Reimagining the Asylum Office

by Jason Dzubow

A forthcoming article by Professor Faiza W. Sayed of Brooklyn Law School examines the history and failings of the U.S. affirmative asylum system, and proposes some bold solutions that could help save asylum as we know it.

I should start by saying that I am a fan of Prof. Sayed’s work. She and her team at the Safe Harbor Clinic recently published a scathing report about the New York Asylum Office, which examines why that office has the lowest grant rate in the United States. The Professor was kind enough to send me a draft of her upcoming article, Reimagining Affirmative Asylum, which builds on her previous study. Her proposed reforms offer hope that our beleaguered asylum system can still be salvaged. (more…)

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Can You Be Deported for Protesting the War in Gaza?

by Jason Dzubow

As protests against Israel and the war in Gaza continue to spread across the U.S., some politicians are calling for non-citizen protesters to be deported. Can foreign students, asylum seekers, Green Card holders, and other non-citizens be deported for participating in protests?

As usual in immigration matters, the answer is: It depends. Here, we’ll discuss whether and under what circumstances the government can deport non-citizens for participating in demonstrations. (more…)

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Can the State of Texas Deport Migrants to Mexico? The U.S. Supreme Court Seems to Think So

by Jason Dzubow

This post is by Mikayla Minton, a senior from Linfield University in McMinnville, Oregon. Ms. Minton is originally from Humboldt County, California and is majoring in Law, Rights, and Justice and minoring in Journalism and Media Studies. During the spring 2024 semester, she interned at Dzubow & Pilcher and attended American University. Ms. Minton plans on continuing her studies and passions in law school.

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled to allow a controversial immigration law to take effect in Texas. The ruling concerns Texas Senate Bill 4 (2023), known as SB4, which allows state officials to arrest and deport migrants who enter the state illegally. While the Court’s ruling involved a preliminary issue in the case, it telegraphed the Justices’ views on state–as opposed to federal–oversight of immigration.

Many conservative lawmakers in the Lone Star State and across the country see the Court’s decision as a win. Meanwhile, the Court’s liberal Justices as well as officials at the Department of Homeland Security described the possible effects of SB4 as “chaos.”

What is the significance of SB4 and of the Supreme Court’s ruling? How might it affect immigration law and states’ rights? And what impact will it have on immigrants? (more…)

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Asylum as an Instrument of Peace

by Jason Dzubow

Last week, I attended a concert at my synagogue by the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, a group of young Palestinians and Israelis who perform music together. In his introduction, my Rabbi explained the purpose of the evening. We were not going to stop a brutal war or bring back hostages from captivity. We would not be able to give respite in a way that mattered and is necessary to Gazans or end the suffering there. That’s not what tonight is, he said. I wish it was, but it isn’t. Here’s what tonight is, tonight is a gigantic middle finger (his words, not mine) to everybody who tells us that there is no way forward together. Tonight is what happens when you take microphones out of the hands of yesterday’s leaders and put them in front of today’s leaders. Tonight is the only story that we will see 50 or 100 years from now, G-d willing. We’re opening doors, and we’re opening hearts.

In a way–a less melodious or entertaining way–asylum serves a similar purpose. (more…)

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What Happens at the Board of Immigration Appeals?

by Jason Dzubow

Here’s a hopefully hypothetical scenario: You apply for asylum (or some other relief) in Immigration Court and the judge denies your case. What do you do?

The losing party in Immigration Court has the right to appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which is a higher court that reviews the decision of the Immigration Judge (IJ) to determine whether the IJ made a mistake. If you “win” your appeal, the BIA will explain the IJ’s error and “remand” (send back) the case to the judge to issue a new decision.

Today, we’ll discuss how to evaluate your chances for success on appeal, how the appeals process works, and what happens if you win or lose the appeal. (more…)

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Mistakes Were Made

by Jason Dzubow

I recently prepared an asylum case for a married lesbian woman. The case was complicated by the fact that my client had multiple nationalities, and I was concerned about one country where she held citizenship, and where conditions were less bad for LGBT people (at least when compared with her other countries of nationality). My focus was on gathering evidence about country conditions to support her claim, and I forgot to look at another key aspect of the case–my client’s wife had a pending asylum application of her own.

As these things often go, I was reviewing the case prior to the Immigration Court hearing when I noticed the issue. I spoke to my client and learned that the wife’s case included information that would have been helpful for my client’s case. So now I had a dilemma: Should we amend our case at the last minute and risk harming my client’s credibility (when she tried to explain the change) or say nothing and forgo the opportunity to include helpful evidence? (more…)

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A Tale of Two Murders: Laken Riley and George Floyd

by Jason Dzubow

The murder of Laken Riley–a promising young nursing student–has spurred renewed calls for a crackdown against illegal migration into our country. Ms. Riley was allegedly killed by a Venezuelan man who entered the United States at the Southern border in September 2022. 

