Mormon Women for Ethical Government hosted a Town Hall on July 7 to update members on asylum and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) changes in U.S. immigration law.
Panelist Nefi Oliva, president of the Immigration Law Forum at Brigham Young University, explained that recently proposed changes to immigration regulations are a codification of the recent practices of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security, and the immigration courts.
The purpose of the regulations and policies under President Trump seems to be cruelty and to make it harder and harder to get into the U.S., said Kif Augustine-Adams, professor of law at Brigham Young University Law School, who was also on the panel. She said the biggest factor in obtaining asylum status is the immigration judge. The chart she compiled shows high variation in acceptance rates, from 10% to about 60%. Approval of an asylum application is dependent on the judge’s discretion, with very little oversight.
Some of the changes that are of concern:
1. The administration has redefined “persecution” as an extreme concept of a severe level of harm. This would not necessarily include every instance of harm arising from civil, criminal, or military strife in the home country. That sets a much higher bar for proof of eligibility.
2. A well-founded fear of being conscripted, persecuted, or tortured by gangs and terrorists is no longer a basis for asylum.
3. Immigration judges are permitted to deny an application that they believe doesn’t demonstrate eligibility — without a hearing.
4. There are no longer protections for individuals subject to domestic violence or LBGTQ+ people fleeing persecution.
5. Judges are required to weigh adverse factors against the person seeking asylum, including traveling through another country to reach the U.S., living in the U.S. undocumented for over a year, and criminal convictions that have been vacated/expunged.
6. DHS officers can rule that an application is “frivolous,” something only immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals could do before. A finding of “frivolous” bars the applicant from obtaining U.S. immigration benefits for the rest of her or his life.
7. Asylum is denied to young people who face forced conscription by terrorists or gangs. Adults who fear being persecuted by gangs and terrorists are also not eligible.
8. Persons who fear being tortured or were tortured by police or members of the military who are deemed “rogue” officials acting “not under color of law” are no longer protected by the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In other words, as long as the torture or threat of harm isn’t a law or policy, the violator is considered acting on his or her own volition.
The administration backed down on the proposed rule that foreign students must leave the country if their school went to 100% online classes in the face of COVID-19. These students are allowed to stay per the original executive order given last spring.
That leaves two remaining urgent immigration calls to action — DACA and family separation. For DACA, Congress needs to be urged to protect it from President Trump’s next attempt to terminate it.
Family separation is a border issue that doesn’t go away despite court rulings that it must. Legislation is the only way — and it must become a high priority issue in Congress.
Find both of these calls to action, along with letter templates and other ideas, on the Mormon Women for Ethical government website under Shoulder to Shoulder.
Next steps:
Watch the entire Town Hall here.
Visit the Shoulder to Shoulder Calls to Action page, then write letters and call your representatives.
Work to protect the vote.
Vote.
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