Attorney, NY Legal Assistance Group
Publisher of “The Gibson Report”
COVID-19
Note: Policies are rapidly changing, so please verify the latest policies on the relevant government websites and with colleagues on listservs as best you can.
New
- Opening dates for some non-detained courts: Hearings in non-detained cases at courts without an announced date, including the New York City non-detained courts, are postponed through, and including, July 24, 2020. Check EOIR site for which courts have announced reopening dates.
- USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to Certain Agency Requests
- Requesting NYS Court Records: Records can be obtained in person or via mail/fax. Visitors have to self-check for symptoms (Instructions in English and Spanish). Security guards will be using infra-red temperature scanners to check visitors before entering. Everyone must wear a mask inside the court house.
Closures
- EOIR Operational Status & Standing Orders
- EOIR Case Status
- ICE Updates (Including ERO and Detention)
- USCIS Updates
- Consular Updates
- NY Courts Updates
Guidance:
- IJ Email Filings
- BIA Email Filings
- EOIR Standing Orders
- EOIR Electronic Signature Guidance
- EOIR Update Regarding EOIR Practices Related to the COVID-19 Outbreak
- USCIS Announces Flexibility for Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny
TOP NEWS
A Top Immigration Court Official Called For Impartiality In A Memo He Sent As He Resigned
BuzzFeed: The Trump administration selected Tracy Short, previously the lead ICE prosecutor, for the chief immigration judge role. ICE prosecutors often take up roles as immigration judges, but the selection of Short, formerly ICE’s principal legal adviser, left some claiming the move would undercut the appearance of neutrality at the court. Christopher Santoro, the acting chief immigration judge, appeared to signal that in his message to court employees announcing his resignation.
WaPo: The Trump administration is preparing broad new immigration restrictions that would deny humanitarian refuge to anyone from a country with a disease outbreak, deeming those asylum seekers to be a danger to public safety.
The NYPD’s Long History of Targeting Black Immigrants
DocumentedNY: Despite making up only 7.2 percent of the noncitizen population in the US, more than 20 percent of people facing deportation on criminal grounds are Black.
The Immigration System Is Set To Come To A Near Halt, And No One Is Paying Attention
BuzzFeed: If Congress does not provide US Citizenship and Immigration Services with emergency funding before Aug. 3, the employees, who make up more than 60% of all staffers, will be furloughed for up to three months due to the budget crisis…While the reasons for the funding shortage are debated — agency officials cite a massive decline in immigration applications due to the pandemic, while immigrant advocates and experts argue that the Trump administration’s policies have played a part in the budget issues — the impact to the immigration system is not.
The Shadow Court Cementing Trump’s Immigration Policy
The Nation: The Board of Immigration Appeals, once an impartial appellate court, has become a new front in the Trump administration’s war against migrants.
USCIS Announces July Naturalization Drive Before Furloughs
Law360: To clear its backlog before the bulk of its workforce is sent home, the agency must naturalize another 45,500 new Americans this month.
CLINIC: The report concludes that in light of the large number of potential applicants, USCIS’ failure to successfully adjudicate and approve a single application four months into the program, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Congress should extend the December 20, 2020, deadline for at least an additional year to ensure that all eligible Liberians are able to apply for relief.
Inspector General Report Overlooks Serious Medical Care Issues Within Border Patrol Custody
AIC: While the report critiques the agency for not meeting its own standards, it also allows CBP to avoid meaningful accountability for numerous failures in meeting the health needs of those detained.
How Biden Plans to Undo Trump’s Nativist Agenda
Slate: In a little-noticed announcement, the former vice president committed to a more ambitious refugee policy than existed under Obama.
LITIGATION/CASELAW/RULES/MEMOS
TVPRA Victory in Ramirez v. ICE
NIJC: A federal court has ruled that the failure of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to consider less restrictive settings before transferring unaccompanied immigrant youth to ICE detention on their 18th birthdays violates U.S. immigration laws.
District Court Vacates Third-Country Transit Ban, Effective Immediately
A federal judge found the government unlawfully promulgated the 2019 interim final rule that categorically disqualified individuals from receiving asylum unless they sought protection in another country before entering the southern border. (CAIR Coalition et al., v. Trump et al., 6/30/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070104
Immigration judges union suing Justice Dept. over policy restricting public speaking
The Hill: The Knight First Amendment Institute, a legal group at Columbia University, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court on behalf of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ). The suit alleges that the speech restrictions against immigration judges amount to violations of the First and Fifth Amendments and asks the court to impose a preliminary injunction blocking the policy.
