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This newsletter is for people interested in protecting asylum -seekers and refugees in the United States. HRF has been advocating for refugees for two decades, and helping thousands to obtain asylum in the United States. Latest Issues  Attorney General Remands Case of Victim of Domestic Violence to the Board of Immigration Appeals Congress Holds EOIR Oversight Hearing Asylum Denied More Often by Politically Vetted Judges; DOJ Failure to Increase Number of Judges HRF and Others File Amicus Brief in Supreme Court Case Congressional Committee Hears Testimony on Medical Care in Immigrant Detention Medical Care Deficient in U.S. Detention Book Details Struggles in U.S. Asylum System Wave of Denials to Stop Refugee Crisis In Iraq Act Signed By President Bush Material Support Waiver Legislation Amicus Briefs Submitted to Supreme Court on Serious Crimes Bar Update: Detention - ICE Issues new Guidance on Parole of Asylum Seekers Material Support: Hmong and Montagnard Waivers Update: Material Support Settlement Announced in Hutto Litigation GAO Finds Lack of Phone Access for Detainees Iraqi Refugee Crisis New Study Reveals Disparities in Asylum Decisions Child Soldiers and Material Support Iraqi Refugees Face Hurdles in Search for Refuge Commission Issues "Report Card" on Asylum Reforms Material Support Update: Progress for Some Asylum Seekers; Process Still Unknown 
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Asylum News 61 January 2008 Material Support Waiver Legislation On December 26, 2007, President Bush signed into law an appropriations bill that included a provision expanding the discretionary authority of the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security to exempt certain persons and groups from the application of the immigration law's "terrorism"-related provisions. This amendment also removes a limited list of named organizations from the immigration law's definition of a "terrorist organization." While the overly broad immigration law definitions that have mislabeled many refugees and asylum seekers as supporters of "terrorist organizations" or as having engaged in "terrorist activity" have not been rectified by the legislation, the expanded use of waivers - if properly implemented - should help address the protection needs of many refugees. To read the appropriations bill provision, click here. On January 7, 2008 the ACLU of Southern California, the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project and the Stanford Law School Immigrants' Rights Clinic presented arguments in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on two cases involving the prolonged indefinite detention of immigrants - including asylum seekers. The organizations filed lawsuits with the Federal Circuit Court in November 2006 after four immigrant men had been detained indefinitely without a bond hearing to determine their eligibility for parole while awaiting the resolution of their immigration proceedings. For more information, click here.
Priority Resettlement for Family Members In December 2007, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration issued information confirming that Iraqi beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions (known as I-130 petitions) had been designated for direct access to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The new P-2 priority category will allow these Iraqi beneficiaries to apply directly for US resettlement, rather than requiring the extra step of a referral from UNHCR. For more information click here. Resettlement Interviews Resume in Syria After several months of suspended interviews last year, DHS refugee officers have been extended visas to allow them to conduct refugee resettlement interviews in Syria again. The announcement of the visas followed a trip to Damascus by senior U.S. Coordinator for Iraqi Refugees James Foley in October. DHS officers began conducting some interviews in late 2007 in Damascus, and were expected to resume interviews again in mid to late January. |
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