October 20, 2021

CA9 (2-1) Reverses Fraihat Preliminary Injunction

Fraihat v. ICE Maj. - "COVID-19 presents inherent challenges in institutional settings, and it has without question imposed greater risks on persons in custody. But plaintiffs had to demonstrate considerably more than that to warrant the extraordinary, system-wide relief that they sought. The demanding legal standards that govern plaintiffs’ request reflect the separation of powers implications underlying any effort...

October 20, 2021

CA4 Abrogates Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-!

Chavez Gonzalez v. Garland "We hold today that the IJs and BIA possess the inherent authority to terminate removal proceedings, abrogating Matter of S-O-G- & F-D-B-. We likewise conclude the BIA improperly denied Petitioner’s request for administrative closure because it failed to address Petitioner’s specific argument based on his DACA status. ... [W]e fail to see how the general power to terminate proceedings...

October 20, 2021

Parties "Optimistic" of Settlement in NYLAG v. BIA (Unpub. FOIA)

DOJ letter, Oct. 15, 2021 "Plaintiff seeks the publication of unpublished decisions issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) — both historical opinions that the BIA has already issued and opinions that the BIA will issue in the future. ... On October 12, the parties met and conferred, and Defendant articulated a broad framework of what it envisions a settlement entailing.  In light of these discussions...

October 20, 2021

USCIS Launches EADs for Hong Kong DEDs

USCIS, Oct. 20, 2021 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today issued a Federal Register notice with information on how to apply for employment authorization for eligible Hong Kong residents covered under the president’s Aug. 5 memorandum directing Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for 18 months, through Feb. 5, 2023. DED for Hong Kong residents applies only to certain eligible Hong Kong...

October 19, 2021

Feds Deport American Citizen to Yemen; Supreme Court GVRs the Case to CA3

(ORDER LIST: 595 U.S.) MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2021 CERTIORARI -- SUMMARY DISPOSITIONS 20-1492 ABDULLA, ABDULMALIK M. V. GARLAND, ATT'Y GEN. The petition for a writ of certiorari is granted. The judgment is vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit for further consideration in light of the brief filed by the Acting Solicitor General for the United States on August 27...

October 19, 2021

CA1 on Credibility: Lopez Troche v. Garland

Lopez Troche v. Garland "Mario Rene Lopez Troche ("Lopez Troche"), a native and citizen of Honduras, petitions for review of an order of the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") that affirms the denial of his application for withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture ("CAT"). We vacate and remand. ... [T]he record does not reveal the claimed inconsistency...

October 18, 2021

CRS on "Metering" by CBP

Hillel R. Smith, CRS, "The Department of Homeland Security’s “Metering” Policy: Legal Issues" - Oct. 15, 2021 "Generally, a non-U.S. national (alien, as the term is used in the Immigration and Nationality Act [INA]) who arrives in the United States without valid documentation is subject to a streamlined, expedited removal process, but may pursue asylum and related protections if the alien demonstrates...

October 18, 2021

Groups File Amicus Briefs at CA5 in Negusie

Duke Law, Aug. 12, 2021 "Duke Law School’s  Immigrant Rights Clinic  filed amicus curiae briefs before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals last week on behalf of a group of international refugee law scholars and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) in the latest round of an ongoing fight to determine whether refugees who are forced to assist their persecutors – such as child soldiers – should be excluded...

October 15, 2021

Expanded Expedited Removal Suspended: DHS

Hamed Aleaziz, BuzzFeed News, Oct. 14, 2021 "A Trump-era policy that allows ICE officers to arrest and rapidly deport certain undocumented immigrants without access to a judge was suspended by the Biden administration Thursday after BuzzFeed News obtained government data that showed it had been used several times this year. “DHS’s review of expanded expedited removal is ongoing. This particular application of expedited...

October 15, 2021

Biden Sets Refugee Cap at 125,000 for FY 2020

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/18/2021 Presidential Determination No. 2022-02 "By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, in accordance with section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the “Act”) (8 U.S.C. 1157), and after appropriate consultations with the Congress, I hereby make the following determinations...

October 14, 2021

Advocates Welcome New BIA Member Andrea Saenz!

EOIR, Oct. 14, 2021 - "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced the appointment of Andrea Saenz as a Member of EOIR’s Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). Attorney General Merrick B. Garland’s appointment of Appellate Immigration Judge Saenz brings the BIA to its regulatory maximum of 23 Members. ... Andrea Saenz was appointed as an Appellate Immigration Judge in October 2021. Judge Saenz...

October 13, 2021

DV2020 Litigation News (Oct. 13, 2021)

On Twitter, Charles Kuck reports : " Judge Mehta orders  @Travelgov to begin issuing DV2020 visas, to provide interim reports and conclude visa issuance of 9,095 visas by 9/30/22. Congrats to those who will FINALLY be receiving their DV2020 visas!"

