Last week, the United States District Court Northern District of California GRANTED a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) that prevents the Trump Administration from implementing and enforcing a rule that purports to create new categories that would bar individuals from being eligible for asylum.

Last month, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security jointly issued a final rule: Procedures for Asylum and Bars to Asylum Eligibility, 85 Fed. Reg. 67202 (Oct. 21, 2020)expanding a list of crimes that disqualify asylum applicants.

Congress has already written a long list of crimes that render one, if convicted, ineligible for asylum—drug trafficking, sex trafficking, money laundering, counterfeiting, and many more. The Final Rule adds new crimes to that list.

The federal court ruled in the TRO that the Final Rule sweeps too broadly. In doing so, it both contradicts Congress’s intent and exceeds the authority Congress gave to the executive agencies. It does so without sufficient explanation from the agencies for their reasoning and without adequate notice and opportunity for the public to comment.

The Court GRANTED plaintiffs’ motion for a TRO enjoining defendants from implementing and enforcing the Rule.

The Department of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Travel Restrictions Applicable to Land Ports of Entry and Ferries Service along the United States- Mexico and the United States-Canada borders. Such travel will be limited to “essential travel”. DATES: These restrictions go into effect at 12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on November 22, 2020 and will remain in effect until 11:59 p.m. EST on December 21, 2020.

Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York ruled Saturday, that Chad Wolf was not legally serving as the acting secretary of homeland security when he issued a memo in July that stopped new applicants to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Judge Garaufis said Wolf’s appointment violated the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Hence Wolf’s memo is invalid.

Wolf has been serving as acting homeland security secretary since November 2019; he has not been confirmed by the Senate. The last homeland security secretary to be confirmed by the Senate was Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned in April 2019. In August 2020, Trump said he would nominate Wolf to the official job.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt in 2017 to cancel DACA, saying the administration’s reasoning was ” arbitrary and capricious.” In July 2020, a federal court in Maryland told the administration to start accepting new applicants.

Instead, Wolf issued a memo on July 28, 2020 that, Judge Garaufis wrote, “effectively suspended DACA” pending a Department of Homeland Security review. Wolf’s memo said the administration would reject new applicants. It also said the administration would renew protections for immigrants who already have them, but for just one year, instead of two years, which was the previous policy.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on November 13, 2020 plans to implement a revised version of the naturalization civics test.

The civics test is one of the statutory requirements for naturalizing and is administered to applicants who apply for U.S. citizenship. The revised version of test includes more questions that test the applicant’s understanding of U.S. history and civics. The new civics test will not change the passing score, which will remain at 60% but candidates must answer 12 questions correctly, out of 20 in order to pass. Naturalization applicants who are 65 years old or older and have at least 20 years of lawful permanent resident status will be asked 10 questions and must answer a minimum of six questions correctly in order to pass.

Applicants who apply for naturalization on or after Dec. 1, 2020, will take the updated version of the test. Those who apply before Dec. 1, 2020, will take the current version of the test.

The test items and study guides can be found on the Citizenship Resource Center on the USCIS website. USCIS has also updated the USCIS Policy Manual (PDF, 323.82 KB) accordingly; see Volume 12, Part E, English and Civics Testing and Exceptions, Chapter 2, English and Civics Testing.

We want to take a moment to express our gratitude to all the veterans and active military personnel that have chosen to serve on our behalf in the U. S. Armed Services. We would also like to remember all the courageous men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice while defending our country, freedom, and democracy.

We thank you for your service and for entrusting your home and loved ones to our legal team at the Law Offices of Adan G. Vega & Associates, PLLC.

The U.S. Court of Appeals of the 7th circuit issued a stay on November 3, 2020 authorizing the USCIS public charge rules to be reinstated while the matter is on appeal.

On November 3, 2020, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government should be able to continue applying the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public charge rule, just one day after a federal district court had vacated the rule. This means U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may continue to apply the new rule, including requiring submission of Form I-944.

The Department of State is still blocked (since July 29, 2020) from applying the new public charge rule in cases decided at consulates and embassies

Beginning 11/2/20, asylum offices will no longer accept the filing of Form I-589s that previously were filed directly with a local asylum office. These forms must be filed with the Asylum Vetting Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

The address is as follows:

USCIS Asylum Vetting Center
P.O. Box 57100
Atlanta, GA 30308-0506

The National Vetting Center in Atlanta, Georgia will allow for the initiation of certain security checks from a central location, rather than at individual asylum offices. USCIS will ultimately staff the center with approximately 300 personnel, composed of both asylum and Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) positions.

On November 2, 2020, the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois ruled that DHS’s Public Charge Rule, 84 Fed. Reg. 41,292 (Aug. 14, 2019) violates the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). The district court specifically ruled that (1) the public charge exceeds DHS’s authority under the public charge provision of the INA, (2) is not in accordance with law; and (3) is arbitrary and capricious.

The court immediately set aside the DHS Public Charge Rule nationwide without staying its decision pending appeal.

DHS may not apply the public charge rule as of today, which includes the submission of Form I-944 and the information contained therein.

As of this time, USCIS has not posted any guidance on implementation of the order on its public charge website, but as noted above the vacatur of the rule is effective immediately.