DOL, July 26, 2024 "On August 7, 2024, the Department of Labor will host a public webinar to educate stakeholders, program users, and other interested members of the public on the changes to the...
Atud v. Garland (unpub.) "Mathurin A. Atud petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) denying his motion to reopen removal proceedings based on alleged ineffective...
Shen v. Garland "Peng Shen, a citizen of the People’s Republic of China, applied for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. An Immigration Judge ...
This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 07/25/2024 "On January 17, 2017, DHS published a final rule with new regulatory provisions guiding the use of parole on a case...
Lance Curtright reports: "After the 5th Circuit’s initial decision in Membreno, [ Membreno-Rodriguez v. Garland, 95 F.4th 219 ] my law partner Paul Hunker (a new AILA member!) reached out to...
Santiaguez v. Garland (unpub.)
"Santiaguez contends that the agency failed to appropriately weigh evidence demonstrating that he faced a risk of torture if he returned to Mexico due to his status as an indigenous gay man and advocate for transgender rights. In denying his petition for CAT relief, the agency acknowledged that Santiaguez is an indigenous gay man and LGBT activist and that there is widespread violence against members of the LGBT community throughout Mexico. Nonetheless, the agency concluded that Santiaguez failed to satisfy his burden for CAT relief because he did not establish a likelihood that Mexican authorities would either torture him directly or acquiesce to his torture by private actors. In reaching this conclusion, the agency erred in several respects[:] ... (1) its bald speculation that the official police response to a mass student kidnapping shows that police will respond to violence against LGBT individuals; (2) its unsupported conclusion that one police officer’s expression of sympathy shows that other police officers will not acquiesce in torture; and (3) its failure to consider material evidence of public officials’ violence against the LGBT and indigenous communities. See Manning, 954 F.3d at 486–87; see also Tian-Yong Chen, 359 F.3d at 128. Accordingly, we remand for the agency to fully evaluate the record evidence."
[Hats off to NOAH NIX, Student Counsel (Thomas V. Burch, Esq., Olivia B. Hunter, Student Counsel, Jared R. Allen, Student Counsel, on the brief), Appellate Litigation Clinic, University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, GA. Paige Austin, on the brief, Make the Road New York, Brooklyn, N.Y.!]