The EOIR Director ruled that an amicus curiae is not a party in recognition and accreditation proceedings and has no authority to seek further action following the conclusion of an administrative review. Matter of Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., Applicant, 28 I&N Dec. 16 (DIR 2020) AILA Doc. No. 20070208
CA4 Upholds Asylum Denial to Salvadoran Who Feared Persecution by His Brother’s Murderers
The court held that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s conclusion that the attackers who threatened the petitioner were motivated by a desire to prevent him from reporting his brother’s murder to the police, and not by the petitioner’s family ties. (Cedillos-Cedillos v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070205
Where the evidence was conflicting, the court held that a reasonable adjudicator could conclude that the petitioner had failed to overcome the presumption that he had received notices of his hearing that were mailed to his aunt and uncle’s address. (Valadez-Lara v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070691
Granting petition for review, the court rejected Matter of Castro-Tum’s conclusion that administrative closure is not within an IJ’s authority to take “any action” appropriate and necessary for the disposition of cases pursuant to 8 CFR §1003.10(b). (Meza Morales v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070207
CA8 Finds BIA Did Not Err in Denying CAT Relief to HIV-Positive Member of the Begedi Clan in Somalia
The court upheld the BIA’s denial of petitioner’s application for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), finding that the IJ had clearly erred in forecasting that petitioner would more likely than not be tortured if returned to Somalia. (Abdi Omar v. Barr, 6/26/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070692
CA9 Affirms District Court’s Grant of a Preliminary Injunction Against Third Country Transit Ban
The court upheld a lower court’s injunction preventing the implementation of DHS/DOJ joint interim final rule that categorically denies asylum to individuals arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. (East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, et al. v. Barr, et al., 7/6/20) AILA Doc. No. 20070636
RESOURCES
- Pro se EAD Toolkit
- Pro se Asylum Toolkit
- Practice Alert: Potential Effects of the June 22 Proclamation on EAD Eligibility for Individuals Subject to Removal
- Practice Pointer: Immigrant Visa Processing and NVC Best Practices
- Practice Pointer: Behind the Scenes at the Vermont Service Center
- CIS Ombudsman Releases 2020 Annual Report to
- Summary of Presidential Proclamation 10052 Suspending Entry of Certain Nonimmigrants
- Impact on Rosario Class Members: New Rule Eliminating 30-Day Processing Deadline for Adjudication of Employment Applications Filed by Initial Asylum Applicants
- Bite-Sized Ethics: Withdrawing When a Client Goes MIA
- USCIS Releases 2019 Annual Report on TPS
- CRS Releases Report on the Visa Waiver Program
- AIC: New Rule Eliminating 30 Day Processing Deadline for Adjudication of Employment Applications Filed by Initial Asylum Applicants
- CLINIC: Changes to the Employment Authorization rules for Asylum Seekers
- CLINIC: Practice Advisory: Direct Examination
- CLINIC: Practice Advisory: Opening Statements and Closing Arguments in Immigration Court
- CLINIC: Practice Advisory: Rules of Evidence in Immigration Court Proceedings
- CLINIC: Practice Pointer: Refreshing Recollection in Immigration Court Proceedings
- CLINIC: Backgrounder: USCIS’ Self-Induced Financial Crisis
- Legal Aid: DACA Fact SheetsEnglish | Spanish
- Asylum Connect: the world’s first tech resource platform for those fleeing persecution due to sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Flow Chart on Penalties for Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude, and updated “All Those Rules”
- Matter of L-E-A-: Litigating Family-Based Asylum Claims at the Asylum Office and Immigration Court (available July 21, register case with CGRS)
- Honduras Gang Violence Country Conditions Toolkit (available July 21, register case with CGRS)
EVENTS
Note: Check with organizers regarding cancellations/changes
- 7/7/20 Winning Withholding of Removal and Convention Against Torture Cases
