June 07, 2021

Supreme Court on TPS, Adjustment of Status: Sanchez v. Mayorkas

Sanchez v. Mayorkas "Petitioner Jose Santos Sanchez entered this country unlawfully from El Salvador. Years later, because of unsafe living conditions in that country, the Government granted him Temporary Protected Status (TPS), entitling him to stay and work in the United States for as long as those conditions persist. Sanchez now wishes to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR) of the United States. The question...

June 05, 2021

CA6 Rejects Castro-Tum: Garcia-DeLeon v. Garland

Garcia-DeLeon v. Garland "We conclude that 8 C.F.R. § 212.7(e)(4)(iii), in conjunction with 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.10(b) and 1003.1(d)(1)(ii), gives IJs and the BIA the authority for administrative closure to permit noncitizens to apply for and receive provisional unlawful presence waivers. ... Here, we ... conclude that 8 C.F.R. § 212.7(e)(4)(iii), in conjunction with 8 C.F.R. §§ 1003.10(b) and 1003.1(d)(1)(ii), provides...

June 05, 2021

ICE Guidance Regarding Civil Immigration Enforcement and Removal Policies and Priorities (May 27, 2021)

ICE, May 27, 2021 " ... Prosecutorial discretion is an indispensable feature of any functioning legal system. The exercise of prosecutorial discretion, where appropriate, can preserve limited government resources, achieve just and fair outcomes in individual cases, and advance the Department's mission of administering and enforcing the immigration laws of the United States in a smart and sensible way that promotes...

June 03, 2021

OCAHO Levies $136K Penalty for I-9 Violations

USA v. Psychosomatic Fitness "[T]he parties do not dispute that Respondents violated 8 U.S.C. § 1324a(1)(B). At issue before the Court is the appropriate penalty in this case. ... [T]he Court notes with concern that Respondents provided a distribution in 2019, knowing they were in violation of § 1324a and knowing they would be responsible for a civil penalty. Additionally, in 2020, Respondents issued member draws...

June 03, 2021

CA5 Grants Panel Reh. in Cuban Asylum Case: Leal v. Garland (unpub.)

Leal v. Garland, unpub. "The petition for panel rehearing is GRANTED. The opinion, 841 F. App’x 719 (5th Cir. Mar. 29, 2021) , is WITHDRAWN..."

June 03, 2021

Alam v. Garland to be Reheard En Banc (Credibility, Asylum, Bangladesh)

Alam v. Garland "Upon the vote of a majority of nonrecused active judges, it is ordered that this case be reheard en banc pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 35(a) and Circuit Rule 35-3. The three-judge panel [2-1, Judge Collins, dissenting] disposition [ Alam v. Barr, Nov. 16, 2020, unpub .] is vacated."

June 03, 2021

Free Immigration FOIA Zoom by ABA, June 16, 2021

ABA "Government Information & Right to Privacy Committee Presents FOIA Challenges in Immigration Wednesday, June 16, 2021, 12:00-1:30 pm ET Participants: -Emily Creighton; Legal Director, Transparency; American Immigration Council -Claudia Valenzuela; Managing Attorney; Immigration Legal Defense -Bradley White; Senior Director of Privacy Policy and Oversight; Department of Homeland Security -Abioye Mosheim...

June 03, 2021

USCIS Runs Out of "Extra" H-2B Visas...in Five Days

USCIS, June 3, 2021 "Under the  recently announced  H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule, USCIS has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 16,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers only. We continue to accept petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers for the additional 6,000 visas allotted for nationals of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (collectively called the Northern...

June 02, 2021

CA9 on Departure Bar, Sua Sponte Reopening: Balerio Rubalcaba v. Garland

Balerio Rubalcaba v. Garland "This case presents the question whether the departure bar limits an IJ’s ability to reopen immigration proceedings sua sponte. We have jurisdiction to review questions of law under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(D), and we conclude that the departure bar does not apply in the context of sua sponte reopening. That is, an IJ’s discretion to reopen a case on his or her own motion is not limited...

June 02, 2021

DOS: NIEs for Certain Travelers from China, Iran, India, Brazil, South Africa, Schengen Area, United Kingdom, and Ireland (May 27, 2021)

DOS, May 27, 2021 "On May 27, 2021, the Secretary of State made a national interest determination regarding categories of travelers eligible for exceptions under Presidential Proclamations (PPs) 9984, 9992, 10143, 10199, and similar subsequent PPs related to the spread of COVID-19.  As a result of this determination, together with national interest determinations already in place, travelers subject to these proclamations...

June 02, 2021

Mayorkas Terminates MPP

DHS, June 1, 2021 - Termination of the Migration Protection Protocols Program "... Having now completed the further review undertaken pursuant to Executive Order 14010 to determine whether to terminate or modify MPP, and for the reasons outlined below, I am by this memorandum terminating the MPP program. I direct DHS personnel to take all appropriate actions to terminate MPP, including taking all steps necessary...

June 01, 2021

EOIR "Dedicated Docket" Policy Memo, May 28, 2021

EOIR, May 28, 2021 "EOIR is initiating a Dedicated Docket to focus on the adjudication of family cases as designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This docket will run alongside typical court operations in immigration courts in ten cities: Denver, Detroit, El Paso, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. DHS has indicated that it will be placing on the Dedicated...

