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...
"On February 28, 2014, you released a revised version of the "ADOTC Lesson Plan, Credible Fear of Persecution and Torture Determinations" to USCIS Asylum Office Directors and Asylum Officers throughout the country. I have reviewed the 47-page Lesson Plan and am deeply troubled by its tenor, format, and content. In my opinion, the Lesson Plan undermines the asylum process set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act by sending an erroneous message to Asylum Offices about the standard to be applied in assessing credible fear claims. As I detail below, a fair reading of the Lesson Plan leaves one with the clearly improper message that Asylum Officers must apply a standard that far surpasses what is intended by the statutory framework and U.S. asylum law.
Additionally, as a matter of public policy, the application of the credible fear standard in a harsh manner that does not give the benefit of the doubt to imperfect yet reasonable claims will be something that our nation will regret in the not-too-distant future. In part III of this memo, I will briefly recount tragic mistakes our country has made in the past when it comes to certain classes of asylum seekers. In retrospect, our actions in those situations were not simply embarrassing; they were shameful because lives were unnecessarily lost as a result of bad judgment and political expediency." - Prof. Bill Ong Hing, University of San Francisco, Apr. 21, 2014.