Trump Administration Starts Sending Certain Asylum Seekers to Guatemala

Asylum Seekers Sent to Guatemala by Trump Administration
Dec10

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. It often seems that there is no limit to the policies that the Trump administration will propose to limit immigration to the United States.  Not only does the Trump administration implement its anti-immigration policies in the United States, but it also works with other countries to restrict immigration to the United States.  As an example of the Trump administration using other countries to help implement its anti-immigration policies, pursuant to an “Asylum Cooperative Agreement” signed by the United States and Guatemala, on November 19, the Trump administration started sending certain asylum

December 10, 2019
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Federal court Bars ICE From Issuing Certain Detainers Based on Deficient Electronic Databases

Oct28

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. In making arguments about immigration, it is often said (by both pro-immigration and anti-immigration advocates) that the immigration system is broken.  Apparently, this statement may be literally true. A recent case highlights this issue, as a Federal court has barred U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from issuing certain detainers (arrest requests) based on deficient electronic databases. ICE’s “Secure Communities” program is believed to be responsible for 70% of all ICE arrests.  A significant portion of those arrests arises from detainers issued solely on the basis of electronic databases.  In

October 28, 2019
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Federal Court Blocks Trump Administration’s expanded “Expedited Removal” Deportation Policy

Federal Court Blocks “Expedited Removal” Deportation Policy
Oct25

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. While Congress (or at least the House of Representatives) is perhaps now showing some opposition to President Trump on the issue of impeachment, Congress has not been able to block the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration.  Instead, it has been the judicial branch of government, rather than the legislative branch of government, which has been more effective in opposing the Trump administration on the issue of immigration. As another example of the judiciary ruling against an immigration policy of the Trump administration, on September 27, 2019, a Federal court blocked

October 25, 2019
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Supreme Court Grants Stay of Injunction Allowing Trump Administration’s New Asylum Restrictions to Take Effect

Trump Administration’s New Asylum Restrictions Take Effect
Oct16

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. While the Federal judiciary has generally been the principal obstacle to the anti-immigration efforts of the Trump administration, the Supreme Court has sometimes overruled lower Federal courts and upheld the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration.  For example, the Supreme Court has upheld the “Trump travel ban” and allowed the use of Department of Defense funds to build the United States-Mexico border wall. As another example of the Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Trump administration on an immigration issue, on September 11, the Supreme Court granted a stay

October 16, 2019
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District Court Judge Reinstates Nationwide Injunction Blocking Trump Administration’s New Asylum Restrictions

Trumps Asylum Restrictions Blocked by Nationwide Injunction
Oct11

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. The U.S. federal governmental system is based on 3 branches of government – the executive (the President), the legislative (the Congress), and the judicial (the federal courts).  On immigration issues, during the Trump administration, with Congress taking little action, it generally has been the executive branch (President Trump) vs. the judicial branch (federal judges).  This “executive vs. judicial” battle has arisen on the issue of asylum, with the latest development being that a District Court judge has reinstated a nationwide injunction blocking the Trump administration’s new asylum restrictions. On July

October 11, 2019
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Top U.S. Asylum Official Reassigned As Part Of Trump Administration’s Anti-Asylum Policies

U.S. Asylum Official Reassigned As Part Of Trump Policies
Oct09

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. Asylum has been a basic feature of the U.S. immigration system for immigrants seeking humanitarian refuge in the United States.  Asylum has been under attack by the Trump administration, including President Trump’s comment in a speech that “[t]he asylum program is a scam”.   As further evidence of this attack on asylum, the top U.S. asylum official has been reassigned as part of the Trump administration’s anti-asylum policies. According to an email sent to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) staff on September 4, John Lafferty, who had been

October 9, 2019
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Federal Courts Issue Different Rulings on Trump Administration’s Effort to Significantly Restrict Asylum Protection

Trump Efforts to Restrict Asylum Protection Significantly
Sep24

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. The Federal judiciary has frequently been relied on to block the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration.  However, as with any litigation, there is no guarantee as to how any Federal judge will rule on any specific immigration law issue.  This point was made abundantly clear on July 24 when 2 Federal courts issued different rulings on the Trump administration’s effort to significantly restrict asylum protection for migrants. These 2 cases involved lawsuits against the new rule of the Trump administration (published in the Federal Register to be effective July

September 24, 2019
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New Study Shows ICE is Not Targeting Serious Criminals

New Study Shows ICE is Not Targeting Serious Criminals
Sep22

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. In defending his immigration policies, President Trump often argues that his purpose is to deport “criminals” (“bad hombres”) from the United States.  Notwithstanding this rhetoric, a new study reveals a different result. The study, from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), released on July 19, shows that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is in fact not targeting serious criminals. The TRAC study states that “the latest data from the Immigration Courts through June 2019 shows only 2.8 percent of recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

September 22, 2019
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Trump Administration Announces New Rule To Significantly Restrict Asylum Protection For Most Central American Migrants

Restrict Asylum Protection For Central American Migrants
Sep21

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. The Trump administration has taken various actions to restrict the inflow of immigrants from Central America at the U.S. southern border.  Many of these immigrants assert asylum claims to attempt to enter the United States. In probably its most forceful action to limit immigration from Central America, on July 15, the Trump administration announced a new rule to significantly restrict asylum protection for most Central American migrants. Specifically, under the new rule (published in the Federal Register to be effective July 16), subject to 3 limited exceptions, asylum seekers who

September 21, 2019
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President Trump Presents New Immigration Plan

President Trump Immigration Plan "comprehensive immigration"
Jun14

Written by: Taher Kameli, Esq. For most of the last 20 years, politicians in the United States have discussed the concept of “comprehensive immigration reform” – what most people think of as the adoption of a complete overhaul of the US immigration system, dealing with all of increased border security, illegal immigrants already in the country, future legal immigration rules, and other immigration law-related matters, all in 1 sweeping piece of legislation.  The fact that this issue is still being discussed in year 2019 evidences that no “comprehensive immigration reform” legislation has yet been

June 14, 2019
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