Bonamici Leads Call for Guidance to Help Asylum Seekers

WASHINGTON, DC [11/3/22] – Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) led 18 Members of Congress in calling for guidance to help asylum seekers who have had an immigration removal order and their tied asylum case dismissed by an immigration judge.

The number of dismissed removal cases has increased since the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) issued a memo in April 2022 that strongly encouraged their attorneys to exercise prosecutorial discretion, including dismissal of proceedings, in their cases. The Members of Congress applauded this move, but noted that questions remain about how to navigate affirmative asylum claims and applications for work authorizations in the wake of a dismissal before the immigration court.

"People who seek asylum are typically fleeing horrific violence in their home countries and come to the United States to save their lives, the lives of their children, or both," the Members wrote. "Clear, comprehensive guidance for people seeking asylum with terminated removal proceedings is needed."

The experience of a family seeking asylum in Bonamici's district in NW Oregon prompted her to lead the letter.

"I learned about this gap in guidance when asylum advocates contacted me about a mother and son who had many questions about what would happen to their asylum claim if they accepted an offer from ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor to have their removal order and case dismissed," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "This family fled terrible gang violence in Guatemala, and since 2020 they have been supporting themselves while they wait for their immigration court hearing. The mother wants to reunite with her two youngest children, who remain in Guatemala, but her court hearing is not until 2026 and she cannot petition for them or visit them until then. The discretion exercised by ICE OPLA is supposed to help people who have legitimate asylum claims – like this mother and her son – get out of a lengthy court backlog. Unfortunately, USCIS has failed to provide the family with information about how and when their asylum case will move forward."

The letter urges USCIS to swiftly publish guidance so people applying for asylum whose court cases are dismissed can have consistent information about their status. This letter also recommends that USCIS publish guidance to accommodate dependents who may have aged out and provide avenues for people who filed defensive applications to avoid having to refile their asylum application and allow them to continue using their work authorization secured through their pending status.

The letter is supported by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Human Rights First, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, American Friends Service Committee, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, HIAS, Catholic Charities Community Services - New York, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP), Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Haitian Bridge Alliance, Catholic Migration Services, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP), HIAS Pennsylvania, Migrant Center for Human Rights, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), Refugees International, Alianza Americas, Westchester Jewish Coalition for Immigration, Inc., Oasis Legal Services, and African Human Rights Coalition.

"Dismissals dating back to April of this year left asylum seekers with outstanding questions that only USCIS can answer," said Jeremy McKinney, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. "These dismissals create uncertainty for asylum seekers and their immigration attorneys, uncertainty that could be resolved through USCIS issuing this long-awaited guidance."

"While we welcome Immigration and Customs Enforcement exercising discretion in removal proceedings, asylum seekers can't make informed decisions about how to move forward with their cases without understanding how USCIS will process their cases," said Victoria Neilson, National Immigration Project of NLG's Supervising Attorney. "We hope that this advocacy effort will lead to much-needed clarity from USCIS."

In addition to Bonamici, the letter was signed by Representatives Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), André Carson (D-IN), Judy Chu (D-CA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Henry "Hank" Johnson (D-GA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), James McGovern (D-MA), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Dean Phillips (D-MN), Linda Sánchez (D-CA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and Juan Vargas (D-CA).

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

###