It’s not easy these days to find good news in immigration world. Families torn apart, Constitutional protections under siege, humanitarian migrants sent to random third countries, work places raided, detention centers filled beyond capacity, &tc., &tc. It’s difficult to keep up with all the negative developments, but two decisions from earlier this month stand out–one from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and another from the U.S. Supreme Court. These decisions are particularly pernicious and will potentially harm millions of people.
BIA
On Appeal at the BIA
If you lose your case in Immigration Court, you can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). Conversely, if you win your case and the DHS attorney (the prosecutor) is unhappy with that outcome, DHS can appeal. Here, we’ll talk about what happens during an appeal to the BIA. Once the Immigration Judge (“IJ”) … Read more
The Unbearable Lightness of BIA-ing, Ten Year Anniversary Edition
Way back in 2010, I did a blog post about the Board of Immigration Appeals, where I complained that the Board issues too few decisions and does not provide enough guidance to Immigration Judges. Ten years later, things are no better. In fact, based on the available data, the Board is publishing even fewer decisions … Read more
BIA Defies Ninth Circuit: IJs Lack Jurisdiction to Review Asylum Termination
Earlier this month, the Ninth Circuit held that DHS does not have the authority to terminate an alien’s asylum status (I wrote about this here). The Court reasoned that although the regulations allow for DHS to terminate asylum, the statute (upon which the regulations are based) grants authority to terminate exclusively to the Attorney General … Read more
More from EOIR
I recently wrote about Chief Immigration Judge O’Leay’s comments at the AILA Conference. Another EOIR official who spoke was David Neal, the Acting Chairman of the BIA. Mr. Neal told us that the Board of Immigration Appeals receives about 3,000 new cases per month. This is slightly down from years past, and Mr. Neal speculates … Read more