In response to the killing, Republicans hammered the Biden Administration’s border policy: “Innocent Americans from Laken Riley in Georgia to the 14-year-old rape victim of an illegal immigrant in our home state of Louisiana…. They’ve all been victimized by those whom the Biden administration has released into our country,” says Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

While there are instances of people crossing the border and then committing crimes, blaming all migrants for the bad acts of a very few is unfair and intellectually dishonest. That’s because immigrants–including “illegal” immigrants–improve our country in many ways and actually save the lives of many Americans each year. (more…)

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To Win Asylum, Consistency Is Key

by Jason Dzubow

It’s nearly impossible to win an asylum case if the Asylum Officer or Immigration Judge does not believe your story. But how do decision-makers determine whether an applicant is telling the truth or lying? In other words, how do they decide whether the applicant is credible?

There are a number of methods to evaluate credibility: Whether the applicant’s story is plausible (i.e., whether it makes sense in the context of country conditions), whether the person can describe details that we would expect her to know (for example, if she was a political activists, she should know something about her political party), and whether the applicant’s statement is consistent with the other evidence and testimony in the case. Today, I want to discuss “consistency,” since inconsistent statements are probably the most common basis for concluding that an applicant is not credible. (more…)

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Dear AILA: The Border Needs Realistic Solutions, Not Wishful Thinking

by Jason Dzubow

Last week, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) wrote a letter urging the Biden Administration to “take action to manage migration at the U.S. southern border in an orderly and effective manner while also ensuring a fair and humane process for people arriving at our borders.” That’s an excellent idea. The problem comes with the implementation, and here, AILA’s solutions fall short. (more…)

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USCIS Claims to Have Reduced Its Backlog–but It Depends on the Definition of “Backlog”

by Jason Dzubow

In an announcement earlier this month, USCIS claims to have “reduced overall backlogs by 15%.” This sounds like good news, and it would be–if it were actually true.

The reality, as discussed in the same announcement, is that “USCIS received 10.9 million filings and completed more than 10 million pending cases” in FY 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023). While completing 10 million cases is no small accomplishment, by my math, if the Agency received 10.9 million cases and completed 10 million cases, their backlog has actually increased by 900,000 cases.

So why does USCIS claim that the backlog has been reduced by 15%? The answer hinges on the definition of the term “backlog.” (more…)

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Needed: More Immigration Lawyers!

by Jason Dzubow

There is a serious shortage of immigration attorneys. The dearth of lawyers makes it more difficult for non-citizens to obtain legal help. It also makes the immigration system less efficient.

A recent report from TRAC Immigration shows that representation rates in Immigration Court have fallen significantly in recent years. In 2019, 65% of non-citizens in court had a lawyer. In 2023, only 30% were represented by counsel. 

What’s the reason for this shortfall? How is it affecting immigrants, lawyers, and “the system,” and what can be done to raise representation rates? (more…)

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Let’s Talk About the Bipartisan Immigration Bill – or – Don’t Speak Ill of the Dead

by Jason Dzubow

The long-awaited bipartisan border security bill has finally been released. The bill was negotiated by Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), and James Lankford (R-OK).

Before details of the bill were even released publicly, Donald Trump came out against it. His main objection seems to be a fear that the bill might improve conditions at the Southern border, which would potentially harm his chances for re-election. As a result of his opposition, many House Republicans–including Speaker Mike Johnson–have labeled the bill “dead on arrival.” It is even questionable whether the bill can pass the Senate. While the chances for passage seem low, the bill could still have an effect. If Republicans are seen as opposing reasonable border reform, it might just come back to haunt them in the upcoming election.

Politics aside, let’s discuss the provisions of the bill, and how it might affect asylum if it happens to become law. (more…)

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Breaking Down the 2023 Immigration Court Data

by Jason Dzubow

Data from the Executive Office for Immigration Review–the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Courts–is notoriously unreliable. Nevertheless, we have to use what’s available. In that spirit, let’s take a look at EOIR’s statistics for Fiscal Year 2023 (which cover the period from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023) and see what we can learn. (more…)

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Interpreting Asylum Interviews

by Jason Dzubow

During the height of the pandemic, the Asylum Offices provided interpreters for applicants. However, since September 2023, USCIS has required asylum applicants to bring their own interpreter to the interview. This can be a problem for some applicants, as interpreters can be expensive. Also, some interpreters are better than others, and a bad interpreter can make it more difficult to win your asylum case.

Today, we’ll discuss who can serve as an interpreter. We’ll also talk about how to work with an interpreter, and provide some tips for the interpreters themselves. (more…)

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