TOP UPDATES
Immigration Courts: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
If you need some dark humor but also want an excellent resource for explaining immigration courts to lay people.
Venting on Immigration, Trump Vows ‘No More DACA Deal’ and Threatens Nafta
NYT: President Trump, blaming Democrats and the Mexican government for an increasingly “dangerous” flow of illegal immigrants, unleashed a series of fiery tweets on Sunday in which he vowed “NO MORE DACA DEAL” and threatened to walk away from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Public Charge Regs Sent to OMB
CLASP: The proposed rule would instruct immigration agents to consider whether an immigrant or a member of their family is likely to participate in any governmental assistance program when determining who can enter the U.S. or become a permanent resident.
- Draft regulation on public charge sent to OMB
- WaPo: Public Charge: Trump proposal would penalize immigrants who use tax credits and other benefits
ICE Ends Policy Of Presuming Release For Pregnant Detainees
HuffPo: The Trump administration has abandoned a policy of generally releasing pregnant women from immigrant detention, according to a directive publicly shared by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday.
ICE Used Private Facebook Data To Find And Track Criminal Suspect, Internal Emails Show
Intercept: ICE, the federal agency tasked with Trump’s program of mass deportation, uses backend Facebook data to locate and track suspects, according to a string of emails and documents obtained by The Intercept through a public records request
DOS Request for Comments on Proposed Changes to Form DS-260, Including Collection of Social Media Information
DOS 60-day notice and request for comments on proposed changes to Form DS-260, Electronic Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration. One of the proposed new questions requires the applicant to provide certain social media identifiers. Comments are due 5/29/18. (83 FR 13806, 3/30/18) AILA Doc. No. 18033064. See also DOS Request for Comments on Proposed Changes to Forms DS-160 and DS-156, Including Collection of Social Media Information.
Trump Administration Adds Citizenship Question to Census 2020, California Immediately Files Suit
Imm Prof: The Commerce Department announced late last night that the 2020 Census will ask about people’s citizenship, which some claim will lead to a significant undercount of immigrant communities. NPR reports. If their immigrant residents are not counted, state and local communities stand to lose significant federal funding.
Trump Administration Refugee Admissions Fall Drastically Short of Six-Month Benchmark
AIC: The United States is on track to admit fewer refugees than ever before—going against our long-held values of welcoming the persecuted and oppressed.
USCIS Is Withholding Records Showing That Border Agents Are Abusing Asylum Seekers
AIC: A new Freedom of Information Act lawsuit hopes to reveal how asylum officials’ repeated concerns about CBP officer misconduct were left unaddressed. The lawsuit, filed by Human Rights Watch and Nixon Peabody LLP, seeks information about such misbehavior, including hundreds of reports that CBP failed to properly screen asylum seekers.
With Yellow Vests and an ‘ICE-Sniffing Dog,’ Activists Watch for Immigration Agents
WNYC: Each day that court is in session, they patrol the courthouse in North Brunswick, where activists say three immigrants without documentation were recently detained by ICE after showing up to court to pay fines for driving-related infractions.
IDP/Make the Road: Guidance for ICE “Call-In Letter”
Immigration has mailed these letters to non-citizens with open criminal cases asking them to report to the 12th floor of Varick Street in NYC. These letters usually arrive shortly after the individual has been arrested (which includes receiving a Desk Appearance Ticket) or during their criminal case.
IJs Who Require Written Pleadings
A few immigration judges have recently joined the list of those who require written pleadings in the New York and New Jersey area. Advocates report that the list includes:
- IJ Bain
- IJ La Forest
- IJ Wright
- IJ Farber
- IJ David Cheng (NJ)
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
US Judge Opens Door for Thousands to Apply for Asylum
AP: A federal judge in Seattle opened the door Thursday for thousands of immigrants to apply for asylum, finding that the Department of Homeland Security has routinely failed to notify them of a deadline for filing their applications. Mendez-Rojas v. Johnson, No. 2:16-cv-01024-RSM (W.D. Wash. Filed June 30, 2016)
California, NY sue Trump administration over addition of citizenship question to census
WaPo: The suits are just the start of what is likely to be a broader battle with enormous political stakes that pits the administration against many Democratic states, which believe that the citizenship question will reduce the response rate for the census and produce undercounts.
