As the United States celebrates a quarter millennium, I thought it would be a good time to highlight a few of my favorite quotes by and about the diverse and brilliant people who have come to our shores to seek a better life, escape persecution, and build our country.
Asylees and Refugees
USCIS Memo Seeks to Limit Adjustment of Status; How Does This Affect Asylees, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers?
Last week, USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum stating that adjustment of status (i.e., obtaining a Green Card inside the United States) is an “extraordinary” form of relief and is only available to non-citizens as a “matter of discretion and administrative grace.” The memo reminds USCIS officers that with limited exceptions, “aliens” who arrive in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas “are generally expected to pursue an immigrant visa and admission from outside the United States if they wish to reside permanently in this country.”
While people who come to the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa and who later pursue AOS may be “otherwise eligible for adjustment of status,” their “attempt to avoid the ordinary consular immigrant visa process, usually accompanied by their violation of our immigration laws are adverse factors that the aliens may need ‘to offset… by a showing of unusual or even outstanding equities.'” “The absence of adverse factors, by itself, does not demonstrate such unusual or outstanding equities.”
The import of all this is that USCIS wants most people who come to the U.S. on non-immigrant visas to leave the United States and obtain their Green Card overseas through consular processing. How does this new memo apply to asylees, refugees, and people with pending asylum applications?
The Administration’s Attack on I-730 Petitions
A few months ago, the Trump Administration instituted two travel bans, blocking nationals of 39 countries from coming to the United States. The bans explicitly stated that they would not apply to “an individual who has been granted asylum by the United States.” Commentators generally agreed (hoped?) that the bans would not apply to asylee or refugee “follow to join” dependents, since they were either coming to the U.S. in the same status as the principal applicant, or–if they were already in the United States–were obtaining asylum through USCIS.
Unfortunately, recent developments have proved said commentators wrong. The Administration has been preventing asylee and refugee dependents from banned countries from coming to the U.S. or obtaining status here.
Green Card Processing for Asylees Is Down 95% Since President Trump Took Office
A new report from the Cato Institute found that USCIS under the Trump Administration has slashed overall Green Card processing by about 50%. Certain categories of Green Card applicants–including asylees and refugees–have been hit much harder.
The reason for the slowdown is not entirely clear, as USCIS has been reticent to share much information about its operations. Today, we’ll talk about what we do know and how asylees and other Green Card applicants are being affected.
U.S. to Refugees: “Welcome to America! Now, Go to Jail!”
A new memo from USCIS and ICE seeks to detain all refugees who have been in the U.S. for more than a year and who have not yet received their Green Cards. This policy represents a cruel and pointless betrayal of our nation’s commitment to human rights, and will cause severe harm to many thousands of vulnerable people. In other words, it’s business as usual for the Trump Administration.
USCIS Begins Re-Verifying — and Sometimes Detaining — Refugees
Earlier this month, USCIS announced the commencement of Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) in Minnesota with plans to later expand across the country. USCIS describes the operation as “a sweeping initiative reexamining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims.” The Agency will initially focus on “Minnesota’s 5,600 refugees who have not yet been given lawful permanent resident status (Green Cards).” USCIS adjudicators will conduct “thorough background checks, reinterviews, and merit reviews of refugee claims.”
As part of this new effort, ICE agents have arrested “dozens of refugees… mainly from Somalia and includ[ing] children.” The targeted individuals mostly do not seem to have any criminal issues, and many have been quickly transported out of state, away from family members, friends, and lawyers.
Today, we’ll discuss what USCIS’s so-called “war on fraud” means for refugees and other immigrants, and how to prepare in the event that your case is subject to re-verification.
The Secret to Happiness (for Asylum Seekers and Everybody Else)
Who am I to know The Secret to Happiness, you ask. Mankind has struggled with this question for eons, yet here I am, purporting to know The Answer. What kind of pretentious jerk would make such a claim, especially on New Year’s Day? These are fair points. In my defense, I am currently hung over. I am also not much in the mood to write about all the bad news that’s fit to print–and there is a never-ending supply of that, which I presume we’ll get to soon enough. No, today is a holiday, the beginning of a new year, a time for optimism even–especially–when realism calls for pessimism. And the fact is, in my years of observing asylum seekers, people who have suffered much and are under continuous stress, I have learned The Secret to Happiness, which I will reveal to you forthwith.
USCIS Restricts Work Permits… Again
In the aftermath of an Afghan asylum seeker’s attack on members of the National Guard, the Trump Administration began a wide-ranging crackdown on non-citizens from Afghanistan and other “banned” countries, as well as on asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants.
The most recent iteration of these efforts is the decision by USCIS–justified by “security” concerns–to reduce the validity period for certain categories of Employment Authorization Document (EAD) from five years to 18 months. In combination with prior changes, the shortened EAD will cause tremendous pain to many vulnerable people.
“Halting” Asylum and “Re-Examining” Previously-Approved Cases
After the terrible shooting incident last week where a CIA-trained Afghan national killed one member of the National Guard and critically injured another, President Trump declared that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country.” He also vowed to “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
We do not yet have a full picture of how these words will be put into operation, but several government agencies have already announced new restrictions on asylum and on people from Afghanistan and other “banned” countries. Here, we’ll look at what has been said so far, and try to understand how the new policies will affect asylum seekers and asylees.
Green Card Interviews for Asylees – or – The End of the “Pause”
Perhaps you’ve heard the rumors–reported in the press but never verified by USCIS–about a “pause” on Green Cards for asylees and refugees. While the exact details of the pause remain unknown, it may have been implemented to give USCIS time to re-evaluate the Green Card process in light of the Trump Administration’s jaundiced view of humanitarian migrants.
Now, a new memo from USCIS clarifies when a Green Card interview is required for asylees and refugees, and seems to signal an end to the pause.