The Trump administration issued the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak” on April 22, 2020. Please see CLINIC’s summary here. Many clients who hear the news will reach out to you with calls and emails, feeling anxious and afraid. In order to ease their panic and anxiety over this proclamation, you will want to think about how to respond proactively to your clients.

• It is important to keep up-to-date with the news and fast-changing guidelines so that you can advise your clients and successfully handle their pending cases. Please make sure that you are tuned into CLINIC’s Immigration Related Decisions and Agency Memos. If you have any doubts about how your case may or may not be affected by this proclamation, you can always get in touch with CLINIC’s experts here.
• Communicate with all your clients and set the record straight by alerting them on what kinds of cases are impacted and what cases are exempt under the proclamation. You can use your website, social media, a newsletter, case management portal, email, or any other methods to update and educate clients on these changes. Even if you do not have all the facts, let your clients know that you are aware of the presidential proclamation, and you are working to get the details.
• Review your caseload and identify clients who are most likely to be severely impacted in the short term and prioritize these cases. Petitioners undoubtedly are hearing concerning messages from their relatives abroad who are facing this suspension. You will want to use videoconferencing or other remote communication tools to reach out to these vulnerable clients and discuss their concerns.
• Educate your staff on the facts of this proclamation so they can also speak knowledgeably with clients. There may be many phone calls coming in with questions and concerns. If you do not have enough staff to handle the volume, you may think about directing clients to your website announcement page via a pre-recorded voicemail message or automatic email reply.