October 01, 2021

Meet Kerry Doyle, ICE's New PLA

ICE "Ms. Doyle has extensive experience in the private and nonprofit sectors having most recently worked for twenty years as Managing Partner with the Boston immigration law firm of Graves & Doyle. For the last five and a half years she has also served as an appointed hearing officer for the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers presiding over cases related to attorney disciplinary matters. Earlier in her...

October 01, 2021

CADC Permits Illegal CDC Title 42 Border Blockade to Proceed (Huisha-Huisha)

CGRS, Sept. 30, 2021 "Today the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals  granted  the Biden administration’s request for stay in  Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas , a class action lawsuit brought by the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Oxfam America, RAICES, and Texas Civil Rights Project. The ruling blocks a lower court  injunction  slated to take effect tonight, which would...

September 30, 2021

New Mayorkas Prosecutorial Discretion Memo (Sept. 30, 2021; eff. Nov. 29, 2021)

DHS, Sept. 30, 2021 "This memorandum provides guidance for the apprehension and removal of noncitizens. ... We will prioritize for apprehension and removal noncitizens who are a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security. ... The decision how to exercise prosecutorial discretion can be complicated and requires investigative work. Our personnel should not rely on the fact of conviction or...

September 30, 2021

BIA Amicus Brief Invitation - Modified Categorical Approach, Pereida, Evidence

BIA, Sept. 30, 2021 "Amicus Invitation No. 21-30-09 AMICUS INVITATION, Due Date: October 21, 2021 September 30, 2021 The Board of Immigration Appeals welcomes interested members of the public to file amicus curiae briefs discussing the below issue: ISSUE PRESENTED: 1. Does Pereida v. Wilkinson, 141 S. Ct. 754 (2021), authorize an Immigration Judge to rely on any document or record covered by section 240...

September 29, 2021

Recent Trends in I-140 RFEs

Cyrus D. Mehta, Sung-Min Baik and Kaitlyn Box, Sept. 28, 2021 "Employers who have filed concurrent “downgrade” I-140 petitions are facing an increasing number of requests for evidence (RFE).  These I-140 petitions were concurrently filed with I-485 applications when the India employment-based third preference (EB-3) date in the October 2020 Visa Bulletin advanced ahead of the India employment-based Second preference...

September 29, 2021

Another (Partial) DV21 Victory: Rai v. Biden

Rai v. Biden "[T]he court will order Defendants to undertake good faith efforts to expeditiously process and adjudicate 2021 diversity visa applications and derivative beneficiary applications by September 30, 2021, and to reserve 966 diversity visa numbers of applicants awaiting adjudication at the twenty-seven embassies and posts previously subject to Proclamations 9984 and 10143 and Defendants’ regional No-Visa...

September 29, 2021

EOIR Launches CCI, Reboots MHP

EOIR, Sept. 28, 2021 "The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced its “Access EOIR” initiative. Through this multi-faceted effort, EOIR aims to increase access to information and raise the level of representation for individuals appearing before the immigration courts. Following the Agency’s recent launch of the  FOIA Public Access Link  to simplify access to records, more than 100 meetings...

September 29, 2021

Coram Nobis Victory: Nguyen v. USA

Nguyen v. USA "Petitioner Tien Nguyen, a Vietnamese national, pled guilty in 1997 to possession of counterfeit securities. In 2017, Nguyen filed a Petition for Coram Nobis, Audita Querela, or Other Appropriate Relief (Dkt. No. 111) (the "Petition") in which he seeks to vacate his conviction on the ground that his guilty plea was made on his counsel's inaccurate advice that this offense did not constitute...

September 29, 2021

CA9 on Due Process: Nolasco-Amaya v. Garland

Nolasco-Amaya v. Garland "Petitioner Belkis Nolasco-Amaya, a native and citizen of Honduras, sought withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture (“CAT”). An immigration judge (“IJ”) denied her requested relief. Petitioner filed a Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) without the assistance of counsel. The BIA summarily dismissed her appeal pursuant to 8 C.F.R...

September 28, 2021

CA5 on Niz-Chavez: Rodriguez v. Garland

Rodriguez v. Garland "Marcelo Eugenio Rodriguez seeks review of the dismissal of his appeal by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). Rodriguez’s appeal challenged the immigration judge’s denial of his motion to reopen removal proceedings and rescind his in absentia removal order. We grant his petition, vacate the dismissal by the BIA, and remand for further proceedings consistent with Niz-Chavez v. Garland...

September 27, 2021

DACA Proposed Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 28, 2021 "On June 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. The policy— which describes the Secretary of Homeland Security’s (Secretary’s) exercise of her prosecutorial discretion in light of the limited resources that DHS has for removal of undocumented noncitizens—directed...

September 26, 2021

Vermont Supreme Court Deals Blow to Border Agents' Roving Patrols

Derek Brouwer, Vermont Seven Days, Sept. 24, 2021 "Border patrol officers can search Vermonters' cars without a warrant under their special federal authority to conduct "roving" patrols within 100 miles of the U.S. border.  But, as of Friday, evidence they collect during the controversial searches can no longer be used to prosecute crimes in state courts, a narrow majority of the Vermont Supreme Court...

