making false statements to immigration authorities, and aggravated identity theft. AILA Doc. No. 18112170

 

EOIR Swears in 16 Immigration Judges

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, November 26, 2018

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Friday, November 23, 2018

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Monday, November 19, 2018

 

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

Assistance Group

 

 

 

11-19-18

 

TOP UPDATES

Changes to USCIS Policy Will Directly Impact Vulnerable Immigrants

AIC: Starting November 19, individuals who have applied for humanitarian benefits will be directly impacted. USCIS has announced that, as of that date, it may issue NTAs impacting individuals who seek U visas (victims of crime), T visas (victims of severe forms of trafficking), and self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

 

Trump is preparing to remove Kirstjen Nielsen as Homeland Security secretary, aides say

WaPo: Trump canceled a planned trip with Nielsen this week to visit U.S. troops at the border in South Texas and told aides over the weekend that he wants her out as soon as possible, these officials said. The president has grumbled for months about what he views as Nielsen’s lackluster performance on immigration enforcement and is believed to be looking for a replacement who will implement his policy ideas with more alacrity. Thomas Homan, a possible replacement for DHS secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, praises her leadership

 

New York Court Finds Local Police Can’t Detain Immigrants for Federal Agents

WNYC: An appellate court in Brooklyn ruled Wednesday that local police officers in New York state can’t detain immigrants beyond their scheduled release date solely to turn them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, without a judicial warrant. Decision here.

 

Communities in Crisis: Interior Removals and Their Human Consequences

The Kino Border Initiative, the Center for Migration Studies of New York, and the Office of Justice and Ecology of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States published a report on the characteristics of deportees and the effects of deportation. AILA Doc. No. 18111431

 

Albany County using federal funds to pay for legal help to immigrants in the county jail

Times Union: Sheriff Craig Apple announced Wednesday that the County Legislature will allocate $170,000 from nearly $4 million received from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, for detaining immigrants at the county jail since June. Another $1 million is expected before the end of 2018… Apple said he plans to use the $170,000 to hire a full-time immigration attorney to work inside the jail

 

Government funding, border wall await lame-duck Congress

AP: For their last act, Republicans will try to deliver on Trump’s promise to fund the border wall, which could spark a partial federal government shutdown in weeks. Newly emboldened Democrats are in no mood to cooperate over wall money. See also New Border Wall Will Destroy Butterfly Center, Historic Chapel, And Texas State Park.

 

Hopes Rise for Driver’s License Bill in NY

Voices of NY: For over a decade, a number of efforts seeking to allow 850,000 undocumented immigrants in New York State to obtain driver permits – according to an estimate by the Institute of Immigration Policy – have failed. Still, the results of the mid-term election on November 6 could change things.

 

Law Enforcement Officers in New Jersey Are Transferring More and More Immigrants to ICE

WNYC: Law enforcement agencies in New Jersey are turning over undocumented immigrants to federal authorities at a rate that is increasing under the Trump Administration and is higher than the national average, according to a new report from the progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective.

 

Study: Fewer Immigrant Families Signing Up For Federal Food Assistance

KUNC: After 10 years of consistent gains, the number of immigrant families enrolled in SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, fell by 10 percent in 2018.

 

Immigration Application Denial Rates Jump 37% Under Trump

CATO: The data for the first nine months of Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, which started in October 2017, show that denials for all manner of immigration benefits—travel documents, work permits, green cards, worker petitions, etc.—increased 37 percent since FY 2016.

 

Trump Administration Again Considering Ways To Force People To Wait In Mexico For Their Immigration Cases

Buzzfeed: US immigration officials met this week to discuss a proposal to send those who arrive at the US-Mexico border to Mexico while their immigration cases are being processed in the United States, according to sources close to the administration.

 

Gauging the Impact of DHS’ Proposed Public-Charge Rule on U.S. Immigration

MPI: The proposed public-charge rule, which would apply a significantly expanded test to determine if green-card applicants would be likely to use specified public benefits in the future, could potentially have put most recent legal permanent residents at risk of green-card denial.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

EOIR Memo Relevant to Hearing Scheduling

EOIR OPPM 13-02 states (on page 10) that even if a case is considered an “expedited” case, an individual hearing should generally NOT be set fewer than 45 days from the master hearing, unless the person is detained.

 

ACLU in Federal Court for Hearing in Challenge to New Trump Asylum Ban

ACLU: The American Civil Liberties Union will be in federal court for arguments in East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump, a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s new asylum ban. The ACLU and partner organizations filed the lawsuit last Friday, just hours after President Trump signed the asylum ban proclamation. The ACLU will be in court on Monday seeking a temporary restraining order to block the policy.

 

Justices take on a dispute over the 2020 census

CC: The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide, on a speeded-up schedule, a dispute over the Trump Administration’s decision to add to the 2020 census a question about the citizenship of everyone in America.

 

Orellana-Mateo v. Whitaker, 16-1547 (2d Cir. 2018) (unpublished)

Finding that the BIA failed to analyze acquiescence properly under De La Rosa in a CAT claim.

 

BIA Holds New York Second Degree Burglary Is Not an Aggravated Felony

Unpublished BIA decision holds that second-degree burglary under N.Y.P.L. 140.25(2) is not an aggravated felony burglary offense because it does not require an unlawful entry. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of G-A-A-M-, 11/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111530

 

BIA Reverses Denial of Cancellation Where IJ Relied on Gang Allegation in Police Report

Unpublished BIA decision reverses discretionary denial of cancellation application where IJ placed undue weight on unsourced allegation in police report that respondent was an active gang member. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of V-A-C-, 11/15/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111432

 

BIA Holds Oklahoma Statute Not a Firearms Offense

Unpublished BIA decision holds that carrying a firearm while under the influence of alcohol under Okla. Stat. tit. 21 §1289.9 was not a firearms offense because it contained no exception for antique firearms. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Martinez-Guzman, 11/13/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111430

 

BIA Finds IJs Violated Due Process Rights of Pro Se Asylum Seeker

Unpublished BIA decision finds pro se asylum seeker was denied fair hearing where IJ scheduled merits hearing two weeks after submission of application and denied continuance for additional time to secure counsel and corroborating evidence. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-C-Q-, 11/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111531

 

BIA Holds Georgia Theft by Shoplifting Is Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that theft by shoplifting under Georgia Code Ann. 16-8-14 is not a CIMT because it does not require the owner’s property rights to be permanently or substantially eroded. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of H-J-C-, 11/20/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111601

 

BIA Holds That Driving with Suspended License for DUI Is Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that driving with a license that was suspended or revoked for driving under the influence under Calif. Vehic. Code 14601.2(a) is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of N-M-H-V-, 11/22/17) AILA Doc. No. 18111603

CBP to Close Lanes at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa in Preparation for Migrant Caravan

CBP announced lane closures starting on 11/13/18 at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry. CBP will provide an update when the materials are removed and the lanes re-opened. CBP officials recommend that persons traveling northbound to the U.S. anticipate possible increased wait times. AILA Doc. No. 18111300

 

CBP Tells Travelers to Expect Longer Than Normal Wait Times Indefinitely

CBP announced that the El Paso Field Office is advising the public to plan for longer than normal wait times at area ports beginning 11/14/18 due to the transfer of a large number of CBP officers from the El Paso, Santa Teresa, and Tornillo ports of entry to CBP’s Arizona and CA ports of entries. AILA Doc. No. 18111463

CBP Notice Announcing Voluntary Test to Collect Facial Images at Anzalduas Port of Entry

CBP notice announcing a test program for travelers who choose to participate to collect facial images for biometric purposes at the Anzalduas port of entry in Texas. The test began 8/30/18 and will run for approximately one year. (83 FR 56862, 11/14/18) AILA Doc. No. 18111461

EOIR Releases Memo on Tracking and Expedition of “Family Unit” Cases

EOIR released a memo to clarify the agency’s tracking and expedition of “family unit” cases as identified by DHS at the time of filing with the immigration court.

AILA Doc. No. 18111606

Practice Alert: Use of Electronic Devices at USCIS Field Offices

AILA’s USCIS Field Operations Liaison Committee provides updated guidance issued by several local USCIS Field Offices requiring that all stakeholders turn off electronic devices during interviews and InfoPass appointments. The extent to which this policy has been applied nationally is unclear. AILA Doc. No. 17081702

 

Response to arrivals of asylum-seekers from the North of Central America

UNHCR: Since mid-October several organized groups of people from the North of Central America region, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, have been traveling north in hope of reaching Mexico and the United States. In Mexico, there are approximately 7,000-9,000 people in these groups,  currently spread out between Veracruz and Baja California. Among them are people fleeing persecution and violence and in need of international protection. Many are vulnerable and in need of humanitarian assistance, including women and around 2,300 children.

 

Users Can Now Search All USCIS Data from a Single Page

USCIS: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has consolidated the data pages on its website to include all data on one page. The new Immigration and Citizenship Data page makes information more easily accessible to users.

 

RESOURCES

 

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, November 19, 2018

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Friday, November 16, 2018

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Monday, November 12, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Lots happening!

PWS

11-26-18

THE GIBSON REPORT 11-12-18—Compiled by Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT 11-12-18—Compiled by Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

Trump signs proclamation blocking asylum seekers caught at the U.S.-Mexico border<https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/09/trump-order-migrants-asylum-956717>

Politico: The ban will last 90 days or until the U.S. strikes a “safe third country” asylum deal with Mexico, according to the text of the proclamation…Migrants arrested between ports of entry will still be able to apply for humanitarian relief through other legal avenues, such as “withholding of removal” or protection under the Convention Against Torture.

*   Withholding of Removal and the U.N. Convention Against Torture-No Substitute for Asylum, Putting Refugees at Risk<https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/withholding-removal-and-un-convention-against-torture-no-substitute-asylum-putting-refugees>
*   Proclamation<https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-proclamation-addressing-mass-migration-southern-border-united-states/> and Rule<https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/11/09/2018-24594/aliens-subject-to-a-bar-on-entry-under-certain-presidential-proclamations-procedures-for-protection>
*   Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen, Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker Statement on DHS-DOJ Asylum Regulation<https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/11/08/secretary-kirstjen-m-nielsen-acting-attorney-general-matthew-g-whitaker-statement>
*   Acting Attorney General Whitaker Statement On Presidential Proclamation<https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/acting-attorney-general-whitaker-statement-presidential-proclamation>
*   White House Fact Sheet<https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-upholding-rule-law-ensuring-consequences-illegally-cross-border/>
*   DHS Myth v. Fact<https://www.dhs.gov/news/2018/11/09/dhs-myth-vs-fact-asylum-proclamation-and-rule>
*   EOIR Memo<https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1109531/download>
*   USCIS Guidance<https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2018/2018-11-09-PM-602-0166-Procedural_Guidance_for_Implementing_Regulatory_Changes_Created_by_Interim_Final_Rule.pdf>

Immigration Court Backlog Surpasses One Million Cases<http://trac.syr.edu/whatsnew/email.181106.html>

TRAC: The Immigration Court backlog has jumped by 225,846 cases since the end of January 2017 when President Trump took office. This represents an overall growth rate of 49 percent since the beginning of FY 2017.

