USCIS and EOIR further delayed until December 31, 2021, the effective date of the final rule “Security Bars and Processing,” originally published on December 23, 2020. Public comment is also sought on whether the rule should be revised or revoked, with comments due April 21, 2021.
Posted on July 1, 2019 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
The Fourth Circuit vacated the denial of the petitioner’s asylum and withholding of removal claims, reversed the BIA’s determination that the petitioner had failed to establish the required nexus between her persecution and her proposed protected statuses—that is, her membership in the particular social group of unmarried mothers living under the control of gangs in Honduras and her imputed political opinion—and remanded.
Posted on August 7, 2018 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
Denying the petition to review the BIA’s reversal of the immigration judge’s grant of withholding of removal, the Eighth Circuit upheld the BIA’s finding that “former taxi drivers from Quezaltepeque who have witnessed a gang murder” was not socially distinct and thus could not qualify as a “particular social group.”
Posted on January 31, 2018 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
In Garcia-Moctezuma v. Sessions, the Eighth Circuit denied the petition for review of the denial of withholding of removal and protection under the Convention Against Torture, holding that substantial evidence supported the finding that the petitioner, a follower of the deity Santa Muerte, failed to establish either a sufficient nexus between his faith and his mistreatment in Mexico or a likelihood of torture if removed to Mexico.
Posted on August 16, 2016 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
The Second Circuit affirmed the district court, finding that a reinstated removal order is not final during the pendency of withholding-only proceedings, and thus, the detention of individuals with reinstated orders of removal and in withholding-only proceedings is governed by INA §236(a), which permits release on bond.
Posted on March 21, 2016 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
The Seventh Circuit granted the petition for review and remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeal (BIA), finding that the Immigration Judge and the BIA erred in holding that the Mexican petitioner, who had been tortured by Mexican police at the behest of the Zetas drug cartel because of an unpaid drug debt and had informed against the cartel to the FBI and the DEA, was not entitled to deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
Posted on March 21, 2016 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
The Sixth Circuit denied the petition for review of the application for withholding of removal, holding that the Mexican petitioner’s proposed social group—”persons who are perceived to have money or access to money due to having spent a significant amount of time in and having familial ties to the United States”—was not cognizable under the INA.
Posted on February 1, 2016 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
The Fourth Circuit upheld the BIA and the IJ’s determination that the petitioner’s aggravated felony conviction for a drug trafficking crime, for which the petitioner received a sentence of five years’ imprisonment, was per se a particularly serious crime under INA §241(b)(3)(B). The court thus found that the petitioner was ineligible for withholding of removal.
Posted on January 6, 2012 by Brian D. Lerner, Immigration Lawyer & Deportation Attorney
The Board found that the respondent’s conviction for possession of child pornography was a particularly serious crime based on the nature and specific facts of the offense, making him ineligible for withholding of removal.
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