New from the Center for Immigration Studies, 9/21/20

Commentary Kamala's Amnesty And Republicans handed it to her. By Mark Krikorian National Review, September 18, 2020 Excerpt: Late last year, the Republican Senate approved, and President Trump signed into law, the means for a future Democratic president to grant unilateral amnesty to virtually the entire illegal population — and get away with it. It's called "parole in place." As my colleague Andrew Arthur explained last year, parole in place is a tool concocted by the Obama administration, based on legal contortions by the general counsel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service during the Clinton administration. As such, it had no basis in law. Featured Posts BIA Decision Will Streamline Asylum Application Process By Andrew R. Arthur On August 31, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissed an appeal filed by an alien ordered removed after he failed to file an asylum application within a deadline set by an immigration judge (IJ). The BIA also found that the proceedings, which were held via video teleconference (VTC) did not deprive the alien of his due-process rights. That decision will streamline the asylum application process by setting a precedent that court-ordered deadlines must be met, but it also delineates a series of safeguards to ensure alien respondents' rights are protected in the process. A Ninth Circuit Panel Says that Sometimes 'Temporary' May in Fact Mean Temporary By Dan Cadman Is a president forever and always obliged to hew to the course (and live by the mistakes) of his predecessors? While the instant matter may involve immigration, that's really what's at stake. This, too, was the heart of the DACA controversy that the highest court so recently flubbed.   Maryland Gang Murder Suspects Were Shielded From ICE by Locals: 'This is the worst-case scenario when detainers are not honored' By Marguerite Telford ICE announced that it has issued detainers on three of five MS-13 gang members now in custody in Baltimore County, Md., after their arrest for the murder of a 16-year old Long Island girl, whose body was found in a wooded area in Cockeysville, Md. Two of the gang members flagged by ICE were previously in the custody of authorities after local arrests, but were released, and in one case this was due to a local sanctuary policy. EB-5 Investor-Visa Violations in Vermont Draw Further Substantial Punishments By David North The most recent example of the enforcement rigor is written into the plea agreement that Miami developer Ariel Quiros signed with the U.S. attorney's office last month. Quiros, 64, pleaded guilty to three federal charges in return for a promise from the feds that they would not seek more than 97 months (eight years and one month) in prison for him. More Blog Posts  If Diversity Is Good, Why Not Extend It to the H-1B Program? New Data Continue to Show the Decline and Fall of EB-5 Ninth Circuit Issues Class-Action Detainer Opinion: Sweeping order, with stinging dissent New Jersey Firm Slapped on the Wrist for Cheating H-1B Workers ICE Resists Politicization of Deportations, Returns Planeload of Somali Citizens Unraveling and Decoding WaPo ICE 'Church Arrest' Story: Alien under a final order of removal for 15 years — no wonder there are almost 600,000 absconders Donate

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Daily Digest Bulletin

USCIS to Provide Contract Interpreters for Asylum Interviews - Temporary Rule to Help Reduce Spread of COVID-19 09/22/2020 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a temporary final rule to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) by using government-contracted telephonic interpreters for affirmative asylum interviews at no cost to the applicant. This temporary final rule changes for the next 180 days the requirement that asylum applicants who do not speak English must bring an interpreter to their affirmative asylum interview. Under the modified regulation, USCIS will temporarily require applicants to proceed with a USCIS contract interpreter, provided the applicant is fluent in one of the 47 different languages available. The government-contracted interpreters will be provided at no cost to asylum applicants. The interpreters are carefully vetted and tested and must pass rigorous background checks as well as meet a high standard of competency. The contract interpreters already regularly serve as interpreters for border screening interviews and act as interpreter monitors or occasionally serve as the primary interpreter during affirmative asylum interviews.  Asylum applicants who are unable to proceed with the interview in English or any of the available languages listed must continue to provide their own interpreter. The temporary rule will amend existing Department of Homeland Security regulations for 180 days and goes into effect on Sept. 23. On March 23, 2021, asylum applicants unable to proceed with the interview in English will again be required to provide their own interpreter.  For more information, read the temporary final rule published in the Federal Register on Sept. 23. For more information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and LinkedIn (/uscis). Please do not reply to this message.  See our Contact Us page for phone numbers and e-mail addresses.