June 01, 2021

Supreme Court: Garland v. Dai

Garland v. Dai "The Ninth Circuit has long applied a special rule in immigration disputes. The rule provides that, in the absence of an explicit adverse credibility determination by an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals, a reviewing court must treat a petitioning alien’s testimony as credible and true. At least 12 members of the Ninth Circuit have objected to this judge-made rule, and we granted...

May 28, 2021

DOJ, DHS Announce "Dedicated Docket" for Certain Recently Arrived Families

DOJ, May 28, 2021 "Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced a new Dedicated Docket process to more expeditiously and fairly make decisions in immigration cases of families who arrive between ports of entry at the Southwest Border.  This new process should significantly decrease the amount of time it takes for migrants to have their cases adjudicated...

May 28, 2021

USCIS Policy Update: Naturalization Eligibility and Voter Registration Through a State’s Benefit Application Process (May 27, 2021)

USCIS, May 27, 2021 "Policy Highlights • Clarifies that USCIS will not penalize an applicant who unknowingly or unwilfully registers to vote. • Clarifies that USCIS does not consider an applicant to have unlawfully registered to vote if the applicant did not complete or sign the voter registration section (including electronic signature, if applicable) in the motor vehicle or other state benefit application. •...

May 28, 2021

USCIS Policy Alert: Preserving Continuous Residence and Physical Presence for Purposes of Naturalization while Engaged in Religious Duties Outside the United States (May 25, 2021)

USCIS, May 25, 2021 "Policy Highlights • Specifies that applicants engaged outside the United States in a qualifying religious vocation provided under INA 317 must file an Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes (Form N-470) with USCIS to have time outside the United States considered towards the continuous residence and physical presence requirements. • Clarifies that such applicants may...

May 28, 2021

USCIS Policy Alert: Veterans Residing Outside the United States and Naturalization (May 28, 2021)

USCIS, May 28, 2021 "Policy Highlights • Clarifies that naturalization interviews for veterans (non-current members of the U.S. armed forces) residing outside the United States must take place in the United States, but USCIS may, in its discretion, coordinate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to have USCIS officers conduct naturalization interviews of certain veterans at a port of entry. • Clarifies that...

May 27, 2021

Form I-9 Compliance Flexibility Extended by ICE

ICE, May 26, 2021 "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was initially granted last year. Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend this policy until Aug. 31, 2021. The current extension includes guidance for employees hired on or after Jun....

May 26, 2021

Blockbuster CA4 Decision: Arevalo Quintero v. Garland

This 62-page gem is a gold mine full of big, fat, shiny nuggets.  Before highlighting a few, hats way off to Susan Baker Manning and her team at Morgan Lewis, and Steven H. Schulman and his team at Akin Gump on behalf of the Round Table!  Here are the highlights: "Petitioner argues that when a pro se respondent seeks asylum or withholding of removal based on his or her membership in a particular social group, the...

May 25, 2021

Ron Wada on Writing His EB2 /EB3 Degree Equivalency Book

Immigration Nerds, Apr. 15, 2021 " Ron Wada is Senior Counsel for Tafapolsky & Smith LLP  and is a nationally recognized expert in US immigration law.  He is the co-author of the leading national immigration law treatise Immigration Law and Procedure and is the author of AILA’s Focus on EB2 & EB3 Degree Equivalency, a standard desk-top reference book for immigration attorneys nationwide.  He explains the...

May 25, 2021

Former Immigration Judges Ask Garland to Review/Rescind Trump-Era AG Certs

Round Table of Former Immigration Judges, May 25, 2021 "We, the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges, are a group of former Immigration Judges and appellate-level judges of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Relying on our combined centuries of experience on the bench, we hereby request that you review and rescind many, if not all, of the decisions that former Attorneys General Sessions, Whitaker, Barr, and...

May 24, 2021

USSC on 1326(d): US v. Palomar-Santiago

US v. Palomar-Santiago "In 1998, respondent Refugio Palomar-Santiago was removed from the United States based on a conviction for felony driving under the influence (DUI). He later returned to the United States and was indicted on one count of unlawful reentry in violation of 8 U. S. C. §1326(a). Between Palomar-Santiago’s removal and indictment, this Court held that offenses like his DUI conviction...

May 24, 2021

TPS for Haiti, Burma

DHS, May 22, 2021 - "Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced a new 18-month designation of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This new TPS designation enables Haitian nationals (and individuals without nationality who last resided in Haiti) currently residing in the United States as of May 21, 2021   to file initial applications for TPS, so long as they meet eligibility requirements...

May 23, 2021

CA2 on Evidence, Well-Founded Fear: Cazahuatl Torres v. Garland (unpub.)

Cazahuatl Torres v. Garland (unpub.) "Because the agency “ignor[ed] a significant aspect of [Cazahuatl Torres’s] testimony . . . we are unable adequately to consider whether substantial evidence” in this case supports the BIA’s determination that Cazahuatl Torres failed to demonstrate a well-founded fear of future persecution. ... Accordingly, we remand to the agency to consider this testimony in the first instance...

May 23, 2021

CA2 on Competency, Credibility: K.O. v. Garland (unpub.)

K.O. v. Garland (unpub.) "The record evidence in this case shows that K.O. had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression, and was prescribed medication for PTSD while in immigration custody. ... K.O. urged that the IJ consider his history of mental illness before deciding the issue of removability. ... As the Government does not dispute, under these circumstances, the BIA...