Class Action Suit in California Challenges Prolonged Detention Under INA §241(a)(6) Without Bond Hearings
Plaintiffs filed a class action suit in federal district court on behalf of all individuals in the Ninth Circuit detained pursuant to INA §241(a)(6) for at least six months without a bond hearing. (Aleman Gonzalez v. Sessions, 3/27/18) AILA Doc. No. 18033001
Lawsuit Filed by Diversity Visa Lottery Winners from Travel Ban Countries
The court dismissed the case as moot because the Supreme Court already mooted the challenges to Executive Order 13780 in IRAP v. Trump and Hawaii v. Trump and did not rule on the legality of Executive Order 13780. (Almaqrami v. Tillerson, 3/27/18) AILA Doc. No. 17080730
BIA Finds Attorney Who Left Law Firm Provided Ineffective Assistance
Unpublished BIA decision finds respondent’s prior attorney provided ineffective assistance by failing to submit documents and leaving firm one week before hearing without providing notes for new attorney. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Camacho-Luz, 5/10/17) AILA Doc. No. 18032801
BIA Finds Child Endangerment Statute Not a Crime of Child Abuse
Unpublished BIA decision holds that endangering the welfare of a child under 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. 4304(a)(1) is not a crime of child abuse because it does not require a knowing mental state or a likelihood of harm to a child. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Gutierrez, 5/12/17) AILA Doc. No. 18032633
BIA Affirms Finding that Public Lewdness Is Not a CIMT
Unpublished BIA decision denies DHS motion to reconsider prior decision holding that public lewdness under NYPL 245.00 is not a CIMT. Special thanks to IRAC. (Matter of Kaminski, 5/11/17) AILA Doc. No. 18032637
Unpublished BIA Decision on Proper Authentication of Form I-213
In an unpublished decision, the BIA remanded the case, disagreeing with the Immigration Judge’s conclusion that the Form I-213 was properly authenticated and stating that “the inherent reliability for an I-213 depends on its proper authentication.” Courtesy of Fausto Falzone. AILA Doc. No. 18032734
CA4 Vacates Matter of Jimenez-Cedillo
The court remanded to the BIA, holding that the BIA’s failure to provide a reasoned explanation as to why it abandoned its precedent regarding when a sexual offense against a minor is a CIMT was arbitrary and capricious. Courtesy of Ben Winograd. (Jimenez-Cedillo v. Sessions, 3/20/18) AILA Doc. No. 18032933
Liberian Deferred Enforced Departure Extension to March 31, 2019
White House: I find that conditions in Liberia no longer warrant a further extension of DED, but that the foreign policy interests of the United States warrant affording an orderly transition (“wind-down”) period to Liberian DED beneficiaries. In consultation with my advisors, I have concluded that a 12‑month wind‑down period is appropriate in order to provide Liberia’s government with time to reintegrate its returning citizens and to allow DED beneficiaries who are not eligible for other forms of immigration relief to make necessary arrangements and to depart the United States.
ACTIONS
- AILA: Call for Examples: Sympathetic Clients Targeted for Removal
- Follow-Up: Fifteen-Year Old Girl And Father Released After Amnesty International USA Delivers Petitions To Ice
RESOURCES
- BDS and ACLU launch “We Have Rights,” a national immigrant empowerment campaign
- IDP/Make the Road: Guidance for ICE “Call-In Letter”(attached)
- CAST: T- Visa and T-Visa Adjustment Ground of Inadmissibility Waivers
- Spanish Translations of Critical USCIS Forms Now Available by Kevin Gerry Dunn
- ICE Provides FAQs on Identification and Monitoring of Pregnant Detainees
- TRAC Report Outlines Where Immigrants Are Being Detained
- Fraud and Candor toward the Tribunal – AILA Ethics Compendium
- Practice Pointer: Border Searches of Electronic Devices – Legal and Ethical Implications and Solutions
- Global Migration & Legal Ethics, Part II: Unauthorized Practice of Law and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Issues
- Practice Pointer: Screening TPS Beneficiaries for Other Potential Forms of Immigration Relief
- Stopping Immigration Services Scams: A Tool for Advocates and Lawmakers
- ICE Fact Sheet: Policies and Procedures Involving Detained Parents and Legal Guardians
EVENTS
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4/5/18The Expansion of Migrant Detention and the Blurring of the Criminal Incarceration System
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4/9/17Reporting the Immigration Beat: A Panel Discussion (full disclosure: I’m on this panel and helping organize the event)
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4/9/18 MOIA: Interfaith Seder for Immigrant and Refugee Justice
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4/10/18 Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story (and panel discussion)
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4/11/18 Prolonged Detention I
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4/12/18AILA 2018 Removal Defense Conference and Webcast
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4/17/18 Improve Your Etiquette with Adjudicators
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4/17/18 Strategic Etiquette with Adjudicators: Point Them Toward the Issues
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4/19/18 New Strategies for Overcoming False Claims to Citizenship
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4/19/18 Reopening In Absentia Orders
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4/20/18The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Presents – Know Your Rights Partners Celebration
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4/26/18 Replying to Ridiculous RFEs in Family-Based Cases: Alice in Wonderland
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4/30/18 Working with Immigrants: The Intersection of Basic Immigration, Housing, and Domestic Violence Issues in California 2018 (Free)
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5/3/18 Waivers in the Trump Administration
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5/8/18A Decade of Advancing Immigrant Representation 6.5 CLE
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5/9/18 Prolonged Detention II
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5/16/18Mental Health Issues & the New York State Courts 2018: Why Trauma Matters to Judges and Lawyers
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5/30/18 Challenging Conditions of Release and Creative Uses of Habeas
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6/13-16/18 2018 AILA Conference
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6/20/18 Leadership and Advocacy Training (LAT)intended for emerging advocates from Southeast Asian American and ally communities to learn how to advocate effectively for policy change – Apply by February 28
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7/1-3/18 National Institute for Trial Advocacy & CLINIC Training in Boulder, CO
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7/26/18 Defending Immigration Removal Proceedings 2018
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9/26/18Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2018: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices
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Thanks, Elizabeth, for all you do!
PWS
04-16-18