September 20, 2023

Proposed Immigration Court Rule a "Crucial Sea Change"

Hon. Dana Marks, Sept. 14, 2023 "The just published proposed regulation is a big deal."

September 20, 2023

Immigration Court Backlog Grows: TRAC Report

TRAC, Sept. 20, 2023 "August 2023 saw a record number of new deportation cases arrive at the Immigration Court. A total of 180,065 new Notices to Appear (NTAs) arrived during August. This is a jump of 19 percent in just one month; July filings had reached a previous high of 151,910. While the growth rate of 19 percent is large, it has moderated from the 28 percent jump seen from June to July. Thus far more than...

September 19, 2023

The Optimism of Newcomers

Gustavo Arellano, Sept. 17, 2023 "When my editor first told me that a nationwide L.A. Times/KFF poll found that immigrants are more optimistic about life in the United States than native-born Americans, my initial response was: story of my life."

September 18, 2023

Musk, SpaceX Push Back Against DOJ OCAHO Complaint

On Aug. 23, 2023 the Justice Department filed a complaint with OCAHO alleging that Elon Musk's SpaceX discriminated against asylees and refugees in its hiring processes. In response, SpaceX filed suit against DOJ in federal district court. News here . Since the OCAHO docket is closed to the public, we don't know if SpaceX has answered the OCAHO complaint yet. Stay tuned!

September 17, 2023

Terrorist Entry Through the Southwest Border: Facts vs. Fear

Alex Nowrasteh, Sept. 16, 2023 "Yesterday, I testified at the “Terrorist Entry Through the Southwest Border” hearing before the House Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement . You can watch the entire hearing here , my spoken testimony here , and some highlights are here . My written testimony is here . This was an excellent opportunity to highlight my research on foreign‐​born...

September 17, 2023

Expert: No Quick Fix for Border, Asylum Problems

Maria Ramirez Uribe, PolitiFact, Sept. 15, 2023 "Cities across the U.S., such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, have received thousands of migrants in the past year. Those places’ leaders say feeding and providing shelter to migrants is straining local government resources substantially. New York, Illinois and Massachusetts state and city leaders are urging the federal government to change policies...

September 15, 2023

United States’ Immigration Detention System Contravenes Its Obligations Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

Submission from Project South, University of Pennsylvania Law School Transnational Legal Clinic, and University of Texas at Austin Immigration Clinic September 12, 2023

September 15, 2023

Free Webinar: Consular Processing

Jan Pederson "Please join us next week, on Wednesday Sept. 20 at noon, for a Lunch and Learn Webinar on Consular Processing. Famed consular practice attorney Jan Pederson will present a "how to" on effective and strategic representation of clients and American Embassies and Consulates! No fee for this event sponsored by the Montgomery County Bar Association Immigration Law Section. Register at ( bit.ly...

September 15, 2023

Free Webinar: Implications of Matter of Cabrera-Fernandez

National Immigration Project "Wednesday, September 20, 2023 at 1:00 pm Pacific/4:00 pm Eastern Zoom Webinar Duration: 1.5 hours Cost: Free CLE Credit: None Program Description: Following the Supreme Court's decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez , 138 S.Ct. 830 (2018), immigration attorney Mark Prada spearheaded an argument that DHS was mispapering the releases of applicants for admission with “orders...

September 15, 2023

Asylum Seekers Encounter a New Digital Border: Their Smartphones

Austin Kocher, Ph.D., Sept. 13, 2023 "Migrants around the world who are seeking asylum in North America and Europe are finding pathways to safety increasingly blocked—not only by physical borders but also by digital borders . The most recent example of this technological obstruction in the U.S. context is the introduction of a smartphone app known as CBP One, which the government has been using since January...

September 14, 2023

“People Need Representation”: A Podcast with Immigration Lawyer Margo Cowan

The Border Chronicle, Sept. 14, 2023 "In July the Board of Immigration Appeals ordered that prominent federal immigration lawyer and longtime community organizer Margo Cowan be barred for two years from practicing law in immigration court for “violating the rules of professional conduct.” For this week’s podcast interview , The Border Chronicle caught up with Cowan in her Tucson office to hear...

September 14, 2023

BIA Grants Asylum to Mexican Journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto

It took only fifteen years, but on Sept. 5, 2023 the BIA granted asylum to Mexican journalist Emilio Gutiérrez Soto. Reporting by Uriel J. García here . Media release by the National Press Club here . Hats off to attorney Eduardo Beckett and amici! "Emilio Gutierrez Soto in a photo taken on Sept. 13, 2023 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Guitierrez Soto was granted eligibility for asylum, 15 years after...

September 13, 2023

Judge: DACA Illegal

Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News, Sept. 13, 2023 "A federal judge on Wednesday again declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program unlawful, though he refrained from ordering officials to terminate deportation protections and work permits for 580,000 immigrant "Dreamers." At the request of Republican-led states, Judge Andrew Hanen of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District...

