“It is not enough to just say ‘thank you,’” said John. “[The] work that you and your team did for us is beyond simple gratitude. Your help made my family happier, made us sure that tomorrow we will be safe and everything will be all right.” John and his wife fled Russia after he refused to serve in the Russian military and government officials threatened him. Eventually, they made it to the U.S.-Mexico border and sought asylum.

Attorney General Merrick Garland issued two precedent decisions in July 2021 vacating attorney general decisions issued during the Trump administration that had imposed procedural restrictions on immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals that affected both the fairness and timeliness of proceedings.

In this article, CLINIC analyzes the outcomes of these decisions, demonstrating the radical departure from past practice by the Trump-era immigration appellate bodies.

This chart provides a summary of BIA and circuit court case law regarding the crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) analysis for assault-related offenses.

The Board of Immigration Appeals issued a decision where it concluded that an asylum seeker’s willingness or reluctance to accept an offer for permanent residence does not negate a firm resettlement finding.

The Board of Immigration Appeals, issued calls for amicus briefs in two cases where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appealed immigration judges’ decisions to terminate cases, where the Notices to Appear did not specify the admission status of the respondents.

The Mercer Law School Immigration Appeals Clinic filed an amicus brief on CLINIC’s behalf on March 11, 2020. The amicus brief lays out how the particular social group of “Honduran transgender women” meets the three-prong test laid out in Matter of M-E-V-G-.

Update: After submission of this, and other amicus briefs, the Department of Homeland Security stipulated to remand the case to the immigration judge.

On Jan. 22, 2020, the Board of Immigration Appeals issued a decision in Matter of Angel MAYEN-Vinalay, 27 I&N Dec. 755 (BIA 2020) concerning requests for continuances by applicants for “collateral relief” pending with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services who are also in removal proceedings. In this decision, the BIA held that a noncitizen’s prima facie eligibility for U nonimmigrant status, and whether that relief will materially affect the outcome of proceedings, are not dispositive, particularly where there are relevant secondary factors that weigh against a continuance.

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recently held that immigration judges (IJs) have the authority to deny an application for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the exercise of discretion. Matter of D-A-C-, 27 I&N Dec. 575 (BIA 2019).

In response to the June 9, 2016 amicus invitation by the Board of Immigration Appeals on the definition of a minor for purposes of the asylum one-year filing deadline, CLINIC and Public Counsel submitted this briefing arguing that a minor should be defined as youth under 21.