USCIS to Continue Implementing New Policy Memorandum on Notices to Appear<https://www.aila.org/infonet/uscis-continue-implementing-new-policy-memorandum>

USCIS announced that starting 11/19/18, it may issue Notices to Appear (NTAs) based on denials of Forms I-914, I-914A, I-918, I-918A, I-360, I-929, I-730, and I-485 as part of its continued implementation of its 6/28/18 policy memo on issuance of NTAs. AILA Doc. No. 18110833. See also USCIS Invitation to Teleconference on Continued Expansion of NTA Policy Guidance<https://www.aila.org/infonet/uscis-invitation-to-teleconference-on-continued>

Catalina Cruz becomes first former ‘Dreamer’ elected to New York state Assembly<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/catalina-cruz-becomes-first-former-dreamer-elected-to-new-york-state-assembly.html>

ImmProf:  Democratic candidate Catalina Cruz is now the first “former Dreamer” ever elected to the New York state Assembly and the third in office nationwide. See also Election 2018: Somali Refugee Elected to Congress, Afghan Refugee Elected to New Hampshire House of Representatives<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/somali-refugee-elected-to-congress.html>.

What are 5,200 troops going to do at the border? Maybe not much<https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/what-are-5-200-troops-going-do-border-maybe-not-n934501>

NBC: Troops are not allowed to apprehend immigrants like border agents do. For the most part, they are laying barbed wire barriers and erecting tent facilities for themselves and the Border Patrol. The only armed troops are military police, who are there to protect the encampments where troops are staying.

ICE Is Imprisoning a Record 44,000 People<https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-is-imprisoning-a-record-44000-people>

Daily Beast: That massive increase in detentions by the highly controversial agency has prompted questions from rights groups about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) obtained the money to place into its custody 4,000 more people than Congress has funded.

Jeff Sessions May Be Gone, But His Impact On Immigration Policy Will Live On<https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/jeff-sessions-impact-immigration-trump>

Buzzfeed: Though he lasted less than two years, Sessions made use of his limited time: He sued sanctuary cities and states. He recommended that the president rescind a popular program that protected immigrants from deportation (DACA) and later announced its end. He implemented a “zero tolerance” policy at the border that resulted in parents being separated from their children. And, perhaps most consequentially, in his role overseeing the immigration courts, made monumental changes to the way judges could oversee their cases and rule on asylum claims.

With or without criminal records, some immigrants spend many years in detention<http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-immigrant-detainees-20181112-story.html>

LA Times: The men have been at the Farmville Detention Center since February 2007 – longer than any other immigrants in the U.S. But no crimes blot their history in the U.S. Two dozen other detainees in California alone have spent more than three years in ICE custody, according to data obtained through a public records request by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse of Syracuse University and released last month.

Street Vendors’ GPS Trackers Have Immigration Advocates Worried<https://documentedny.com/2018/11/12/early-arrival-street-vendors-gps-trackers-have-immigration-advocates-worried/>

Documented: To assign the grades, the department will attach GPS devices to vendors’ carts to track where they are located. The decision to use GPS trackers has been met with fierce backlash from advocates who fear the mostly immigrant street vendors could face privacy concerns if Immigration and Custom Enforcement got ahold of the data. In New York City, about 85 percent of those who own a street food vendors are immigrants.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

ACLU sues over presidential proclamation on asylum<https://www.aclu.org/blog/immigrants-rights/deportation-and-due-process/president-trumps-proclamation-suspending-asylum>

ACLU: The Trump administration’s action is contrary to the founding values of the country – welcoming homeless refugees to our shores. It also violates U.S. law, so we, along with the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center, filed suit against the administration on behalf of several nonprofit organizations that provide assistance to refugees and asylum seekers. The plaintiffs include the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Al Otro Lado, Innovation Law Lab, and the Central American Resource Center.

After federal government filing, 9th Circuit rules in DACA dispute<http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/11/after-federal-government-filing-9th-circuit-rules-in-daca-dispute/>

SCOTUSblog: Three days ago, the federal government went to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to weigh in on a dispute over the Trump administration’s decision to end a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals even before the federal courts of appeals – and in particular the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit – could review the government’s appeal from district court rulings against it. Today the 9th Circuit issued its ruling in the challenge to the termination of the program, known as DACA, which allows some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for protection from deportation. The ruling means not only that the Supreme Court is now more likely to take up the DACA dispute, but that it could do so this term.

RESOURCES

*   Resources Related to DOD’s Tightening of Rules and Discharges of Immigrants from the Military<https://www.aila.org/infonet/dod-tightens-rules-for-immigrants-joining-military>
*   Know Your Rights: What to Do If You Are Detained at a Port of Entry (LPR)<https://www.aila.org/advo-media/tools/psas/what-to-do-detained-port-of-entry-lpr>

EVENTS

*   11/13/18 CGRS best practices for working with medical and mental health professionals who provide expert testimony in asylum cases<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdUH3NiTlKVx3qcSizbxUVF9-1y8xmAoo7CqwDRywI70xzugQ/viewform>
*   11/26-28/18 CLINIC & NITA “Advocacy in Immigration Matters”<https://cliniclegal.org/calendar/nita-clinics-advocacy-immigration-matters-training>
*   11/29/18 The Ins and Outs of Lawful Admission<https://aila.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=285482eaa25f6af572462f19e&id=257ceb8a3f&e=9f707adf3e>
*   12/11/18 Accidental Adjustments: How to Handle Wrongly Issued Status<https://aila.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=285482eaa25f6af572462f19e&id=b2dc22a372&e=9f707adf3e>
*   12/17/18 20th Annual AILA New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium<https://aila.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=285482eaa25f6af572462f19e&id=aa74902e0c&e=9f707adf3e>
*   12/20/18 Mental Incapacity: Merging Treatment and Enforcement<https://aila.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=285482eaa25f6af572462f19e&id=c77d41e6e2&e=9f707adf3e>
*   2/7/19 Basic Immigration Law 2019: Business, Family, Naturalization and Related Areas<https://www.pli.edu/Content/Seminar/Basic_Immigration_Law_2019_Business_Family/_/N-4kZ1z0zgl8?ID=348125>
*   2/8/19 Asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, Crime Victim, and Other Immigration Relief 2019<https://www.pli.edu/Content/Seminar/Asylum_Special_Immigrant_Juvenile_Status/_/N-4kZ1z0zgl7?ID=348126>
*   03/12/19 AILA Spring Federal Court Litigation Conference<https://www.aila.org/conferences/in-person/2019-aila-spring-federal-court-litigation-conf>

ImmProf

Monday, November 12, 2018

*   President Trump should withdraw his asylum proclamation<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/president-trump-should-withdraw-his-asylum-proclamation.html>
*   From the Bookshelves: The Golden State by Lydia Kiesling<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/from-teh-bookshelves-the-golden-state-by-lydia-kiesling.html>
*   There is No “Invasion” at the Border: The U.S. Government’s 2018 Border Data Clearly Shows Why the Trump Administration is on the Wrong Track<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/there-is-no-invasion-at-the-border-.html>
Sunday, November 11, 2018

*   Happy Veterans Day<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/happy-veterans-day.html>
*   High Profile Immigration Hardliners Who Lost at the Polls<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/high-profile-immigration-hardliners-who-lost-at-the-polls.html>
*   Catalina Cruz becomes first former ‘Dreamer’ elected to New York state Assembly<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/catalina-cruz-becomes-first-former-dreamer-elected-to-new-york-state-assembly.html>
Friday, November 9, 2018

*   Breaking News: Presidential Proclamation Addressing Mass Migration Through the Southern Border of the United States<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/breaking-news-presidential-proclamation-addressing-mass-migration-through-the-southern-border-of-the.html>
*   Sessions: The Trump Administration’s Once-Indispensable Man on Immigration<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/sessions-the-trump-administrations-once-indispensable-man-on-immigration.html>
Thursday, November 8, 2018

*   New Asylum Regulation! Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen, Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker Statement on DHS-DOJ Asylum Regulation<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/new-asylum-regulation-secretary-kirstjen-m-nielsen-acting-attorney-general-matthew-g-whitaker-statem.html>
*   Ninth Circuit Affirms Injunction Barring the Rescission of DACA<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/ninth-circuit-affirms-injunction-barring-the-rescission-of-daca.html>
*   Birthright Citizenship: A Look at Other Nations<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/birthright-citizenship-a-look-at-other-nations.html>
*   Election 2018: Somali Refugee Elected to Congress, Afghan Refugee Elected to New Hampshire House of Representatives<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/somali-refugee-elected-to-congress.html>
*   Symposium Available On-Line: Immigration Law & Resistance: Ensuring a Nation of Immigrants<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/symposium-available-on-line-symposium-immigration-law-resistance-ensuring-a-nation-of-immigrants.html>
*   Latino Peoples in the New America: Racialization and Resistance by José A. Cobas, Joe R. Feagin, Daniel J. Delgado, Maria Chávez, editors<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/-latino-peoples-in-the-new-america-racialization-and-resistance-by-jos%C3%A9-a-cobas-joe-r-feagin-daniel-.html>
Wednesday, November 7, 2018

*   TRAC : Immigration Court Backlog Hits One Million Cases!<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/trac-immigration-backlog-hits-one-million-cases.html>
*   From the Bookshelves: Lucy E. Salyer, Under the Starry Flag: How a Band of Irish Americans Joined the Fenian Revolt and Sparked a Crisis over Citizenship<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/from-the-bookshelves-lucy-e-salyer.html>
*   Sessions is out!<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/sessions-is-out-.html>
*   Should Noncitizens Be Allowed to Vote?<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/should-noncitizens-be-allowed-to-vote.html>
*   Conference: Access to Justice, Due Process and the Rule of Law in the US Immigration System – Honoring Jose P. Osuna<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/conference-access-to-justice-due-process-and-the-rule-of-law-in-the-us-immigration-system-honoring-j.html>
*   Doris Meissner: Asylum Reform – Not National Guard – Needed at Border<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/doris-meissen-asylum-m-reform-not-national-guard-needed.html>
Tuesday, November 6, 2018

*   Memes of the Day. Enjoy.<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/memes-of-the-day-enjoy.html>
*   Seton Hall Law School Job Opening: Practitioner-in-Residence, Immigration<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/seton-hall-law-school-job-opening-practitioner-in-residence-immigration.html>
*   DHS Seeks SCOTUS Review of DACA Before Courts of Appeal Issue Decisions<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/dhs-seeks-scotus-review-of-daca-before-courts-of-appeal-issue-decisions.html>
*   Last Day to Comment on Fed Reg re: Flores Settlement<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/last-day-to-comment-on-fed-reg-re-flores-settlement.html>
*   Call for Papers: AILA Law Journal<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/call-for-papers-aila-law-journal.html>
Monday, November 5, 2018

*   NBC Airs Immigration Trump Ad Deemed Racist by CNN<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/nbc-airs-immigration-trump-ad-deemed-racist-by-cnn.html>
*   The President’s Immigration Guru: Stephen Miller<https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/11/the-presidents-immigration-guru-stephen-miller.html>

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips <https://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips>

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

Thanks, Elizabeth. Most impressive, as usual!

