Pro Bono: Doing Good for Others – and for Yourself There are lots of altruistic reasons to engage in pro bono work, including that it can be life saving for the client. However, today, I want to discuss the tangible benefits to the lawyer of taking on a pro bono case. asylumist.com/2026/09/23/p...

Pro Bono: Doing Good for Others - and for Yourself - The Asylumist

Immigrants in America need more help now than ever. The Trump Administration has launched a broad-based assault against them, targeting the most vulnerable through arbitrary detention, procedural barr...

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The Courage to Save Our Souls In a recent article, The Trump-Era Laughter at Immigrant Suffering Is Deforming Our Souls, Russell Moore writes, “What we learn to laugh at trains our consciences to enjoy and not to recoil from what once would have shocked us.” asylumist.com/2026/09/16/t...

The Courage to Save Our Souls - The Asylumist

I was struck by a recent article in Christianity Today, The Trump-Era Laughter at Immigrant Suffering Is Deforming Our Souls, by Russell Moore. The article discusses the “funny” memes, songs, and joke...

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The Unjust Justification for Revoking Asylum Seekers’ Visas The State Department plans to revoke asylum seekers’ visas. While the effect on most applicants will be minimal, the harm to our government’s moral standing and commitment to the rule of law will be profound. asylumist.com/2026/09/02/t...

The Unjust Justification for Revoking Asylum Seekers' Visas - The Asylumist

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) plans to revoke up to 200,000 visitor visas for people who came to the United States and then applied for asylum. The move is largely symbolic, since the whole point...

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More Sneaky Ways to Deny Asylum, Courtesy of the Asylum Office #uscis has issued new rules for cases at the #asylum office. These relate to when evidence is due, rescheduling interviews, and attorney attendance at interviews. asylumist.com/2026/08/26/m...

More Sneaky Ways to Deny Asylum, Courtesy of the Asylum Office - The Asylumist

When asylum seekers are permitted to present their applications for protection in the United States, their cases are often granted. That’s because the asylum law–as created by Congress–is fairly gener...

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The Time to Pay the Asylum Fee Is Now For many #asylum seekers, the window to pay the annual asylum fee closed before they could pay. But recently, the window has reopened and the time to pay is now. asylumist.com/2026/08/19/t...

The Time to Pay the Asylum Fee Is Now - The Asylumist

Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill created a filing fee for asylum and an annual fee that asylum seekers must pay each year their application is pending. Unfortunately, the roll out of the fee paym...

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No Fly Zone By now, I’m sure you’ve heard reports about ICE detaining #asylum seekers and other non-citizens at airports during domestic travel. Which travelers face a risk of detention? And is there anything you can do to protect yourself? asylumist.com/2026/08/12/n...

No Fly Zone

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard reports about ICE detaining asylum seekers and other non-citizens at airports during domestic travel. According to one DHS official, “ICE is now maki…

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New Rule Aims to Send Affirmative #Asylum Seekers to Court Without an Interview Here, we’ll take a look at what the rule says, how it might impact affirmative asylum seekers, and what you can do about it. asylumist.com/2026/07/29/n...

New Rule Aims to Send Affirmative Asylum Seekers to Court Without an Interview

Earlier this week, a new rule went into effect, which permits the Asylum Office to send certain affirmative asylum applicants to Immigration Court without an interview. The purported justification …

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On Top of Everything Else, Immigrants Are Being Targeted by Scammers During the past year, #immigration lawyers and non-profits have reported a sharp increase in scams targeting non-citizens. asylumist.com/2026/07/22/o...

On Top of Everything Else, Immigrants Are Being Targeted by Scammers

During the past year, immigration lawyers and non-profits have reported a sharp increase in scams targeting non-citizens. From the scammers’ perspective, there is a sad logic to this: It is e…

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The Escalating Threat of Third Country Deportations The Trump Administration has dramatically increased the practice of #Deporting non-citizens to third countries. As of May 2026, more than 21,000 people have been removed to at least 24 different countries. asylumist.com/2026/07/15/t...

Celebrating 250 Years of America! To celebrate America is to celebrate #immigration. asylumist.com/2026/07/01/c...

In light of the Supreme Court ruling allowing DHS to end TPS, I wanted to re-post this article as a possible option for some affected people: asylumist.com/2025/02/05/i...

If TPS Is Cancelled, Could Asylum Be an Option?

In the waning days of the Biden Administration, DHS extended Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Venezuelans until October 2026. Last week, the Trump Administration rescinded that de…

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Surviving the New Mega-Master Calendar Hearings What is the purpose of these mega MCHs and why are they problematic? What should you do if you are waiting for your MCH in Immigration Court? asylumist.com/2026/06/24/s...

Surviving the New Mega-Master Calendar Hearings

The Trump Administration has been using all the tools in its vast toolkit to make life more difficult for immigrants. Their newest machination is the “mega” Master Calendar Hearing in I…

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Incompetence and Laziness in Immigration Court The #immigration judge was unprepared for the case, he did not know the law, and he ignored direct orders from a higher court. asylumist.com/2026/06/17/i...

Incompetence and Laziness in Immigration Court

I recently appeared in court before a newly-appointed Immigration Judge. Unlike some of the new hires, this IJ had prior government experience in the immigration arena. He also previously served as…

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Rumors of Asylum’s Death Have Been Greatly (Somewhat? Slightly?) Exaggerated The White House recently announced that asylum grant rates have “collapsed” to less than 7% in Immigration Court. How does this overall negative trend apply to an individual #asylum case? asylumist.com/2026/06/03/r...