October 13, 2021

Matter of Kagumbas, 28 I&N Dec. 400 (BIA 2021)

Matter of Kagumbas, 28 I&N Dec. 400 (BIA 2021) - An Immigration Judge has the authority to inquire into the bona fides of a marriage when considering an application for adjustment of status under section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a) (2018).

October 13, 2021

A.G. Garland Refers Matter of Negusie (Persecutor Bar) to Himself

Matter of Negusie, 28 I&N Dec. 399 (A.G. 2021) - "Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.1(h)(1)(i), I direct the Board of Immigration Appeals (“Board”) to refer this case to me for review of its decision. The Board’s decision in this matter is automatically stayed pending my review. See Matter of Haddam, A.G. Order No. 2380-2001 (Jan. 19, 2001)." [For reference, see: Negusie v. Holder, 555 U. S. 511 (2009) ; Matter...

October 12, 2021

FOIA Sensei Matthew Hoppock Scores Again!

Matthew Hoppock, Oct. 12, 2021 Here Are the BIA Chairman’s Memos From 2004 to 2018 Obtained Through FOIA "For the last four years, we’ve been using the  Freedom of Information Act  to request records describing the policies and procedures that govern the processing of appeals and motions to reopen at the  Board of Immigration Appeals  and the  Immigration Courts . One resource that wasn’t previously publicly...

October 12, 2021

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of FY 2022

USCIS, Oct. 12, 2021 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year 2022. Sept. 30 was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2022. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received...

October 12, 2021

CA3 on Persecution, China: Liang v. Atty. Gen.

Liang v. Atty. Gen. "Divide and conquer is a good military strategy but a bad judicial one. Judges must consider how related facts weave together into a narrative. Chinese officials caught Cha Liang practicing his faith, so they beat, jailed, and then threatened him. When he sought asylum, the Board of Immigration Appeals minimized the threats and physical abuse as discrete incidents. But Liang’s twenty-minute...

October 12, 2021

DHS Ceases Mass Worksite Immigration Enforcement Operations

DHS, Oct. 12, 2021 "The deployment of mass worksite operations, sometimes resulting in the simultaneous arrest of hundreds of workers, was not focused on the most pernicious aspect of our country's unauthorized employment challenge: exploitative employers. These highly visible operations misallocated enforcement resources while chilling, and even serving as a tool of retaliation for, worker cooperation in workplace...

October 05, 2021

Court Grants Summary Judgment in Kinsley v. Blinken

Kinsley v. Blinken "Among the disruptions wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic have been halts and delays in the U.S. visa-processing system. Here, a large group of noncitizens, U.S.-citizen petitioners, associations, and corporations bring suit to challenge the cessation of visa processing in specified countries. They allege as unlawful Defendant State Department’s interpretation of several Presidential Proclamations...

October 05, 2021

DV-2023 ("Visa Lottery") Program Opens Oct. 6, 2021

State Department "The online registration period for the DV-2023 Program begins on Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5). Individuals who submit more than one entry during the registration period will be disqualified.  The English version of the  DV-2023 Program Instructions  in...

October 05, 2021

Jonathan Meyer Returns to DHS as GenCou (Law360)

Daniel Wilson, Law360, Oct. 4, 2021 "The U.S. Senate on Monday narrowly confirmed Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP partner Jonathan Meyer as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's top legal officer, returning him to the agency where he had previously held two senior positions.  Senators voted 51-47 in a mostly party-line vote to confirm Meyer as DHS' general counsel, filling a position that...

October 05, 2021

CA9 (2-1) on Cal. AB 32: GEO Group v. Newsom

GEO Group v. Newsom "In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill, AB 32, that phases out all private detention facilities within the state. But because of seasonal and other fluctuations in immigration, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) relies exclusively on private detention centers in California. California’s law would thus compel the United States to shutter all ICE detention...

October 04, 2021

"Unreasonable Delay" AOS Victory: Pacharne v. DHS

Pacharne v. DHS "For the reasons stated above, the Court finds that the Plaintiffs have established unreasonable delay on behalf of USCIS. Consequently, the Court has jurisdiction over this matter. The Plaintiff’s request for injunctive relief is GRANTED. USCIS is hereby ordered to adjudicate the Plaintiffs’ I-485 visas applications prior to the expiration of the 2021 fiscal year. Recognizing the short deadline...

October 04, 2021

Supreme Court Preview: Patel v. Garland (Oral Arg. Dec. 6, 2021)

I encourage all immigration lawyers and law students to read the 11th Cir. case here and all the SC briefs here .  This case could be a Very Big Deal for immigration litigators.

October 04, 2021

Georgetown Law CALS 2022-2024 Clinical Teaching Fellowship

Georgetown Law "The  Center for Applied Legal Studies  (CALS) at Georgetown Law announces that it is now accepting applications for its annual fellowship program in clinical legal education. CALS will offer one lawyer a two‑year teaching fellowship (July 2022‑June 2024), providing a unique opportunity to learn how to teach law in a clinical setting. At CALS, our two fellows and faculty members work as colleagues...