PWS

11-12-18

THE GIBSON REPORT – 11-05-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esquire, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

 

Trump pledges asylum crackdown, tent cities; is it legal?

AP: President Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to sign an order [this] week that could lead to the large-scale detention of migrants crossing the southern border and bar anyone caught crossing illegally from claiming asylum — two legally dubious proposals that mark his latest election-season barrage against illegal immigration. Trump also said he had told the U.S. military mobilizing at the southwest border that if U.S. troops face rock-throwing migrants, they should react as though the rocks were “rifles.”

 

The 14th Amendment And The History Of Birthright Citizenship In The U.S.

NPR: [M]ost constitutional scholars argue that an executive order like the one President Trump is proposing would violate the 14th Amendment. This is an amendment that was ratified after the Civil War in 1868. And it nullified an earlier Supreme Court decision that held descendants of slaves could not be citizens. See also: Ending Birthright Citizenship Could Put All Americans’ Nationality in Jeopardy.

 

ICE moves to silence detention center volunteer visitors

SD Union-Trib: Immigration officials stopped allowing a volunteer group to visit people at a local detention facility unless its members agreed not to talk with the press or other groups about conditions inside.

 

Warehousing Immigrant Children in the Texas Desert

ACLU: Since June, the federal government has been operating a massive tent city in the West Texas desert to detain immigrant children who have traveled to the United States seeking protection from persecution and abuse in their home countries.

 

The midterms’ closing arguments: Immigration, fear, stars and emotional appeals

WaPo: At rallies over the weekend, Trump continued to talk about his hard-line effort to keeps immigrants from entering the country illegally.

 

Fox and NBC to stop airing Trump immigrant ad deemed racist

ABC: NBC and Fox News Channel both said Monday that they will stop airing President Donald Trump’s campaign advertisement that featured an immigrant convicted of murder. CNN had rejected the same ad, declaring it racist.

 

Video of ICE courthouse arrest

IDP: Yesterday, three plain-clothes ICE agents violently arrested a man before his court appearance in Queens, with three NY State court officers present, as the man pleaded “Why are you doing this?!” ICE never identified themselves. IDP obtained video. This past month alone there has been an uptick of 23 incidents of ICE courthouse operations in NY State.

 

Census Citizenship Question Triggers Legal and Political Fallout

MPI: As the timeline for launching the 2020 decennial census approaches fast, legal and political controversy surrounds the Trump administration’s inclusion of a question on citizenship status. The question, which was dropped after the 1950 census, was reinstated on March 26, 2018 by U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the U.S. Census Bureau.

 

New Study Finds Immigrants Pay More in Private Insurance Premiums Than They Receive In Benefits

AcademyHealth: In the first study to look at immigrants’ role in financing private health insurance, findings contradict assertions that people born in the US are systematically subsidizing the medical care of immigrants.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

BIA publishes Matter of J-R-G-P-, 27 I&N Dec. 482 (BIA 2018)

Where the evidence regarding an application for protection under the Convention Against Torture … plausibly establishes that abusive or squalid conditions in pretrial detention facilities, prisons, or mental health institutions in the country of removal are the result of neglect, a lack of resources, or insufficient training and education, rather than a specific intent to cause severe pain and suffering, an Immigration Judge’s finding that the applicant did not establish a sufficient likelihood that he or she will experience “torture” in these settings is not clearly erroneous

 

DHS Notice on Compliance with Preliminary Injunction Regarding TPS

DHS notice announcing the logistical actions it will take to ensure compliance with the preliminary injunction in Ramos v. Nielsen, which prohibits the termination of TPS for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador while the injunction remains in effect. (83 FR 54764, 10/31/18) AILA Doc. No. 18103160

 

USCIS Announces Phased Elimination of Self-Scheduled InfoPass Appointments

USCIS announced the elimination of self-scheduling InfoPass appointments to the Detroit Field Office and five offices in the Los Angeles District on 11/13/18. USCIS anticipates expanding to all field offices by the end of FY2019. AILA Doc. No. 18103031

 

Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for FY2019

Presidential determination on refugee admissions for FY2019, stating that the admission of up to 30,000 refugees shall be allowed and providing regional ceilings. (83 FR 55091, 11/1/18) AILA Doc. No. 18100430

 

President Trump Delivers Remarks on Illegal Immigration and Border Security

President Trump delivered remarks in reaction to illegal immigration and a caravan of asylum seekers traveling from Central America to the southwest U.S./Mexico border. AILA Doc. No. 18110202

 

White House Issues Fact Sheet About the Border

White House Issues Fact Sheet on U.S. Asylum Laws

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, November 5, 2018

Sunday, November 4, 2018

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Friday, November 2, 2018

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Monday, October 29, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

 

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

 

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

Thanks, Elizabeth.

PWs

11-10-18

 

 

 

 

 

THE GIBSON REPORT – 10-29-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

 

Suspected synagogue shooter appears to have railed against Jews, refugees online

WaPo: The most recent postings on the Gab account believed to belong to Bowers specifically targeted the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, known as HIAS, which is one of nine organizations that works with the federal government to resettle refugees in American communities.

 

Trump administration considers travel ban-like order for Mexican border

Politico: Under the plan, the Trump administration would publish fast-track regulation that would restrict certain migrants’ ability to seek asylum. The regulation would be paired with a related proclamation from President Donald Trump.

 

Pentagon to deploy 5,000 active-duty troops to southern border to halt migrant caravan

USA Today: The Pentagon will deploy up to 5,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to prevent members of a migrant caravan from illegally entering the country, a U.S. official said Monday. About 2,100 National Guard troops are already fanned out across the border under an order from President Donald Trump earlier this year.

 

Migrant caravan: Mexico offers temporary work permits

BBC: Mexico has offered temporary work permits to migrants who register for asylum, as a big caravan of Central American migrants makes its way through the country toward the US.

 

New Poll Shows Voters Support Access to Asylum for Refugees

WRC: As President Donald J. Trump pursues new separation and detention policies for families fleeing violence and danger in their home countries, and threatens to arm the southern border, a new poll released today shows that the majority of likely voters—up to 70%—support allowing refugees to seek asylum in the U.S.

 

Counties Where ICE Arrests Concentrate

TRAC: More than a quarter (28%) of recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of immigrants living and working in communities across America took place in just ten counties in the United States, along with their immediate surrounding locales…The county with the most arrests was San Bernardino County, California. In second place was DeKalb County, Georgia, where Atlanta is located. New York County, New York, and surrounding locales was in third place.

 

Asylum claims are soaring as migrant families take an administrative path, buckling the immigration system.

WaPo: The migrants coming today are increasingly Central Americans seeking asylum or some form of humanitarian protection, bearing stories of torture, gang recruitment, abusive spouses, extortionists and crooked police. They know the quickest path to a better life in the United States is now an administrative one — not through mountains or canyons but through the front gates of the country’s immigration bureaucracy.

 

55% Of America’s Billion-Dollar Startups Have An Immigrant Founder

Forbes: A new study from the National Foundation for American Policy finds that 55%, or 50 of 91, of the country’s $1 billion startup companies had at least one immigrant founder.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Supreme Court Asks for SG’s Views on Cross-Border Shooting Case

ImmProf: Amy Howe on SCOTUSBlog reports that the Supreme Court today “called for the views of the U.S. solicitor general in Swartz v. Rodriguez, a petition for review filed by Lonnie Swartz, a U.S. Border Patrol agent alleged to have shot and killed a 16-year-old Mexican boy who was walking on the Mexican side of that country’s border with the United States.

 

ACLU Calls for Moratorium and Files FOIA Request to DHS on Facial Recognition

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for a moratorium, and filed a FOIA request with DHS, on the use of facial recognition technology for immigration enforcement and law enforcement purposes until Congress and the public debate, what, if any, uses of this technology should be permitted. AILA Doc. No. 18102500

 

USCIS Efforts Lead to Guilty Plea in Case of Unauthorized Practice of Immigration Law

USCIS announced that it helped initiate an investigation that led to guilty pleas from Veronica Perdomo, 43, for fraudulently practicing immigration law and impersonating an immigration officer. A USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security immigration officer in Charlotte received the original tip. AILA Doc. No. 18102240

 

AILA Submits Comments In Response to Comment Request Concerning UAC Sponsorship Review Procedures

In response to a comment request concerning UAC sponsorship review procedures, AILA noted its opposition to the proposed changes. Rather than improve the efficiently placement of unaccompanied children in suitable environments with safe caregivers, the proposed changes would impede such placement. AILA Doc. No. 18102633

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, October 29, 2018

Sunday, October 28, 2018

Saturday, October 27, 2018

Friday, October 26, 2018

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Monday, October 22, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

 

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Thanks, Elizabeth, as always!

Everyone should check out Elizabeth’s “Item 5” — New Poll Shows Voters Support Access to Asylum for Refugees.

