asylum

ICE Ends Presumption of Release for All Pregnant Detainees

On March 30, 2018, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a directive entitled “Identification and Monitoring of Pregnant Detainees,” as well as the following FAQ: What is the new policy? ICE has ended the presumption of release for all pregnant detainees. Instead, as with all detainees, absent the requirements of mandatory detention, ICE will complete a case-by-case custody determination taking any special factors into account. ICE detention facilities will...

District Court Orders DHS to Provide Asylum Seekers Notice of One-Year Bar

In Mendez Rojas v. Johnson, District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez has ruled that the United States government’s failure to provide asylum seekers with notice of the one-year asylum application deadline and failure to create and implement procedural mechanisms that guarantee class members the opportunity to timely submit their asylum applications violates the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), governing regulations, and due process. As background,...

Attorney General Sessions Vacates BIA Decision That Provided Asylum Seekers With A Hearing

In Matter of E-F-H-L-, 27 I. & N. Dec. 226 (A.G. Mar. 5, 2018), Attorney General Jeff Sessions vacated Matter of E-F-H-L-, 26 I&N Dec. 319 (BIA 2014) and issued the following order: In this matter, the respondent conceded removability at the outset of removal proceedings and requested relief from removal pursuant to an application for asylum and withholding of removal. The presiding Immigration Judge determined, without holding an evidentiary...

LGBT Immigrants – The Current Landscape

We have come a long way since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and allowed us to reunite thousands of same-sex bi-national couples. While LGBT U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents can now sponsor their same-sex couples for immigration benefits, and benefit from the changes made to assisted reproductive technology laws, there remain plenty of hurdles for LGBT individuals seeking...

How You Can Help the Unaccompanied Child Migrants

For over a year now, I have worked with community groups to pressure the President to announce a moratorium on deportations, specifically, an affirmative program ensuring relief from deportation for thousands of immigrant families, along with more significant enforcement reforms to curtail the use of deportation and detention.  While the President now seems poised to deliver some sort of executive amnesty, his handling of the child migrants at the border does...