Trump

# Asylum Seekers# Detention# Immigration

No Fly Zone

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard reports about ICE detaining asylum seekers and other non-citizens at airports during domestic travel. According to one DHS official, “ICE is now making between 20 and 40 arrests per day at airports nationwide.” That’s up from “fewer than 10 airport arrests per day in May 2025.” However, since we don’t have data on the number of undocumented or otherwise vulnerable people who travel by air, it is difficult to know the likelihood that any one person will be detained. Nevertheless, given the uptick in arrests, most attorneys–including me–recommend that asylum seekers and certain other non-citizens avoid domestic air travel.

Today, we’ll talk about which travelers face a risk of detention, and whether there is anything you can do to protect yourself.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# Immigration Court

Rumors of Asylum’s Death Have Been Greatly (Somewhat? Slightly?) Exaggerated

In a recent announcement, the White House stated that asylum grant rates have “collapsed” in Immigration Court. “Under President Trump,” the announcement continues, “asylum is now granted in just 7% of cases — a historic low, plummeting from over 50% rubber-stamped under Biden.” Is this the end of asylum as we know it? In the immortal words of that great Twentieth Century philosopher Monty Python: “I’m not quite dead.”

It is true that asylum grant rates have fallen significantly since President Trump took office, but the numbers don’t tell the whole story, and here we’ll look at what’s happening in Immigration Court and how the overall negative trend might apply to an individual asylum case.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# Legal# National Security

“Halting” Asylum and “Re-Examining” Previously-Approved Cases

After the terrible shooting incident last week where a CIA-trained Afghan national killed one member of the National Guard and critically injured another, President Trump declared that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries” and “remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country.” He also vowed to “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”

We do not yet have a full picture of how these words will be put into operation, but several government agencies have already announced new restrictions on asylum and on people from Afghanistan and other “banned” countries. Here, we’ll look at what has been said so far, and try to understand how the new policies will affect asylum seekers and asylees.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Immigration# Legal

Should I Stay or Should I Go? On the Morality of Working in Immigration Enforcement

The case of Adam Boyd, an ICE attorney who resigned for “moral” reasons has recently gotten some attention. Mr. Boyd noted that “We still need good attorneys at ICE. There are drug traffickers and national-security threats and human-rights violators in our country who need to be dealt with. But we are now focusing on numbers over all else.” In other words, Mr. Boyd felt he could no longer work for an agency that has shifted its focus from deporting criminals, to one that is focused largely on removing anyone they can get their hands on. 

Mr. Boyd’s situation exemplifies the dilemma faced by many federal employees whose jobs involve immigration enforcement–at ICE, DHS, DOJ, USCIS, and other agencies: is it possible to continue in the job and still be a moral person? During most of the first Trump Administration, I think the answer to this question was generally “yes.” This time around, I am not so sure.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Immigration# National Security

Targeting Pro-Palestinian Students (and Why That’s Bad for the Jews)

The Trump Administration has been targeting pro-Palestinian activists under an obscure provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which provides, “An alien whose presence or activities in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is deportable.” See INA § 237(a)(4)(C)(1). Under this section, Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, can basically designate any non-citizen for deportation.

Until recently, this provision was rarely used, but now, the Trump Administration seems intent on labeling hundreds of non-citizens–mostly students who have expressed opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza–as people whose presence in the U.S. has “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences,” thus rendering them deportable. 

Here, we’ll discuss INA § 237(a)(4)(C)(1) and some policy implications of its widespread use.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum# Asylum Seekers# Immigration

The Trump Administration’s Opening Salvos

For two-and-a-half months since the election and for what seems like years before that, we’ve been hearing from Donald Trump and his surrogates about how they would deport millions of people, block refugees, end birth-right citizenship, and implement a campaign of “shock and awe” against those in our country illegally. Earlier this week, Mr. Trump was finally sworn in, and his specific agenda is starting to take shape. In some ways, it is easier to deal with his actual policies than to wonder and worry about what he might do. Here, we’ll discuss some of the President’s initial executive orders and how they might affect asylum seekers and other non-citizens in the US of A.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# Immigration

Top Nine Reasons for Optimism in 2025

Yes, traditionally, these lists include ten items, I know. But these days, you need to take your good news where you can get it, and nine was the best I could muster.

Despite the incoming Administration’s promises of mass deportation, travel bans,  and general nastiness, there are some reasons to be hopeful in 2025. Well, maybe “hopeful” is too strong a word, but at least there are some reasons to not lose hope altogether. In any event, without further ado, here are nine reasons for optimism in the New Year: 

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# Immigration# National Security

Reading the Tea Leaves on Trump’s Mass Deportation Plan

One of President-elect Trump’s key campaign promises is the “mass deportation” of “illegals.” Now that Mr. Trump is preparing to assume the reins of power, there is understandable fear among immigrants and asylum seekers. What does the once-and-future President mean by “mass deportation”? Who will be affected? How will these plans be carried out?

The short answer is: We don’t know. Neither Mr. Trump nor his incoming staff has provided much detail about their plan. Here, we’ll review what we do know, and also take a look at the legal and logistical difficulties inherent in removing large numbers of people from the United States.   

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# Immigration

Getting Ready for the Trumpocalypse

Donald Trump will take the oath of office on January 20, 2025. Once he assumes power, he has promised wide-ranging changes to our country’s immigration system. These include mass detention and deportation, a return to the “Remain in Mexico” policy, ending parole programs and Temporary Protected Status, and a renewed travel ban (a/k/a the “Muslim ban”).

In the weeks before Mr. Trump takes charge, what should asylum seekers and immigrants be doing to get ready?

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# Immigration

Yesterday, Hate Won. Today, We Keep Going.

Today is a sad day. It is sad that hate, division, and lies have carried the day in our election. It is sad for our country, which has put its trust in one who is not worthy of that trust. It is sad for the free world, which has traditionally looked to us for leadership. It is sad for our government workers, who strive to serve their country faithfully, but whose efforts have been scorned by the electorate. It is a sad day for those of us who know and admire asylum seekers as some of the bravest, most hard working, and most patriotic people we know. And it is sad for asylum seekers themselves, who have fled persecution and honored our country by choosing to come to the United States, only to be met with falsehoods and hate. 

As I write these words, Mr. Trump’s victory has just been called. I have not had much time to absorb the news (though as a confirmed pessimist, I can’t say I was particularly surprised), but here I thought I’d share a few initial thoughts.

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By Jason Dzubow