Folks like Trump, Sessions, Nielsen, Cissna, and Kobach often falsely claim to be “speaking for the American people.” But, in reality, they aren’t, and never have been.  They actually represent toxic, basically un-American views on immigration and migrants that are held by a vocal and active White Nationalist minority of Americans.

The rest of us need to take back our country at the ballot box — starting next Tuesday.

PWS

11-01-18

 

 

 

 

 

THE GIBSON REPORT — 1–22-18 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

  1. TOP UPDATES

  2. Matter Of M-A-C-O-: BIA Issues Published Decision Regarding Asylum Jurisdiction And Unaccompanied Children

  3. NIJC: After reviewing the statutory definition of a UIC, which includes as an element of the definition, being under 18 years of age, the BIA determined that the respondent was not a UIC at the time he filed for asylum and therefore the immigration court properly exercised initial jurisdiction over his asylum application.

  4. Validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.

  5. USCIS: The updated policy, which goes into effect on Nov. 1, 2018, will require applicants to submit a Form I-693 that is signed by a civil surgeon no more than 60 days before filing the underlying application for an immigration benefit. The Form I-693 would remain valid for a two-year period following the date the civil surgeon signed it.

  6. ICE Appears To End Use Of Federal Prisons For Immigrant Detainees

  7. NPR: In early June, the agency announced it was sending up to 1,600 immigrant detainees to five federal prisons in Texas, Oregon, California, Washington, and Arizona. But now, a total of only three ICE detainees remain across the five prisons that once held hundreds of immigrants. Immigrant detainees left the federal prisons either because they were deported, transferred to civil detention facilities, or were granted bail

  8. Jeff Sessions Is Quietly Transforming the Nation’s Immigration Courts

  9. Atlantic: The attorney general has stepped up the hiring of immigration judges, ordered them to hear more cases, and shown a preference for those who’ve previously been prosecutors.

  10. New Court Filing Highlights the Government’s Official “Turnback Policy” for Asylum Seekers

  11. AIC: For years, the federal government has attempted to partner with local communities on immigration enforcement, raising a host of problems. Despite this dark legacy, the Trump administration continues to pursue a significant expansion of these partnerships.

  12. ICE subpoenas immigration lawyer in leak hunt

  13. SF Chronicle: The Trump administration has subpoenaed an immigration attorney in an attempt to determine who leaked an internal memo that laid out how Immigration and Customs Enforcement should implement Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to restrict political asylum for victims of domestic violence and gang crimes. The attorney said he doesn’t intend to reveal his sources or any other information about how he obtained the memo.

  14. U.S. courts abruptly tossed 9,000 deportation cases.

  15. Reuters: The Supreme Court ruled that paperwork failing to designate a time and place didn’t constitute a legal notice to appear in court. The ruling sparked a frenzy of immigration court filings. Over ten weeks this summer, a record 9,000 deportation cases, including Barrios’, were terminated as immigration attorneys raced to court with challenges to the paperwork their clients had received, a Reuters analysis of data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review shows.

  16. Trump Threatens to Punish Honduras Over Immigrant Caravan

  17. NYT: President Trump threatened on Tuesday to withhold aid from the Honduran government if it did not halt a mass migration of more than 1,500 people, mainly from Honduras, who crossed into Guatemala this week, many with the intention of reaching the United States. See also DOS Secretary and Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Deliver Remarks on Caravan of Honduran Migrants.

  18. Follow the trek of Venezuelan migrants fleeing on foot

  19. AP: About 1.9 million Venezuelans have fled their collapsing nation since 2015 in one of the largest migrations in the world in recent years. The most desperate cannot afford a bus or plane ticket, and so they risk their lives to escape on foot. Every day, more than 650 migrants start on the walk out of Venezuela.

  20. Businesses could be surprised by Trump plan to limit immigrant use of benefits

  21. Politico: “I don’t think the business community has any clue how much this impacts them,” said Doug Rand, a former Obama administration official and president of Boundless Immigration, a firm that uses online tools to assist with immigration paperwork. “This means paying lawyers a lot more money and having every application being a nail-biter.”… The temporary visa holders subject to new questions about benefit use include those using the H-1B program for skilled workers, the H-2A program for agricultural workers, and the H-2B program for seasonal, non-agricultural workers.

  22. The Government Has Decided It Was A Bad Idea To Ask Immigration Attorneys To Submit To A Credit Check

  23. Buzzfeed: The Trump administration is discontinuing the use of a form to vet attorneys for immigrant children that asked the attorneys to agree to a background check of their credit history, insurance, and information about their “personal characteristics” and “mode of living.”

  24. Terrible and Terrifying: Marriage Interviews Become Another Cog in the Deportation Machine

  25. AILA: AILA Executive Director Ben Johnson highlights the growing number of cases where ICE seizes people during the marriage interview component of their immigration application process, an interview required to pursue the legal status which would protect them. AILA Doc. No. 18101830

  26. Immigrant detained delivering pizza to Army base, arrested after domestic incident in Hempstead

  27. ABC: He was arraigned in court on Saturday and ordered held on $500 bail. He is due back in court on Tuesday. He is charged with criminal mischief in the fourth degree.

  28.  

  29. LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

  30. Justice Department Is Illegally Failing to Publicly Post Thousands of Decisions in Immigration Cases

  31. NYLAG: The federal government is illegally failing to publicly post thousands of final orders and opinions in immigration cases and should be ordered to post them online, the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) said in a lawsuit filed today by attorneys at NYLAG and Public Citizen.

  32. Attorney General referred Matter of Negusie to himself for review

  33. Negusie is the case that held “An applicant who is subject to being barred from establishing eligibility for asylum or withholding of removal based on the persecution of others may claim a duress defense, which is limited in nature.”

  34. American Immigration Center Settles with FTC on Government Imposter Allegations

  35. FTC: The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint today against defendants Forms Direct, Inc., also known as American Immigration Center, and owner Cesare Alessandrini, alleging that they falsely implied that their websites were affiliated with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The defendants allegedly used such deception since 2010 to sell immigration form preparation services to consumers, many of whom were attempting to reach the government site to renew their green cards or apply for naturalization. The FTC’s settlement bars the defendants from continuing their misleading business practices and requires them to pay $2.2 million to compensate consumers.

  36. EOIR Announces Opening of Conroe Immigration Court

  37. EOIR announced the opening of an immigration court in the DHS/ICE contract detention facility in Conroe, Texas. While there will no longer be an immigration court at the Houston Service Processing Center at 5520 Greens Road, EOIR will continue to operate a hearing location there. AILA Doc. No. 18101540

  38. DOJ Announces Record Arrests for Felony Illegal Re-entry and Misdemeanor Illegal Entry

  39. DOJ announced that during FY2018, there was a 38% increase over FY2017 of defendants charged with felony illegal re-entry (23,400) and a 86% increase over FY2017 of defendants charged with misdemeanor illegal entry (68,400). AILA Doc. No. 18101960

  40. ORR Request for Comments on “Sponsorship Review Procedures for Approval for Unaccompanied Alien Children” Information Collection

  41. Notice clarifying that the Office of Refugee Resettlement is seeking public comments on its “Sponsorship Review Procedures for Approval for Unaccompanied Alien Children” information collection. Comments are best assured of having their full effect if received within 30 days. (83 FR 52221, 10/16/18) AILA Doc. No. 18101672

  42. AILA, Others File Amicus Brief Arguing Term “Crime Involving Moral Turpitude” Unconstitutionally Vague

  43. AILA, along with several other organizations, filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Martinez-De Ryan v. Sessions arguing that the term “crime involving moral turpitude” is unconstitutionally vague. AILA Doc. No. 18101702

  44. AILA and the Council File Amicus Brief on Bond Eligibility in Withholding-Only Proceedings

  45. AILA and the American Immigration Council filed an amicus brief with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Guzman Chavez v. Hott. The brief argues that respondents in withholding-only proceedings are governed by INA §236(a), and thus eligible for a bond hearing. AILA Doc. No. 18101700

  46. USCIS Reissues Receipt Notices for Extensions of Conditional Permanent Resident Status

  47. USCIS announced that starting on 10/16/18, it began issuing new receipt notices for certain Forms I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, to replace previously issued receipt notices containing inaccurate information. AILA Doc. No. 18101800

  48. Board of Immigration Appeals Practice Manual (10/16/18)

  49. The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) provided an updated Practice Manual (last revised on October 16, 2018). This manual describes procedures, requirements, and recommendations for practice before the BIA. AILA Doc. No. 18101970

  50. RESOURCES

  51.  

  1.  
  2. EVENTS
  3.  
  1. ImmProf
  2. Sunday, October 21, 2018
  1. Saturday, October 20, 2018
  1. Friday, October 19, 2018
  1. Thursday, October 18, 2018
  1. Wednesday, October 17, 2018
  1. Tuesday, October 16, 2018
  1. Monday, October 15, 2018
  1. AILA NEWS UPDATE

  2.  

  3. http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

  4. ***********************************************

Thanks, Elizabeth, as always, for all you do!

PWS

10-26-18

 

THE GIBSON REPORT – 10-15-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

 

Argument analysis: Are there limits to the government’s power to detain immigrants without a hearing?

SCOTUSblog: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Nielsen v. Preap… Although retired Justice Anthony Kennedy voted against the government in Pereira and might therefore have been expected to do the same here, his replacement by Kavanaugh may not determine the outcome in this case. Both Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Neil Gorsuch also came down on the side of the immigrant in Pereira. It is not yet clear where those two justices stand on this case.

 

‘Trump … blinked, Seattle won,’ Durkan says as police get federal funds despite ‘sanctuary city’ threats

Seattle Times: The Trump administration, after threatening to withhold funds for Seattle in retaliation for the city’s immigration policies, has agreed to hand over the money, according to Mayor Jenny Durkan and City Attorney Pete Holmes. Seattle and nearby jurisdictions have been approved for $657,975 in Justice Assistance Grant funds, the U.S. Department of Justice said in an Oct. 10 letter to the city.

 

I’m Terrified About The Future of Home Health Care Aides – You Should Be Too

ImmProf: One-in-four of all home health aides nationwide are immigrants, according to Forbes. But the new “public charge” regs may affect the ability of noncitizen aides to continue in this line of work. Why? Because the pay is so low for this type of care, many aides rely on public supports like food stamps and Medicare.

 

Trump says he is considering a new family separation policy at U.S.-Mexico border

WaPo: Trump said the soaring number of illegal border crossings is “a terrible situation” and argued that family separations likely would help scare away some undocumented migrants from trying to enter the United States.