September 13, 2023

Expert: Courts "Very Likely" to Strike Down State Work Permits for Migrants

Luis Ferré-Sadurní, New York Times, Sept. 12, 2023 "Frustrated by the federal response to the migrant crisis, Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Tuesday that New York State was considering ways to issue work permits to asylum seekers in a bid to circumvent the long wait for permits at the federal level. Such a drastic step would make New York the first state to openly test federal law, underscoring the depth...

September 13, 2023

Afghan Soldier Abdul Wasi Safi, Once Detained at Gorder, Granted Asylum

Allison P. Erikson, Military Times, Sept. 12, 2023 "Nearly a year after former Afghan intelligence officer Abdul Wasi Safi was detained at the border between the U.S. and Mexico in Texas, the Justice Department has granted him asylum to live with his brother Sami-ullah Safi in Houston and waived his immigration hearing."

September 12, 2023

Did You Know...?

...that USCIS has an Electronic Reading Room ? "The USCIS Electronic Reading Room provides access to information identified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). We will update the Electronic Reading Room when documents are requested 3 or more times, or when we proactively identify documents likely requested for release."

September 11, 2023

NYC Should Welcome Migrants Rather Than Have a Mayor Who Disparages Them

Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box, Sept. 11, 2023 "In recent weeks, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made a series of increasingly uninformed and disparaging comments about migrants arriving in New York. In a town hall meeting on September 6, Adams said of the influx of migrants: “this issue will destroy New York City”. Adams further stated that “every community in this city is going to be impacted”...

September 11, 2023

Digital Visa Authorization (DVA) Proof of Concept

State Department, Sept. 8, 2023 "The State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs is developing the capability to issue a digital visa authorization (DVA) instead of the traditional visa printed and placed in applicants’ passports. The U.S. Embassy in Dublin is conducting a limited DVA proof of concept with a small number of K-1 (fiancé(e)) visas. If this initial proof of concept is successful...

September 11, 2023

DHS Extends TPS Re-registration Periods for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan to 18 Months

USCIS, Sept. 8, 2023 "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending from 60 days to 18 months the periods to re-register for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under the designations of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan. The 18-month re-registration period under the designation of: El Salvador now runs through March 9, 2025; Haiti now runs through Aug. 3, 2024; ...

September 08, 2023

Bogus "Red Notice" Keeps Asylee in ICE Prison for Six Years

Interpol permanently deleted the bogus Red Notice. An Immigration Judge granted her asylum...twice. ICE still has her locked up. The habeas petition is here . The ACLU media release is here . Wesley Muller's Louisiana Illuminator article is here .

September 08, 2023

Feds reach settlement to expedite asylum decisions for 20,000 Afghan allies living in US

Rafael Carranza, Arizona Republic, Sept. 8, 2023 "The U.S. government has reached a class-action settlement to speed up the asylum process for nearly 20,000 Afghans evacuated to the United States two years ago and who have been waiting for months for their applications to be adjudicated. Under the settlement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency for processing and deciding asylum cases...

September 08, 2023

Migrants Desperate for Jobs Trapped in Asylum Maze

Julia Preston, The Marshall Project, Sept. 8, 2023 "In the early 1990s, asylum seekers could receive work authorization as soon as they filed their claims. Fraudulent claims surged as migrants, often prompted by unscrupulous attorneys, filed for asylum just to get the permits. With changes in 1995 and 1996, the 180-day waiting period was added. The number of new claims plunged, backlogs were reduced, and for a...

September 08, 2023

CA5: Texas Can Keep Rio Grande Buoys in Place For Now

USA v. Abbott "UNPUBLISHED ORDER Before Stewart, Graves, and Oldham, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: IT IS ORDERED that Appellants’ motion for administrative stay of the order of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division dated September 6, 2023, is GRANTED pending further order of the Court." News here .

September 06, 2023

Changing Visa Bulletin Could Save Immigrants And H-1B Visa Holders

Stuart Anderson, Forbes, Sept. 6, 2023 "The current legal immigration system does not benefit the United States, according to immigration attorney Cyrus Mehta. He proposes advancing the dates in the State Department Visa Bulletin to provide relief for individuals waiting in family and employment-based backlogs, arguing that would help America retain talent it would otherwise lose. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi...

September 06, 2023

Immigration Narratives in the Age of Disinformation: Live Event

Immigration Narratives in the Age of Disinformation "Join Jose Antonio Vargas (Founder and President of Define American) and Dr. Joan Donovan (Assistant Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media Studies at Boston University) for a thought-provoking conversation on the impact of online misinformation and disinformation for immigrant communities. How can we identify and combat the spread of disinformation? How...