Let’s take a break from the doom and gloom associated with the President’s ongoing effort to subvert our democracy and look at something a bit more cheery–A new edition of the book My Trials: Inside America’s Deportation Factories by Paul Grussendorf. Judge Grussendorf’s 35-year career has spanned the gamut in the asylum law field: Immigration attorney, clinical professor, Immigration Judge, Supervisory Asylum Officer, Refugee Officer. His book, styled a “legal memoir,” discusses his time as…

Joe Biden has won the popular vote and the majority of the electoral college vote. Whether he will be sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, however, remains to be seen. In yet another break with precedent and an attack on our democracy, President Trump has refused to concede and claims that the election was plagued by widespread fraud. He made the same claim in 2016, and even created a commission,…

As I write, we still have no decision, and the election rests on the edge of knife. Perhaps Joe Biden will manage to pull out a win, but I am personally feeling deeply pessimistic. Once again Donald Trump has proved the pollsters wrong and he and his fellow Republicans have exceeded expectations. There will be time later to ask “What Happened?” (as Hillary Clinton did after the 2016 election), but here I want to reflect…

Next week is the election (in case you haven’t heard) and hopefully soon after, we will have a result. Whether the victor is Joe Biden or Donald Trump, immigration advocates have their work cut out for them. If Mr. Trump wins a second term, it won’t be because he won the popular vote. It’s clear that more Americans will vote for his opponent (as they did in 2016). However, our system awards electoral votes by…

In the ongoing saga of the Trump Administration’s efforts to dismantle our humanitarian immigration law, the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security published a new rule imposing mandatory bars that prevent “convicted felons, drunk drivers, gang members, and other criminal aliens from receiving asylum.” The Trump Administration has not changed the law related to asylum–that would take an act of Congress signed by the President–and even when they controlled the Senate and the House in…

In order to win an asylum case, you have to prove that there is a reasonably possibility you will face harm in your home country. To do this, you need evidence. Evidence about any past harm, evidence of threats against you, evidence of country conditions, etc. One piece of evidence that can be helpful is a report from an expert witness. Here, we’ll discuss the different types of expert reports and how they can…

In order to “amplify” the President’s tough-on-immigrants campaign message and win votes, the Trump Administration is planning on conducting a series of ICE raids in “sanctuary” jurisdictions, such as California, Denver, and Philadelphia. What should you do if ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) comes looking for you? Or if you get caught up in a raid? Before we answer those questions, I want to note that people who have pending asylum cases, or who have…