 

Immigrant Teens Are Stuck In An Expanding Tent City In Texas

BuzzFeed: It opened in June, and the contractor running the site had a 30-day contract. At that time, 326 children were being housed there. But four months after its opening, the shelter 30 miles outside of El Paso has grown into a bustling town. It now holds nearly five times its initial population — roughly 1,500 teens — and its contract has been extended until at least Dec. 31.

 

The US Is Checking Immigrant Kids’ Teeth To See If They Actually Belong In Adult Detention

VICE: Young immigrants, though, don’t always come with birth certificates or other documentation of their age. When that’s the case, ORR contractors and ICE sometimes turn to a highly disputed science to determine how old the immigrants are: forensic odontology.

 

Profiling Who ICE Detains – Few Committed Any Crime

TRAC: The vast majority (58%) of individuals in ICE custody June 30 had no criminal record. An even larger proportion—four out of five—either had no record, or had only committed a minor offense such as a traffic violation

 

New American Fortune 500 in 2018: The Entrepreneurial Legacy of Immigrants and Their Children

NAE: We find 44 percent—or 219 companies—in the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants or their children. A full 100, or one out of every five, were founded by foreign-born individuals while another 119 were founded by the children of immigrants.

 

Army expelled 500 immigrant recruits in 1 year

AP: Over the course of 12 months, the U.S. Army discharged more than 500 immigrant enlistees who were recruited across the globe for their language or medical skills and promised a fast track to citizenship in exchange for their service, The Associated Press has found.

 

G.O.P. Finds an Unexpectedly Potent Line of Attack: Immigration

NYT: “Sanctuary attacks pack a punch,” says a four-page memorandum, prepared by the liberal Center for American Progress and the centrist think tank Third Way, that has been shared at about a dozen briefings for Democrats in recent weeks. The New York Times obtained a copy of the memo, whose findings are based on interviews and surveys conducted over the summer.

 

Challenging the Constitutionality (or Legality) of Stipulated Removal Orders Issued Between 1997 and 2012 in Reinstatement and 8 U.S.C. §1326 Cases

Sharma-Crawford: [S]tarting at least as early as 1997, as part of a mass scheme to remove individuals from the United States quickly and without due process protections, the federal government duped and coerced individuals into waiving their rights and agreeing to accept stipulated removal orders…In one particular jurisdiction – Kansas City, Missouri – immigration officials, with the assistance of one nonprofit attorney from Legal Aid, engaged in a scheme to help DHS obtain thousands of removal orders with “no advocacy…[and]…no opposition to the government’s action to deport these individuals.”

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Class Notice and Proposed Settlement Agreement Regarding Immigration Procedures for Families Separated at the Border

Attached are copies of the class notice and proposed agreement to settle several lawsuits concerning the appropriate immigration procedures for migrant families separated after entering the United States: M.M.M. v. Sessions, Case No. 3:18-cv-1832-DMS (S.D. Cal.), M.M.M. v. Sessions, Case No. 1:18-cv-1835-PLF (D.D.C.), Ms. L. v. ICE, Case No. 3:18-cv-428-DMS (S.D. Cal.), and Dora v. Sessions, Case No. 18-cv-1938 (D.D.C.).  Judge Dana Sabraw of the Southern District of California preliminarily approved the proposed settlement agreement on October 9, 2018.  The agreement covers a class of parents and a class of children, as described more fully attached.

 

USCIS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility

USCIS notice of proposed rulemaking to revise the regulations on the public charge ground of inadmissibility to define the term “public charge” and define the types of benefits that are considered in public charge inadmissibility determinations. Comments are due 12/10/18. (83 FR 51114, 10/10/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092430

 

BIA Holds That New York Statute Is Not a Controlled Substance Offense or Aggravated Felony

Unpublished BIA decision holds that criminal sale of a controlled substance in the fifth degree under N.Y.P.L 220.31 is not a controlled substance offense or aggravated felony under Harbin v. Sessions, 860 F.3d 58 (2d Cir. 2017). Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Diaz Vargas, 9/29/17)

AILA Doc. No. 18101200

 

BIA Reopens and Terminates Multiple Sets of Removal Proceedings

Unpublished BIA decision reopens and terminates two sets of proceedings sua sponte upon finding that carrying a weapon in a motor vehicle under Conn. Gen. Stat. 29-38 was neither a firearms offense nor an aggravated felony. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Thorpe, 9/29/17) AILA Doc. No. 18101038

 

BIA Finds Respondent Did Not Breach Bond Conditions

Unpublished BIA decision holds that respondent did not breach bond conditions by moving out of state where note in IJ decision indicated that he had to remain at the address where he intended to move after his release. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of S-S-, 9/15/17) AILA Doc. No. 18101040

 

BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Because NTA Was Sent to Non-Attorney

Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order because Notice to Appear was sent to an immigration consultant provided on a prior TPS application. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ascencio Martinez, 9/20/17) AILA Doc. No. 18101134

 

The Attorney General has issued a decision in Matter of M-G-G-, 27 I&N Dec. 475  (A.G. 2018).

AG: The named respondent in the case has been removed to Guatemala pursuant to a final order of removal. Given that the respondent is no longer in the United States, I will not review the Board’s determination that the respondent was eligible to be released on bond.

 

The Attorney Decision has issued a decision in Matter of M-S-, 27 I&N Dec. 476  (A.G. 2018).

AG:  I direct the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) to refer this case to me for review of its decision…Whether Matter of X-K-, 23 I&N Dec. 731 (BIA 2005), which held that immigration judges may hold bond hearings for certain aliens screened from expedited removal proceedings under section 235(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1225(b)(1), into removal proceedings under section 240, 8 U.S.C. § 1229a, should be overruled in light of Jennings v. Rodriguez, 138 S. Ct. 830 (2018).

 

DHS Issues Waiver to Expedite Border Wall Gate Construction Project in Texas

DHS issued a waiver with the stated purpose of ensuring “the expeditious construction of gates in existing wall structure near the international border in the state of Texas.” The waiver was published in the Federal Register on 10/10/18. AILA Doc. No. 18101170

 

ICE Provides Information on Its Basic Immigration Enforcement Training Program

ICE provided information on its training program for deportation officers, stating that its 16 weeks long and includes background on removal proceedings and a 25-day Spanish language course. Graduation is mandatory before prospective deportation officers can enforce immigration laws. AILA Doc. No. 18101171

 

USCIS Issues Policy Alert on Marriage and Living in Marital Union Requirements for Naturalization

USCIS is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify the married and living in marital union requirements for naturalization under INA §319(a). Updated guidance is effective immediately and comments are due by 10/25/18. AILA Doc. No. 18101230

 

 

RESOURCES

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, October 15, 2018

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Friday, October 12, 2018

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Monday, October 8, 2018

 

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

Thanks, Elizabeth!

 

PWS

10-16-18

THE GIBSON REPORT — 10-01-18 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Project

TOP UPDATES

USCIS to Begin Implementing New Policy Memorandum on Notices to Appear

USCIS: USCIS will take an incremental approach to implement this memo… The June 2018 NTA Policy Memo will not be implemented with respect to employment-based petitions and humanitarian applications and petitions at this time. Existing guidance for these case types will remain in effect.

 

Proposed I-912 Fee Waiver Form Revision

USCIS: USCIS is proposing to revise our Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, to remove the receipt of means-tested benefits from the eligibility criteria… Eligibility for these benefits can vary from state to state, depending on the state’s income level guidelines.  As a result, individuals who would not otherwise qualify under the poverty-guideline threshold and financial hardship criteria have been granted fee waivers by USCIS.

 

EOIR Announces Largest Ever Immigration Judge Investiture

DOJ: The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announces the investiture of 46 immigration judges, including two assistant chief immigration judges, marking for the second month in a row the largest class in the agency’s history. IJ bios here.

  • Samuel M. Factor, Immigration Judge, New York City Immigration Court
  • Brian T. Palmer, Immigration Judge, New York Immigration Court
  • Oshea Denise Spencer, Immigration Judge, New York City Immigration Court

 

AILA, CLINIC, and NILC Provides Update on FAM Changes to Public Charge

AILA, CLINIC, and NILC provided a summary of issues discussed during a 9/12/18 telephonic call with representatives from DOS concerning FAM changes and consulates’ public charge determinations and associated Form I-601A revocations. AILA Doc. No. 18092632

 

Which Immigration Cases Will the Supreme Court Hear This Term?

AIC: Although only one immigration case is currently scheduled to be heard, challenges to President Trump’s immigration policies will likely end up in front of the Court by the end of the term.

 

Policy Brief: S. 3478 Would Codify Cruelty Against Arriving Children

In this policy brief, AILA expresses its opposition to S. 3478, which would eviscerate long-standing legal standards and protections for immigrant children and families seeking asylum who arrive at the U.S. border. AILA Doc. No. 18092500

 

Tracking Over 2 Million ICE Arrests: A First Look

TRAC: Historically, the vast majority of ICE arrests occur when the agency assumes custody of immigrants from another law enforcement agency. Since Trump assumed office, roughly three out of four ICE arrests were what ICE refers to as “custodial” arrests…The remaining one-quarter (25%) were individuals arrested at their home, place of work, or elsewhere in the wider community including at courthouses or at DHS offices when the immigrant had appeared for an appointment.

 

New Immigration Policy Gives USCIS Adjudicators Full Discretion to Deny Cases Without Issuing RFE

AILA member Taymoor Pilhevar discusses USCIS’s policy memorandum issued on 7/13/18 on the rescission of the standing policy that RFEs and NOIDs must be issued before a denial is issued. AILA Doc. No. 18092730

 

Dozens of Doctors Who Screen Immigrants Have Record of ‘Egregious Infractions,’ Report Says

NYT: The report looked at more than 5,500 doctors across the country used by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as of June 2017 to examine those seeking green cards. More than 130 had some background of wrongdoing, including one who sexually exploited female patients and another who tried to have a dissatisfied patient killed, the report said.

 

In the Face of a Shutdown, Trump and Congress Delay Border Wall Fight Until December

AIC: This continuing resolution sets up a potential major battle over immigration enforcement, border wall funding, and other immigration issues—which could all come to a head in the face of a December government shutdown.

