Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
The reversal rate for BIA cases in all federal circuit courts for 2009 averaged 11.12%, according to the EOIR Immigration Law Advisor, vol. 4, no. 2. The reversal rate has dropped every year for the last four years: 2009 (11.12%), 2008 (12.6%), 2007 (15.3%), and 2006 (17.5%). For aliens appealing adverse BIA decisions, the most difficult circuit court for … Read more
Asylum in the United States is meant to be a confidential process. However, it is not uncommon for the BIA and the federal circuit courts to identify asylum seekers by name in their decisions, and to describe the applicants’ claims of persecution. We lawyers sometimes wonder whether anyone in the home country ever learns about … Read more
Among lawyers (like me) who practice in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, there has been ongoing speculation about whether the conservative court is moving to the left. AILA’s Immigration Slip Opinions discusses several positive asylum decisions from the last few months, including my case, Baharon v. Holder, 588 F.3d 228 (4th Cir. … Read more