- 7/8/20 NYIC: Digital Outreach Tools & Strategies
- 7/15/20Understanding Motions to Reopen Based on Changed Country Conditions
- 7/15/20DACA after the Supreme Court Decision
- 7/16/20-7/30/20Webinar Series: Navigating Refugee and Asylee Issues in Turbulent Times
- 7/20/20 2020 AILA Virtual Annual Conference on Immigration Law
- 7/20-30/20 NYIC Immigration Court Practice
- 7/22/20Tax Issues in Immigration Cases
- 7/23/20Defending Immigration Removal Proceedings 2020
- 7/30/20How to File a Successful Travel Ban Waiver
- 8/5/20Unraveling Aggravated Felonies and Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude
- 8/18/20Strategies for I-601 Waivers in Adjustment of Status Cases
- 6/20/20 2020 AILA Virtual Immigration Court Conference
- 8/26/20Immigration Legal Services in Rural America
- 8/27/20Crafting a Winning Particular Social Group for an Asylum Case
- 9/14/20Working with Domestic Violence Immigrant Survivors: The Intersection of Basic Family Law, Immigration, Benefits, and Housing Issues in California 2020
- 9/22/20Defenses to Denaturalization
- 9/23/20-10/7/203-Part Webinar Series: Integrating Technology to Improve Your Immigration Legal Services
- 10/1/20 Representing Children in Immigration Matters 2020: Effective Advocacy and Best Practices
ImmProf
Monday, July 6, 2020
- Antii-Asian Hate Crimes Increase during Pandemic
- Immigration Court Watch: A Top Immigration Court Official Called For Impartiality In A Memo He Sent As He Resigned
Sunday, July 5, 2020
- Washington Post Editorial Board: “Trump brings Atlantic City-style bankruptcy to America’s immigration agency”
- COVID-19 Report: The Shuttering of Los Angeles’s Olvera Street
- Drive-Through Naturalizations Make New U.S. Citizens In The COVID-19 Era
Saturday, July 4, 2020
- RIP Rudolfo Anaya
- Hiking into History: The Donner Summit Tunnels Build by Chinese Workers
- Happy July 4! Artists Protest Immigrant Detention
- Guest Post, Minyao Wang: U.S. Immigration Responses to the Chinese “National Security” Measures in Hong Kong
Friday, July 3, 2020
- Now Streaming: Hamilton
- From the Bookshelves: Finding Motherland by Helen Thorpe
- Birth Tourism Conviction
- Immigration Article of the Day: Judicial Power — Immigration-Style by Jayanth K. Krishnan
Thursday, July 2, 2020
- The Role of Federal Courts in Coronavirus-Related Immigration Detention Litigation
- Lawsuit: DOJ’s ‘Prior Restraint’ Rule Allegedly Silencing Immigration Judges Violates First Amendment
- At the Movies: RUN – The Athlete Refugee Team Story
- Thawing the freeze on integration of immigrant workers
- From the Bookshelves: Illegal: One immigrant’s life or death journey to the American dream by Laz Ayala
- USCIS to Celebrate Independence Day by Hosting Naturalization Ceremonies Across the Country
- Cuban Immigrants in the United States
- Would African-Americans be granted refugee status in Ireland?
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
- Flowcharts, Flowcharts, Flowcharts
- The Immigration System Is Set To Come To A Near Halt, And No One Is Paying Attention
- Immigrant Integration in the City of San Diego
- Gallup: Americans Want More, Not Less, Immigration for First Time
- Judge rejects Trump third-country asylum rule
- Entry Denied: Immigration Policy in the Time of Trump
- Guest Post: Stopping the Trump Administration from Stopping Gender-Based Asylum Claims by Brian Soucek
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
- Canada to US: Thanks for the Immigrants
- Chief Justice as the New Swing Vote
- Latinx in La Migra: Why They Join and Why It Matters
- Migration Policy Institute: As #DefundThePolice Movement Gains Steam, Immigration Enforcement Spending and Practices Attract Scrutiny
Monday, June 29, 2020
- Call For Papers–AALS 2021, New Voices in Immigration Law
- Call For Papers–AALS 2021, Outsourced Borders and Invisible Walls
- Nuanced portraits of Asian, Latinx racial dynamics amid COVID-19 and BLM
- How universities can expand support for DACA recipients amid COVID-19 cutbacks
- Immigration Article of the Day: The First Anti-Sanctuary Law: Proposition 187 and the Transformation of Immigration Enforcement by Rick Su
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Thanks for keeping us informed, Elizabeth!
PWS
07-08-20