 

An Illinois Priest Living Legally in the U.S. for 14 years Is Being Deported – Over a Single Vote He Shouldn’t Have Cast

WaPo: Boase was placed in removal proceedings last month, roughly a year after he admitted during his citizenship interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that, yes, he once registered to vote, and yes, he once cast a vote.

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Challenging Termination of TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan

The plaintiffs filed a class action suit and motion for preliminary injunction to force the government to preserve TPS for more than 200,000 individuals, stating that TPS terminations was unconstitutional and violated the Administrative Procedure Act. (Ramos et al. v. Nielsen et al, 3/12/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092833

 

CA9 Holds CBP Officer Is Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity and Holds BivensCan Be Extended

The court held that, taking the facts as alleged in the complaint, CBP officer is not entitled to qualified immunity due to violation of clearly established unreasonable seizure, and can be subject to a Bivens claim by mother of the deceased. (Rodriguez v. Swartz, 8/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092534

 

CA9 Holds BIA Erred in Denying Cancellation Based on Incorrect Application of Categorical and Modified Categorical Approaches for CIMT

The court held BIA erred in concluding OR witness tampering statute was categorically CIMT and that statute was not divisible; under modified categorical approach, court found statute was divisible and applicable subsection also not categorically CIMT. (Vasquez-Valle v. Sessions, 8/10/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092536

 

C.D. Cal. Grant Injunctive and Declaratory Relief Pursuant to FloresSettlement

Plaintiffs seek class certification to have ORR policies/practices be declared unlawful and to enjoin due process violations in evaluating fitness of custodians, placement in secure facilities, administering psychotropic drugs, and lack of access to counsel. (Lucas R. v. Azar, 6/29/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092670

 

C.D. Cal. Grants Class Certification to Certain Cambodian Nationals Affected by New ICE Re-Detention Policy

The court granted class certification to putative class of 1900 individuals subject to an October 2017 ICE policy of re-detention without notice or individual analysis to determine necessity of re-detention; class seeks injunctive and declaratory relief. (Chhoeun v. Marin, 8/14/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092537

 

C.D. Cal. Receives APA and Mandamus Complaint of Honorably Discharged Noncitizen Vet Who Claims Unreasonable Delay in Naturalization Application

Complaint alleges unreasonable delay of naturalization application that was part of DOD’s MANVI program; seeks mandamus compelling government action. Lack of adjudication within normal processing times and under policies to expedite military applications violate APA. (Sea v. DHS, 7/19/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092701

 

E.D. Wash. Grants Motion to Dismiss, Holds IJ Deportation Decision Void for Lack of Proper Notice Due to Deficient NTA

The court found that despite a timely delivery to hearing due to being in custody, defendant was deprived of proper notice because NTA failed to state time and date of hearing; IJ, thus, had no jurisdiction to enter deportation order. (U.S. v. Virgen-Ponce, 7/26/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092731

 

W.D. Wash. Grants Summary Judgment for Noncitizen’s APA Claim, Reinstates LPR Status Until Removal Proceedings Are Complete

The court held that revocation of green card/LPR status as void ab initio outside of INA’s five-year rescission period without a hearing was a due process violation and an agency action “not in accordance with law”; ordered status reinstated until hearing complete. (Lai v. U.S., 7/17/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092702

 

  1. N.J. Grants TRO to Stay Removal and Habeas to Release Petitioner from Detention While Pursuing Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver

The court held that detention and attempted deportation of petitioner while he pursued a provisional unlawful presence waiver violated the APA and Fifth Amendment. Formal opinion forthcoming. (Martinez v. Nielsen, 8/3/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092601

 

CA DC Reverses and Remands, Vacating USCIS Determination that USC Lacked “Intention” to Relinquish U.S. Nationality

The court held USCIS did not properly interpret “intention” in 8 USC §1481(a), stating that a USC’s potential inability to leave and be admitted elsewhere did not mean USC lacked “intention” to relinquish nationality under the domestic-renunciation provision. (Kaufman v. Nielsen, 7/20/18) AILA Doc. No. 18092602

 

DHS OIG Finds USCIS’s Medical Admissibility Screening Process Needs Improvement

DHS OIG found that USCIS has inadequate controls for verifying that foreign nationals seeking LPR status met health-related standards for admissibility. DHS OIG made recommendations that, when implemented, will improve USCIS selection and oversight of physicians and its review of medical forms. AILA Doc. No. 18092573

 

USCIS Issues Policy Alert on Special Naturalization Provisions for Children

USCIS issued a policy alert updating the USCIS Policy Manual with guidance to clarify certain special naturalization provisions for children. This guidance is effective 9/26/18, and is controlling and supersedes any prior guidance. Comments are due by 10/9/18. AILA Doc. No. 18092605

 

Congress Urges DHS Inspector General to Investigate Allegations of Coercion and Abuse Against Separated Immigrant Parents

On 9/26/18, members of the House and Senate sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security’s Acting Inspector General, urging for an investigation of allegations of coercion and abuse by DHS officers against immigrant parents separated from their children at the border. AILA Doc. No. 18092633

 

RESOURCES

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, October 1, 2018

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Friday, September 28, 2018

Thursday, September 27, 2018

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Monday, September 24, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

 

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

Thanks, Elizabeth!

Check out the “Litigation Section” to see how “real” Article III Courts continue to reject the legal arguments pushed by the Sessions DOJ.

Perhaps the “sleeper” here is US v. Virgen-Ponce, ED WA.  The District Judge rejected the BIA’s position in Matter of Bermudez-Cota, 27 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA 2018)  that a “Notice to Appear” that fails to specify the actual time, date, and place of hearing is sufficient to vest jurisdiction with an Immigration Judge.  The “boneheaded” position taken by the BIA and DHS under Sessions (rejecting the Supreme Court’s interpretation) could, if rejected by more Article III Courts and ultimately the Supremes, invalidate most of the 760,000 cases now pending in Immigration Court! Read my colleague Judge Jeffrey Chase’s outstanding blog about the BIA’s “dereliction of duty” in Matter of Bermudez-Cota, 27 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA 2018) http://immigrationcourtside.com/2018/09/02/hon-jeffrey-chase-on-how-the-bia-blew-off-the-supremes-matter-of-bermudez-cota-27-in-dec-441-bia-2018-is-the-bia-risking-docket-disaster-to/

While this is only one District Court, the legal argument is being pursued across the country. This could potentially effectively “invalidate” the entire Immigration Court System. Given the toxic, lawless actions of AG Jeff Sessions, a “complete restart” under a neutral and competent court-appointed “Special Master” could be the country’s only salvation until Congress establishes an independent Immigration Court that actually complies with our Constitution.

Given such a chance at restart, probably 60% -75% of today’s Immigration Court docket could be left off docket pending a rational legalization program of some type.

With a remaining docket of 200,000 to 350,000 cases that actually need to be litigated, and a more disciplined and professional DHS that respects court time and follows the same type of prosecutorial discretion guidelines as almost every other law enforcement agency in America, an independent Immigration Court with today’s number of Immigration Judges could actually  maintain an ideal 6-18 month “decision cycle” without building new backlog, and most importantly, without denying Due Process or fundamental fairness to anyone. It actually could  fulfill it’s once-stated (but forgotten under Bush and Obama and then trashed by Sessions) vision of “being the world’s best tribunals, guaranteeing fairness and Due Process for all.”

What a difference honest, rational administration that actually encouraged compliance with the laws (including asylum and other protection laws) and our Constitution, instead of mocking and violating them, could make!

PWS

10-01-18

THE GIBSON REPORT – 09-24-18 – Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, Esq., NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT — 09-24-18

TOP UPDATES

Public charge proposed rule

DHS: “DHS Announces New Proposed Immigration Rule to Enforce Long-Standing Law that Promotes Self-Sufficiency and Protects American Taxpayers.” See also CLINIC: USCIS Proposes Vast Changes to Public Charge Definition

ICE arrested undocumented immigrants who came forward to take in undocumented children

CNN: On Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior official Matthew Albence testified to Congress that, after Health and Human Services and ICE signed a memorandum of agreement to background-check and fingerprint potential “sponsors” of immigrant children, ICE arrested 41 people who came forward.

Sessions Limits U.S. Judges’ Ability to Dismiss Deportation Cases

Reuters reports on the Attorney General’s (AG) decision in Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-. AILA Associate Director of Government Relations Kate Voigt called it part of “a concerted effort by the AG to undermine judicial independence and to minimize the role of judges in immigration court.” AILA Doc. No. 18092001. See also Jeff Sessions’ Latest Immigration Opinion Is Another Blow to the Independence of Immigration Judges, the Judges Union Said

Trump Administration Justifies Lowest Refugee Admission Target Ever, Arguing That America’s Generosity Remains Boundless

AIC: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday the Trump administration’s intention to limit refugee admissions to 30,000 people in Fiscal Year 2019. The administration argued that refugee admissions and asylum grants must be considered together when measuring “America’s generosity.”

Sessions Decision Could Eliminate Bond for Arriving Refugee Families

HRF: Human Rights First today condemned Attorney General Jeff Session’s decision to refer to himself a Board of Immigration Appeals decision in Matter of M-G-G-, a move that will likely lead to thousands of refugee families languishing indefinitely in detention. Sessions can now issue a ruling that would attempt to block individuals, including those seeking protection, from having an immigration judge assess their cases for potential release from detention.

More Communities Say They Won’t Jail Immigrants for ICE

AIC: A growing number of communities are reevaluating their role in detaining immigrants on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many are voting to no longer detain immigrants in their local jails.

New Census Data Show Immigrants Complement Natives in the US Workforce

AIC: New data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), illustrates how immigrants add value to the economy through their participation in the workforce.

 

Immigration Policies Weigh on Indian Workers Seeking Green Cards

Bloomberg reports that hundreds of thousands of immigrants may lose their temporary work visas while waiting for green cards. AILA First Vice President Jennifer Minear said, “a whole puzzle with multiple pieces” created the situation, including a decades-long backlog and new USCIS policies. AILA Doc. No. 18092139

 

FOIA Response Details Guidance on Processing of Travel Ban Waivers

In response to a FOIA request made by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), the Department of State provides guidance distributed to consular officers dated 1/23/18 concerning the processing of waivers under Presidential Proclamation 9645, also known as “Travel Ban 3.0”. AILA Doc. No. 18092140

 

Updates on New Judges’ Dockets

  • Judge Brian Palmer will be taking over the docket of retired Judge McManus
  • Judge Sam Factor will be taking over the docket of retired Judge Sandy Hom (not to be confused with new Judge Howard Hom)
  • Judge Oshea Spencer will be hearing cases previously on a VJ docket. Notices are being sent.
  • In addition, some of Judge Vomacka’s 2019-2021 cases have been distributed to incoming IJs. The dates and times of these will remain the same. I would suggest attorneys with hearings scheduled before Judge Vomacka periodically check the 1-800 number to verify a new IJ has been assigned.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 462 (A.G. 2018)

(1)  Consistent with Matter of Castro-Tum, 27 I&N Dec. 271 (A.G. 2018), immigration judges have no inherent authority to terminate or dismiss removal proceedings.

