After President Trump threatened to cut American funding to the country of Honduras, if the government did not stop an immigrant caravan from making its way to the United States, both the Honduran and Mexican governments acted immediately in a concerted effort to stop the caravan from reaching the southwest…
Articles Posted in Defensive Asylum
Beginning September 11, 2018, USCIS has the authority to deny petitions without first issuing RFE or NOID
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a new policy memorandum that will have wide ranging implications for immigrants. Beginning September 11, 2018, USCIS will use their discretion to deny an application, petition, or request filed with USCIS without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or…
This Week In Immigration News: DHS Statement on Family Reunification and Diplomatic Visa Sanctions for Burma and Laos
DHS Statement on Family Reunification The Department of Homeland Security recently issued a statement outlining the administration’s four-point plan to reunite minor children separated from their parents at the border. Beginning July 10, 2018, HHS and DHS will coordinate the reunification of children under 5 years of age currently in…
Supreme Court Upholds Travel Ban 3.0, Justice Kennedy Announces Retirement
Earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court handed down a controversial decision upholding the President’s latest travel ban in the case Trump, President of the United States, Et Al. v. Hawaii Et Al. The 5-4 decision reflected a deeply divided court, but ultimately the conservative justices on the court…
This Week in Immigration News: Return of Unselected Petitions for H-1B Applicants, Important Information for Children Separated from Parents at the Border, and More
Return of Unselected Petitions for H-1B Applicants FY 2019 Begins H-1B applicants who were not selected in the H-1B visa lottery for fiscal year 2019 will begin to receive their rejected applications from the Vermont Service Center and California Service Center. Our office expects to receive returned packages within the…
Attorney General Delivers Controversial Opinion Rejecting Domestic Violence as a Valid Ground for Seeking Asylum
Today, Monday June 11, 2018, in an unprecedented move, the Trump administration announced that it would be dropping asylum protection for survivors of domestic violence. The announcement was made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions this afternoon in the case Matter of A-B- 27 I&N Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018), which explained…
DHS Formally Announces Termination of TPS Designation for Honduras
Our fears have come true. On May 4, 2018, we reported that the Department of Homeland Security would be making an official announcement terminating the TPS designation for the country of Honduras. Shortly after our report, DHS published a formal announcement terminating the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Honduras,…
Trump Administration Mounts Attack against TPS Program: Termination of TPS Designation for Honduras Expected
Temporary Protected Status has come under vigorous attack by the Trump administration. As previously reported, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, appointed by President Trump has been instructed by the administration to scrutinize the TPS program closely to align with the President’s hard line stance on immigration. Within…
Trump Administration Ends Automatic Release of Pregnant Women in Federal Custody
The Trump administration has ended an Obama-era policy that required immigration officials to release pregnant women in detention from federal custody. As of at least December, the Trump administration has directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to treat pregnant detainees as they would any other, except for women who have…
DHS Releases New Immigration Enforcement Improvement Policies Authorizing Expedited Removal of Undocumented Immigrants
On February 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a memorandum entitled “Implementing the President’s Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvement Policies.” The memorandum establishes new policies that call for the detection, apprehension, detention, and removal of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States unlawfully. The policies outlined in…