As the situation for immigrants continues to deteriorate, it is important to be prepared in the event that you are detained or deported. What do you do about your children and other vulnerable family ...

Immigrants in America need more help now than ever. The Trump Administration has launched a broad-based assault against them, targeting the most vulnerable through arbitrary detention, procedural barr...

I was struck by a recent article in Christianity Today, The Trump-Era Laughter at Immigrant Suffering Is Deforming Our Souls, by Russell Moore. The article discusses the “funny” memes, songs, and joke...

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) plans to revoke up to 200,000 visitor visas for people who came to the United States and then applied for asylum. The move is largely symbolic, since the whole point...

When asylum seekers are permitted to present their applications for protection in the United States, their cases are often granted. That’s because the asylum law–as created by Congress–is fairly gener...

Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill created a filing fee for asylum and an annual fee that asylum seekers must pay each year their application is pending. Unfortunately, the roll out of the fee paym...

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 maki…

Earlier this week, a new rule went into effect, which permits the Asylum Office to send certain affirmative asylum applicants to Immigration Court without an interview. The purported justification …

During the past year, immigration lawyers and non-profits have reported a sharp increase in scams targeting non-citizens. From the scammers’ perspective, there is a sad logic to this: It is e…

In the waning days of the Biden Administration, DHS extended Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Venezuelans until October 2026. Last week, the Trump Administration rescinded that de…

The Trump Administration has been using all the tools in its vast toolkit to make life more difficult for immigrants. Their newest machination is the “mega” Master Calendar Hearing in I…

I recently appeared in court before a newly-appointed Immigration Judge. Unlike some of the new hires, this IJ had prior government experience in the immigration arena. He also previously served as…

In a recent announcement, the White House stated that asylum grant rates have “collapsed” in Immigration Court. “Under President Trump,” the announcement continues, “a…

Last week, USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum stating that adjustment of status (i.e., obtaining a Green Card inside the United States) is an “extraordinary” form of relief and is only av…

A few months ago, the Trump Administration instituted two travel bans, blocking nationals of 39 countries from coming to the United States. The bans explicitly stated that they would not apply to “…

The American Immigration Council (AIC) has a new web page that collects and organizes statistical information from USCIS. The data spans the period from FY2016 through FY2025 (October 2015 through …

A new report from the Cato Institute found that USCIS under the Trump Administration has slashed overall Green Card processing by about 50%. Certain categories of Green Card applicants–includ…

Recently, we’ve been seeing some unusual questions during asylum interviews. Applicants are being asked about their views of America and of Jewish people. They are asked about their finances …

One quiet trend that has recently come to light is a new practice at the Asylum Office to dismiss affirmative applications without processing them. The asylum seekers are then subject to “exp…

This post is by Ben Harville, an immigration attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His practice includes family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, asylum, humanitarian relief, citizenship…

Lawrence “Larry” Burman served as an Immigration Judge from 1998 until his recent retirement at the end of 2025. The Asylumist caught up with Judge Burman to discuss his career, the changes he’s wi…

The BIA was meant to be the “Supreme Court of immigration,” reviewing decisions by Immigration Judges and USCIS, interpreting the law, and setting precedents. It never quite worked out that way, as…

Recent data reveals that increasing numbers of asylum seekers are failing to appear for their Immigration Court hearings and effectively abandoning their applications to remain in the United States…

Earlier this month, USCIS announced the commencement of Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) in Minnesota with plans to later expand across the count…

This post is by Mikhail Sebastian Okunuga, a coffee connoisseur, world traveler, writer, and memoirist whose work explores statelessness, exile, and the quiet resilience of survival. Drawing from y…

Last week, an ICE agent in Minneapolis fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three. Ms. Good was in her vehicle protesting an ICE enforcement action in her city. Most people who hav…

A recent Board of Immigration Appeals case highlights the Trump Administration’s latest tactic for blocking asylum seekers from protection in the United States. In Matter of C-I-G-M- & L-…

Who am I to know The Secret to Happiness, you ask. Mankind has struggled with this question for eons, yet here I am, purporting to know The Answer. What kind of pretentious jerk would make such a c…

I recently met with the family of a man from El Salvador who we’ll call Jorge. Jorge was detained by ICE and is facing imminent deportation. He has been in the United States for more than 10 …

In the aftermath of an Afghan asylum seeker’s attack on members of the National Guard, the Trump Administration began a wide-ranging crackdown on non-citizens from Afghanistan and other &#822…

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 &#8…

Last summer, the Trump Administration implemented a travel ban to block or restrict nationals from certain countries from entering the United States. The ban was justified based on “national …

Perhaps you’ve heard about the Trump Administration’s plan to appoint 600 Temporary Immigration Judges to help address the 3.5-million case backlog in Immigration Court. As far as we kn…

Asylum seekers are eligible for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) while their application is pending. Although EADs are issued for 5 years, most applicants need to renew their employment a…

Last time, we discussed how standards of evidence have become more challenging under the Trump Administration. Here, we’ll talk about some other ways the government is trying to prevent appli…

Since the advent of the Trump Administration, it has been getting more and more difficult to win asylum. Decision-makers in court and at the Asylum Office are more suspicious of fraud, have higher …

The Roman Emperor Caligula had a habit of frequently changing statutes and penalties during his reign. When people complained that they needed to know the law in order to avoid the punishments, Cal…

Last week, a 29-year-old man opened fire on an ICE facility in Dallas, Texas. One detained migrant was killed and two others were injured. The shooter died of a self-inflicted wound. DHS quickly co…

It’s not easy these days to find good news in immigration world. Families torn apart, Constitutional protections under siege, humanitarian migrants sent to random third countries, work places…

By now, you’ve probably heard that USCIS and EOIR (the Executive Office for Immigration Review – the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Courts) have dramatically increa…

A new final rule from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the office that oversees our nation’s Immigration Court system, has substantially relaxed the requirements for servin…

A new memo from USCIS states that anti-American and antisemitic ideologies are a basis to deny most types of immigration applications, including asylum. The meaning of these terms is vague (at best…

For me, the worst part about the Trump Administration’s immigration policies is not that they are detaining and deporting more people, or that they are changing the rules to make immigration …