Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
DD is a former client who is now my intern. She was granted Withholding of Removal about a year ago. The Immigration Judge in her case denied asylum because DD had failed to file her application within one year of arriving in the U.S. For many reasons, Withholding is not as good as asylum–you never get … Read more
The Amerasian Homecoming Act, which passed into law in December 1987 and went into effect a few months later, began with a photojournalist, a homeless boy in Vietnam, and four high school students in Long Island, New York. Twenty five years later, almost 100,000 people have immigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. as a result … Read more
Well, I’ve dissed immigration lawyers, asylum-seeker clients, and the BIA, so I might as well offer my criticism of Immigration Judges. Of course, this comes with the usual disclaimer: None of the IJs that I appear before have any of these annoying habits. But I have heard speak of such problems from other lawyers (terrible, … Read more
They say that truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to be believable. That is basically the premise that got Scott Rempell thinking about the lives and stories of asylum seekers, and which led to his new novel, Five Grounds: The idea to write an immigration novel that delves into the asylum process first … Read more
A recent article in the Sun Sentinel (Broward County, Florida) got me thinking about what it means to be a “tough” Immigration Judge. The article discusses Judge Rex. J. Ford, who will be celebrating (if that is the right word) 20 years on the bench this April. According to the Sun Sentinel, “In 96 percent … Read more
Until recently, if you were granted asylum in the United States, you could call the National Asylee Information and Referral Line, a toll-free number, where you could speak to someone about benefits potentially available to you (such as food stamps, Pell Grants, medical assistance, etc.). For people granted asylum through the Asylum Offices, the toll-free … Read more
According to a new report released by USCIS, asylum applicants are “highly satisfied” with the service they receive at the nation’s various Asylum Offices. Asylum seekers who appeared for interviews at the different Asylum Offices answered the written survey. A total of 933 responses were collected from September 2011 through March 2012. Surveys were collected … Read more
The New York Times reports a major bust involving lawyers, paralegals, and even a church official who were allegedly helping Chinese nationals file fraudulent asylum cases. The Times reports that 26 people, including six attorneys, were arrested in Chinatown and Flushing, Queens. They are accused of an elaborate scheme to help Chinese immigrants invent stories … Read more
Every attorney who regularly represents immigrants and asylum seekers is familiar with Matter of Lozada. In short, Lozada states that to reopen an immigration case where the previous attorney was constitutionally ineffective, the alien must file a bar complaint against that attorney. Despite some intervening decisions, Lozada is still the controlling law. As a result, … Read more
If you’re reading this on a PC, there’s a good chance that your anti-virus protection is based on a program designed by John McAfee. Mr. McAfee, 67, was a pioneer of anti-virus software, and the company that bears his name is today one of the largest anti-virus companies in the world. At one time, his … Read more