September 26, 2021

Rare BIA Victory for Gay Jamaican Man: UPDATE (Nov. 10, 2021)

Spring, Texas attorney Veronica Semino scored this unpublished BIA remand  for her client, who was detained in Oakdale. UPDATE: On Nov. 10th, the IJ granted AOS and the client was released from ICE detention! In the single-member decision dated Aug. 5, 2021 , Temporary Appellate Immigration Judge Gabriel Gonzalez wrote: "[W]e agree with the respondent that the harm he suffered in Jamaica rises to the level...

September 25, 2021

Garland Appoints David Neal to Head EOIR

EOIR, Sept. 24, 2021 "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland today announced the appointment of David L. Neal as the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) at the Department of Justice. “The Justice Department’s commitment to a fair and efficient immigration court system, governed by due process and the rule of law, is exemplified by recent policy changes and our pursuit of significant additional...

September 25, 2021

USCIS Extends Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests

USCIS, Sept. 24, 2021 "In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners and requestors who are responding to certain: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14); Notices of Intent to Deny; Notices of Intent to Revoke; Notices of Intent to...

September 24, 2021

CA5 CAT Remand: Abushagif v. Garland

Abushagif v. Garland "Abushagif contends that the BIA abused its discretion by entirely failing to address his CAT claim. On that point, he is correct. A CAT “claim is separate from . . . claims for asylum and withholding of removal and should receive separate analytical attention.” Efe v. Ashcroft, 293 F.3d 899, 906–07 (5th Cir. 2002). Moreover, the BIA must not leave asserted CAT claims unaddressed...

September 23, 2021

Matter of Arambula-Bravo, 28 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2021)

Matter of Arambula-Bravo, 28 I&N Dec. 388 (BIA 2021) (1) A Notice to Appear that does not specify the time and place of a respondent’s initial removal hearing does not deprive the Immigration Judge of jurisdiction over the respondent’s removal proceedings. Pereira v. Sessions, 138 S. Ct. 2105 (2018), and Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 141 S. Ct. 1474 (2021), distinguished; Matter of Bermudez-Cota, 27 I&N Dec. 441 (BIA...

September 23, 2021

Immigration Lawsuits and the APA: The Basics of a District Court Action

NILA, AIC PRACTICE ADVISORY, September 22, 2021 "The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is a federal statute that regulates federal agency action in a number of ways. Relevant here, the judicial review provisions of the APA, 5 U.S.C. § 701, et seq., provide a means for an individual—including noncitizens—or an employer to challenge unlawful decisions or action by immigration agencies in cases outside of the removal...

September 22, 2021

LexisNexis Immigration Resources

LexisNexis Legal Research Immigration Content Highlights: Statutes and Regulations: • Bender’s Immigration and Nationality Act Service: A comprehensive, easy-to-use presentation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. Footnote references indicate the origin of major amendments to the Act. • Bender’s Immigration Regulations Service: All immigration regulations from 8 CFR, DOS, DOJ, DOL and HHS. ...

September 22, 2021

ICE's New OPLA: Kerry Doyle

Sarah Betancourt, WGBH, Sept. 22, 2021 "The Biden administration has appointed seasoned Boston immigration attorney Kerry Doyle to become its immigration enforcement agency’s top prosecutor.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed to GBH that Doyle, previously of Graves & Doyle, will be its principal legal advisor. The office she will lead is the largest legal program within the Department...

September 22, 2021

CA9 on Aggravated Felony: Alfred v. Garland

Alfred v. Garland "The overbreadth of Washington’s accomplice liability statute means there is no categorical match to the generic federal offense in this case either, and Petitioner’s second-degree robbery convictions cannot constitute aggravated felony theft offenses. Petitioner is therefore not removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). IV. We grant the petition and remand for further consideration by the...

September 22, 2021

CA3: BIA Ignored "Overwhelming Evidence" of Persecution: Ghanem v. Atty. Gen.

Ghanem v. Atty. Gen. "Adel Ghanem, a former lawful permanent resident of the United States, seeks to avoid removal to Yemen, from which he fled to avoid persecution on account of political opinion. He pursues three forms of relief that were denied by the Immigration Judge (IJ) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA): asylum under the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1158(a), withholding of removal...

September 22, 2021

Making the Case for Dual Intent in All Nonimmigrant Visas

Cyrus D. Mehta, Isabel Rajabzadeh, Sept. 20, 2021 "One of the many benefits of filing an Adjustment of Status Application (AOS) is the ability to concurrently apply for work authorization (Form I-765/EAD). In addition, the applicant can remain in the United States while the AOS is pending without maintaining status, although most opt to maintain their  dual intent  nonimmigrant status for as long as possible. One...

September 22, 2021

"Age Out" Victory Against ICE: Garcia Ramirez v. ICE

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER - "When minors lacking immigration status arrive in the United States without parents or other guardians, they are designated UACs and are placed in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (“HHS” and “ORR”). If they are still in custody on their eighteenth birthday, the now-adult immigrants “age out” of HHS and ORR custody and are transferred...

September 21, 2021

Prosecutorial Discretion Saves Activist from Deportation

Email from La Resistencia, Sept. 21, 2021: "DHS Grants Prosecutorial Discretion to Immigrant Organizer Targeted by ICE La Resistencia leaders celebrate victory against ICE in public action and demand Prosecutorial Discretion be granted to all people detained and not detained   Seattle, WA — After four years of being targeted by Immigration Custom Enforcement (ICE) for her work to dismantle the enforcement...