Court of Appeals Rules on Gender Based Asylum Claim
The Los Angeles Times reported today that a three judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit granted Ms. Lesly Perdomo’s petition for review and ordered that her case be remanded to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to consider whether Guatemalan women constitute a “particular social group” and as such, be eligible for political asylum. The court also ordered [...]
ABA Calls on Congress to Reform our Nation’s Immigration Courts
The New York Times reported today that the American Bar Association (ABA)called on Congress to overhaul the current Immigration Court system and create a new, independent court in light of pleas from immigration judges and lawyers who say the Immigration Courts across the country are overwhelmed under an increasing caseload.
According to the article, Congress has debated overhauling the immigration laws to legalize status to millions of illegal immigrants for the past [...]
BIA Clarifies that Conviction for Alien Smuggling Not Necessary to Establish Deportability
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled recently and as a result clarified in the case of Matter of Martinez-Serrano, 25 I&N Dec. 151 (BIA 2009) that a conviction for Alien Smuggling is not necessary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to charge a foreign national with a ground of deportability under section 237(a)(1)(E)(i) – (Alien [...]
BIA Clarifies Definition of Step-Child for Immigration Purposes
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled yesterday in Matter of Portillo-Gutierrez, 25 I&N, Dec. 148 (BIA 2009) that a step-child who meets the definition of a child under the immigration laws, is a qualifying relative for establishing exceptional and extremely unusual hardship for the purposes of cancellation of removal as a defense from deportation.
The Immigration Judge who heard Mr. Portillo-Gutierrez’s [...]
BIA Rules that Rollback Provision Applies
The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) ruled earlier this week in Matter of Carrillo, 25 I&N Dec. 99 BIA (2009), that in determining whether an alien whose status was adjusted to lawful permanent residence pursuant to Section 1 of the Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA), is deportable as an alien who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within [...]