(2)  Immigration judges may dismiss or terminate removal proceedings only under the circumstances expressly identified in the regulations, see 8 C.F.R. § 1239.2(c), (f), or where the Department of Homeland Security fails to sustain the charges of removability against a respondent, see 8 C.F.R. § 1240.12(c).

(3)  An immigration judge’s general authority to “take any other action consistent with applicable law and regulations as may be appropriate,” 8 C.F.R. § 1240.1(a)(1)(iv), does not provide any additional authority to terminate or dismiss removal proceedings beyond those authorities expressly set out in the relevant regulations.

(4)  To avoid confusion, immigration judges and the Board should recognize and maintain the distinction between a dismissal under 8 C.F.R. § 1239.2(c) and a termination under 8 C.F.R. § 1239.2(f).

 

EOIR Releases Internal Guidance on Pereira v. Sessions

Obtained via FOIA by Hoppock Law Firm, EOIR released internal Pereira v. Sessions implementation guidance sent on 7/11/18 from Principal Deputy Chief Immigration Judge, Christopher A. Santoro, to all immigration courts. Special thanks to Matthew Hoppock. AILA Doc. No. 18091849

 

Flores

 

DHS Issues Statement on August 2018 Border Numbers

DHS issued statement on the August 2018 border numbers, stating that “While the overall numbers are consistent with an expected seasonal increase, the number of family units along the Southwest border increased 38 percent – 3,500 more than July and the highest August on record.” AILA Doc. No. 18091851

 

HHS Notice of Intent to Fund Additional Beds to Keep Unaccompanied Minors in Custody

HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) notice of intent to provide additional funds for up to 3,800 beds to keep unaccompanied minors in custody. (83 FR 47176, 9/18/18) AILA Doc. No. 18091832

 

USCIS Publishes Revised Form G-28 and Extends Grace Period for Prior Versions

USCIS published a revised version of Form G-28, with an edition date of 09/17/18. This revised version removes the geographic requirement for sending an original notice to a U.S. address for attorneys and representatives. USCIS extended the grace period for prior versions of G-28s until 11/19/18. AILA Doc. No. 18091734

 

RESOURCES

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Friday, September 21, 2018

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Monday, September 17, 2018

Sunday, September 16, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

PWS

09-26-18

THE GIBSON REPORT – 09-17-18 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, ESQ, NY Legal Assistance Group

THE GIBSON REPORT – 09-17-18 — Compiled By Elizabeth Gibson, ESQ, NY Legal Assistance Group

TOP UPDATES

 

U.S. to reconsider asylum for separated immigrant families

Reuters: President Donald Trump’s administration has agreed to reconsider the asylum claims of some 1,000 immigrant parents and children who were separated at the U.S. border as part of a deal to settle lawsuits over his “zero-tolerance” immigration policy.

 

Former US Officials Challenge Report Linking Terrorism, Immigration  

VOA: A group of former national security officials is pushing back against a controversial Trump administration report on the link between terrorism and immigration, saying the report gives the false impression that immigrants are responsible for the majority of terrorist attacks in the United States.

 

As Florence Hits US, Trump Administration Diverts Funds for Disaster Relief Towards Immigration Enforcement

AC: Department of Homeland Security documents show that a total of $200 million—including $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency—was transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the summer of 2018.

 

The simple reason more immigrant kids are in custody than ever before

CNN: A record number of immigrant children are in US custody, and it’s likely because the Trump administration’s policies are keeping them there.

As of this week, there are 12,800 immigrant children being cared for by the Health and Human Services Department. That’s the most ever, an HHS spokeswoman confirmed.

 

Asian-Americans Make Up Most of the New U.S. Immigrant Population

NatGeo: The number of foreign-born residents in the United States is now the highest it has been since 1910, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Compared to past decades, the country’s newest immigrants are most likely to come from Asia. See also Key findings about U.S. immigrants.

 

AG Sessions’ Remarks Emphasize Need for Independent Immigration Courts

AILA responds to remarks delivered by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to a group of 44 new immigration judges. AILA Doc. No. 18091042

 

ABA Issues Statement Regarding Immigration Lawyers and Judges

In response to a speech by Attorney General Sessions, ABA President Bob Carlson issued a statement in support of immigration lawyers and judges, stating that the ABA strongly supports the independence of immigration judges and immigration courts and applauds the work of immigration lawyers. AILA Doc. No. 18091200

Congressional Letter Requesting Information Regarding Initiative to Recalendar Administratively Closed Cases

A 9/13/18 letter from Senator Cortez Masto and others expressing concerns about ICE plans to recalendar potentially hundreds of thousands of administratively closed cases following the Attorney General’s decision in Matter of Castro-Tum, and requesting information on the initiative.AILA Doc. No. 18091404

 

U.S. Plans to Pay Mexico to Deport Unauthorized Immigrants There

NYT: In a recent notice sent to Congress, the administration said it intended to take $20 million in foreign assistance funds and use it to help Mexico pay plane and bus fare to deport as many as 17,000 people who are in that country illegally.

 

The US-Mexico trade deal leaves out one important group: immigrants

Guardian: Some take the position that immigration reform and a trade bill with Mexico are two separate issues. For most small businesses – and particularly the ones who rely on low-skilled workers – the two issues are very much intertwined.

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Attorney General Sessions Releases Memorandum on Litigation Guidelines for Nationwide Injunctions Cases

DOJ issued a memo, stating the guidelines will “arm Department litigators handling these cases to present strong and consistent arguments in court against the issuance of nationwide injunctions and to reaffirm the existing constitutional and practical limitations on the authority of judges.”AILA Doc. No. 18091439

 

Matter of VALENZUELA GALLARDO, 27 I&N Dec. 449

BIA: (1) An “offense relating to obstruction of justice” under section 101(a)(43)(S) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(S) (2012), encompasses offenses covered by chapter 73 of the Federal criminal code, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1501–1521 (2012), or any other Federal or State offense that involves (1) an affirmative and intentional attempt (2) that is motivated by a specific intent (3) to interfere either in an investigation or proceeding that is ongoing, pending, or reasonably foreseeable by the defendant, or in another’s punishment resulting from a completed proceeding. Matter of Valenzuela Gallardo, 25 I&N Dec. 838 (BIA 2012), clarified. (2) A conviction for accessory to a felony under section 32 of the California Penal Code that results in a term of imprisonment of at least 1 year is a conviction for an aggravated felony offense relating to obstruction of justice under section 101(a)(43)(S) of the Act.

 

USCIS Announces Filing Location Change for Form I-751

USCIS announced that on 9/10/18, it changed the filing location for Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. This form was previously filed at the CSC and VSC. Now, petitioners must send Form I-751 to a USCIS Lockbox facility. The service centers will be the adjudicating offices. AILA Doc. No. 18091002

 

ACTIONS

 

 

RESOURCES

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Friday, September 14, 2018

Thursday, September 13, 2018

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Monday, September 10, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Thanks, Elizabeth, for being such an exemplary member of the NDPA!

PWS

09i-20-18

THE GIBSON REPORT — 09-10-18 — COMPILED BY ELIZABETH GIBSON, NY LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

 

TOP UPDATES

 

Sessions says he plans a 50 percent surge in immigration judges

Politico: Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that he plans to increase the number of immigration judges by 50 percent by the end of the year, as he welcomed a new class of such judges on Monday…James McHenry, the director of EOIR, said the addition of 44 immigration judges and two new supervising judges makes for the largest class of judges in the department’s history and reiterated the attorney general’s pledge, saying the department will “keep hiring until we run out of space or money.” See also Attorney General Sessions Delivers Remarks (EOIR).

 

In Immigration Courts, It Is Judges vs. Justice Department

NYT: Judges are being monitored on a performance dashboard on their court computers, which indicates if they are keeping up their pace. Judge Tabaddor called the new policies “huge psychological warfare,” and said judges were being pushed to move faster at the expense of denying immigrants their rights in court… As part of its efforts to speed up the court, the Justice Department added four New York judges, bringing the total to 30. Another three start next month, and new courtrooms are being built. Overseeing them will be a new presiding judge, Daniel J. Daugherty, a former chief trial judge for the Navy and a Marine Corps veteran who still sits on the bench in Las Vegas. [Loprest has returned to serving as an IJ and is no longer the NY ACIJ.]

 

Trump detention move on immigrant families promises to draw court challenge

The Hill: Under the proposed rule issued Thursday by the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services (HHS) [83 FR 45486, 9/7/18], the administration said it plans to issue new regulations that would terminate and replace the Flores agreement, which has governed the detention of migrant children since 1997. The proposal would allow immigration officials to keep children and their parents detained together for the entire length of their court proceedings, which could take months.

 

Early Arrival: New Yorkers in Jeopardy As Immigration Cases are Reopened

Documented: Around 350,000 cases are being reopened under Sessions’ dictation, and over 50,000 of them could come from New York. Nearly 8,000 New York cases have already been re-calendared.

 

Brett Kavanaugh’s Record on Immigration Raises Questions

AIC: Because the D.C. Circuit rarely hears cases directly involving immigration law, Kavanaugh has only written three opinions in cases involving immigrants. All three opinions were dissents, where Kavanaugh stated that he believed the immigrant should have lost the case.

 

As Months Pass in Chicago Shelters, Immigrant Children Contemplate Escape, Even Suicide

ProPublica: The documents reveal the routines of life inside the shelters, days punctuated by tedium and fear as children wait and wait and wait to leave. They spend their days taking English lessons and learning about such peculiarities as American slang, St. Patrick’s Day, the NFL and the red carpet fashions at the Academy Awards. They complain about the food and mistreatment by staff. And they cry and write letters and hurt themselves in despair.

