Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
One of my professional goals in life is to get a published decision from the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). It won’t be easy–the Board publishes only about one case out of every 1,000 (I wrote about this problem in a blog post called, The Unbearable Lightness of BIA-ing). If the Board could publish more cases, it would … Read more
A recent BIA decision addresses the issue of firm resettlement. See Matter D-X- & Y-Z-, 25 I&N Dec. 664 (BIA 2012). If an alien is firmly resettled in a third country, she is not eligible for political asylum in the United States. Last year, in a case called Matter of A-G-G-, 25 I&N Dec. 486, … Read more
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) an alien who is “firmly resettled” in a third country is ineligible for asylum in the United States. See INA § 208(b)(2)(A)(vi); see also 8 C.F.R. § 1208.15. It’s been more than 20 years since the BIA issued an opinion on firm resettlement, and during that period, the various … Read more