 

Bill making it easier to deport criminals passes House

NBC: A bill that would redefine the crimes for which someone could be deported was approved Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives on a 247-152 vote and praised by President Donald Trump…The proposal by U.S. Rep. Karen Handel, R-Georgia, would close what backers describe as a loophole in U.S. law after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that the current “crime of violence” standard for deportation was “unconstitutionally vague.”

 

Across the country, basements, offices and hotels play short-term host to people in ICE custody

Texas Trib: The basement of a federal building in downtown Austin, 10 floors below U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s office. Space in a “fashionable” South Carolina office park. Branches of major hotel chains in Los Angeles, Miami and Seattle. These facilities rarely appear together on government lists, but they all have something in common: They’re nodes in a little-known network of holding areas where people in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spend hours or even days on their way to other locations.

 

Con artists are preying on undocumented immigrants in detention

Harper’s: The runners are the first, and sometimes only, line of communication between lawyers and detainees. Schaufele calls Jessica’s type of scheme, in which runners scam detainees by using the credentials of absentee or unscrupulous attorneys, notario fraud 2.0. “That’s the new trend,” Curiel told me. “And it’s really hard to prosecute.”

 

A reporter detained: On life inside ICE camps

CJR: Emilio Gutiérrez Soto, a Mexican journalist based in the United States, has twice been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In late July, he was released from his second round of detention. For the first time, he has written a first-person account of the experience.

 

Hunger strike at immigrant jail is protected speech, ACLU says

Crosscut: The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington sent a warning letter on Thursday to authorities after officers at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma allegedly threatened to get a court order to force-feed detainees on a hunger strike.

 

New Government Study Attempts to Undermine Legal Orientation Program for Detained Immigrants

AIC: The study is the first phase of a three-phase review to be completed by the end of October 2018. Among other findings, it alleges that LOP participants spend more time in detention, costing the government more money; that LOP participants are less likely to get attorneys; and that their cases take longer to resolve…The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), the nonprofit organization who contracts with EOIR to run the LOP program, says this new study has “insurmountable methodological flaws in EOIR’s analysis.”

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

DHS/HHS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Flores Settlement Agreement

DHS/HHS notice of proposed rulemaking to amend regulations related to the apprehension, processing, care, custody, and release of undocumented juveniles and would terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement. Comments are due by 11/6/18. (83 FR 45486, 9/7/18) AILA Doc. No. 18090600

 

BIA Holds Florida Statute Is Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that transaction with a minor under Kent. Rev. Stat. 530.065 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-T-, 9/13/17) AILA Doc. No. 18090572

 

BIA Holds that Permanent Bar Does Not Apply to Unlawful Presence Accrued Before IIRIRA

Unpublished BIA decision holds that INA 212(a)(9)(C)(i)(I) does not apply retroactively to periods of unlawful presence accrued prior to IIRIRA effective date of April 1, 1997. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Urias Aguilar, 9/5/17) AILA Doc. No. 18090573

 

CBP Announces Family Units and UACs Continue to Flow Into the Rio Grande Valley

CBP announced that U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Rio Grande Valley continue to encounter large groups of family units and unaccompanied children. AILA Doc. No. 18090530

 

RESOURCES

EVENTS

 

ImmProf

 

Monday, September 10, 2018

Sunday, September 9, 2018

Saturday, September 8, 2018

Friday, September 7, 2018

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Monday, September 3, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

 

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

Thanks, Elizabeth!

Advocates should pay particular attention to the re-definition of “crime of violence” for removal purposes that has passed the House and is now pending in the Senate.

PWS

09-13-18

 

THE GIBSON REPORT – 09-04-18 – COMPILED BY ELIZABETH GIBSON, ESQ, NY LEGAL ASSISTANCE GROUP

TOP UPDATES

 

BIA Distinguishes Pereira and Dismisses Respondent’s Appeal

The BIA found that a notice to appear without specific time/place of initial removal hearing still vests an IJ with jurisdiction over the removal and meets INA requirements, so long as a notice of hearing with this information is later sent. Matter of Bermudez-Cota, 27 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18083137

 

Texas judge says he’ll likely kill DACA — but not yet

CNN: Texas-based District Judge Andrew Hanen wrote Friday that he believes DACA is likely illegal and ultimately will fail to survive a challenge before his court…But despite that — and despite finding that the continuation of DACA could harm the eight states and two governors who challenged the program — Hanen decided not to issue a ruling that would have immediately blocked DACA’s continuation.

 

U.S. is denying passports to Americans along the border, throwing their citizenship into question

WaPo: he government alleges that from the 1950s through the 1990s, some midwives and physicians along the Texas-Mexico border provided U.S. birth certificates to babies who were actually born in Mexico… Based on those suspicions, the State Department during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations denied passports to people who were delivered by midwives in Texas’s Rio Grande Valley… But under President Trump, the passport denials and revocations appear to be surging, becoming part of a broader interrogation into the citizenship of people who have lived, voted and worked in the United States for their entire lives.

 

Will Trump’s biometric entry-exit system be as controversial as his travel ban?

The Hill: Unlike the travel ban, which just applied to aliens seeking admission to the United States, Trump’s biometric entry-exit tracking system will apply also to American citizens. The facial recognition technology that the system uses to identify travelers leaving the country will be used to identify American citizens too, unless they request an alternative means of verifying their identities.

 

Hundreds of separated children not reunited amid slow progress

CNN: There are still roughly 700 children who were separated from their parents at the border and have not been reunified with those parents by the Trump administration, as new court filings reveal the slow pace of reuniting the trickiest family separation cases. That figure includes more than 40 children who are 4 years old and younger.

 

Beyond Mexico: How DHS rule changes may affect black immigrants

Yahoo: Despite a drop in deportation last year, removals spiked for African immigrants, doubling for some countries.

 

Immigrants, fearing Trump crackdown, drop out of nutrition programs

Politico: Local health providers say they’ve received panicked phone calls from both documented and undocumented immigrant families demanding to be dropped from the rolls of WIC, a federal nutrition program aimed at pregnant women and children, after news reports that the White House is potentially planning to deny legal status to immigrants who’ve used public benefits. Agencies in at least 18 states say they’ve seen drops of up to 20 percent in enrollment, and they attribute the change largely to fears about the immigration policy.

 

Growth in Immigration Court Backlog Varies Markedly by State

TRAC: As of July 31, 2018, pending cases in Immigration Court nationwide reached nearly three-quarters of a million (746,049 cases). This is a 38 percent increase compared to the 542,411 cases pending at the end of January 2017 when President Trump took office.

 

ICE Announces 19 Foreign Nationals Indicted for Illegally Voting in 2016 Elections

ICE announced that 19 foreign nationals were charged with unlawfully voting and a U.S. citizen was charged with helping a foreign national to register to vote. The indictments followed an investigation by the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force in the Eastern District of North Carolina. AILA Doc. No. 18082903

 

AILA, CLINIC, and NILC Express Concerns Over Improper Public Charge Determinations and I-601A Revocations

On 8/28/18, AILA, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., and the National Immigration Law Center sent a letter to the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, expressing concerns over consulates’ improper public charge determinations and associated revocations of approved I-601As. AILA Doc. No. 18082836

 

Email Addresses for the VSC and NSC

The correct email addresses for the Hotlines at VSC are:

The email address for the U visa Unit at the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) is:

 

LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS

 

Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction, Preserving DACA For Now

On August 31, 2018, Judge Hanen declined to issue a preliminary injunction halting DACA. Note, there are no new changes to the DACA program at this time. AILA Doc. No. 18050231

 

BIA Distinguishes Pereira and Dismisses Respondent’s Appeal

The BIA found that a notice to appear without specific time/place of initial removal hearing still vests an IJ with jurisdiction over the removal and meets INA requirements, so long as a notice of hearing with this information is later sent. Matter of Bermudez-Cota, 27 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18083137

 

BIA Says U Visa Processing Delays Not Sufficient Basis to Deny Continuance

Unpublished BIA decision orders further consideration of request for continuance pending adjudication of U visa application and states that processing delays by themselves are not a sufficient basis to deny a continuance. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Alvarado-Turcio, 8/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18083132

 

BIA Remands for IJ to Consider Status of Pending Appeal and Determine Whether a Continuance May be Appropriate

The BIA remanded for the IJ to consider the status of the pending appeal and new evidence, and to determine whether a continuance may be appropriate. The appeal of the IJ’s determination regarding removability is dismissed. Matter of Acosta, 27 I&N Dec. 420 (BIA 2018) AILA Doc. No. 18082934

 

BIA Vacates Dangerousness Finding Based on Driving Without a License

Unpublished BIA decision holds that IJ erred in finding respondent to be a danger to the community based solely on three arrests for driving without a license. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of E-S-, 8/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18082972

 

BIA Holds Minnesota Threats Statute Is Not a CIMT

Unpublished BIA decision holds that making terroristic threats under Minn. Stat. § 609.713, subd. 1 is not a CIMT and that contrary Eighth Circuit decision did not consider whether statute applied to non-turpitudinous conduct. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Ezeobi, 8/17/17) AILA Doc. No. 18082971

 

BIA Rescinds In Absentia Order Against Respondent Who Was in Waiting Room

Unpublished BIA decision rescinds in absentia order against respondent who was in the waiting room at the time he was ordered removed by an IJ who was still on the bench when the respondent entered the courtroom. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Singh, 8/25/17) AILA Doc. No. 18083133

 

Applying De Novo Review, CA1 Rejects BIA Ruling that IJ’s Findings Were Clearly Erroneous

The court remanded, finding that the BIA erred by treating as one element the Mexican government’s unwillingness or inability to protect asylum applicant from persecution. The BIA also erred, the court ruled, by discounting country condition reports. (Rosales Justo v. Sessions, 7/16/18) AILA Doc. No. 18083001

 

DHS Notice on Extension of the Designation of Somalia for TPS

DHS notice on the extension of the designation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), extending the designation for 18 months from 9/18/18 through 3/17/20. The 60-day re-registration period runs from 8/27/18 through 10/26/18. (83 FR 43695, 8/27/18) AILA Doc. No. 18082702

 

RESOURCES

 

 

EVENTS

 

 

ImmProf

 

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Monday, September 3, 2018

Sunday, September 2, 2018

Saturday, September 1, 2018

Friday, August 31, 2018

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Monday, August 27, 2018

 

AILA NEWS UPDATE

 

http://www.aila.org/advo-media/news/clips

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

Thanks, Elizabeth, for all you do for the “New Due Process Army” and for the cause of restoring justice and our Constitutional republic.

PWS

09-05-18