Rumors of Asylum’s Death Have Been Greatly (Somewhat? Slightly?) Exaggerated

In a recent announcement, the White House stated that asylum grant rates have “collapsed” in Immigration Court. “Under President Trump,” the announcement continues, “a…

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USCIS Memo Seeks to Limit Adjustment of Status; How Does This Affect Asylees, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers? asylumist.com/2026/05/27/u...

USCIS Memo Seeks to Limit Adjustment of Status; How Does This Affect Asylees, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers?

Last week, USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum stating that adjustment of status (i.e., obtaining a Green Card inside the United States) is an “extraordinary” form of relief and is only av…

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The Administration’s Attack on I-730 Petitions Asylee and refugee "follow to join" beneficiaries from "banned" countries are being blocked from coming to the United States. asylumist.com/2026/05/20/t...

The Administration’s Attack on I-730 Petitions

A few months ago, the Trump Administration instituted two travel bans, blocking nationals of 39 countries from coming to the United States. The bans explicitly stated that they would not apply to “…

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New Tool to Monitor USCIS’s Progress (or Lack Thereof) The American Immigration Council (AIC) has a new web page that collects and organizes statistical information from #uscis, including for asylum and asylum-adjacent applications. asylumist.com/2026/05/13/n...

New Tool to Monitor USCIS’s Progress (or Lack Thereof)

The American Immigration Council (AIC) has a new web page that collects and organizes statistical information from USCIS. The data spans the period from FY2016 through FY2025 (October 2015 through …

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Green Card Processing for Asylees Is Down 95% Since President Trump Took Office A new report from the Cato Institute found that USCIS under the Trump Administration has slashed overall Green Card processing; asylees and refugees have been hit particularly hard. asylumist.com/2026/04/29/g...

Green Card Processing for Asylees Is Down 95% Since President Trump Took Office

A new report from the Cato Institute found that USCIS under the Trump Administration has slashed overall Green Card processing by about 50%. Certain categories of Green Card applicants–includ…

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New–and Dangerous–Questions at the Asylum Office Recently, we’ve been seeing some unusual questions during #asylum interviews. Since this is the Trump Administration, you can probably guess that the new questions are not designed to make life easier for asylum seekers. asylumist.com/2026/04/22/n...

New–and Dangerous–Questions at the Asylum Office

Recently, we’ve been seeing some unusual questions during asylum interviews. Applicants are being asked about their views of America and of Jewish people. They are asked about their finances …

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USCIS Ends Some “Holds,” Including on Certain Asylum Seekers In a rare bit of good news from the Trump Administration, USCIS has issued an update indicating that some holds have been lifted for #asylum seekers and others. asylumist.com/2026/04/08/u...

Affirmative Asylum Cases Dismissed and Sent to Court Without an Interview #asylum seekers who were living their lives, working and going to school, suddenly found themselves in imminent danger of deportation, and in some cases, detained in a remote location. asylumist.com/2026/04/01/a...

Affirmative Asylum Cases Dismissed and Sent to Court Without an Interview

One quiet trend that has recently come to light is a new practice at the Asylum Office to dismiss affirmative applications without processing them. The asylum seekers are then subject to “exp…

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A German Right-Wing Influencer Has Requested Asylum in the U.S. Does She Have a Case? Ben Harville examines whether the German #asylum seeker has a case under the Trump Administration's new asylum regime. asylumist.com/2026/03/25/a...

A German Right-Wing Influencer Has Requested Asylum in the U.S. Does She Have a Case?

This post is by Ben Harville, an immigration attorney in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His practice includes family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, asylum, humanitarian relief, citizenship…

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Interview with an Immigration Judge: Larry Burman We had some technical issues/cyber attacks last week, but the blog seems to be working now. So I am re-posting this interview with one of my favorite IJs: asylumist.com/2026/03/11/i...

Interview with an Immigration Judge: Larry Burman Larry Burman served as an IJ from 1998 until his recent retirement at the end of 2025. Here, he discusses his career, the changes he’s witnessed over the years, and his view of the Immigration Courts today. asylumist.com/2026/03/11/i...

Interview with an Immigration Judge: Larry Burman

Lawrence “Larry” Burman served as an Immigration Judge from 1998 until his recent retirement at the end of 2025. The Asylumist caught up with Judge Burman to discuss his career, the changes he’s wi…

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U.S. to Refugees: “Welcome to America! Now, Go to Jail!” A new memo from USCIS and ICE seeks to detain all #refugees who have been in the U.S. for more than a year and who have not yet received their Green Cards. asylumist.com/2026/03/04/u...

News from the Asylum Office: Blocking Work Permits & Updating Statistics Here, we'll discuss new restrictions on EADs for #asylum seekers, as well as recent statistics that show a steep decline in Asylum Office approvals. asylumist.com/2026/02/25/n...

Board of Imitation Appeals A new rule from the BIA will almost entirely eliminate due process for non-citizens at the administrative appellate level. asylumist.com/2026/02/17/b...

Board of Imitation Appeals

The BIA was meant to be the “Supreme Court of immigration,” reviewing decisions by Immigration Judges and USCIS, interpreting the law, and setting precedents. It never quite worked out that way, as…

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Board of Imitation Appeals New rules will make the BIA into a rubber stamp for IJ decisions and will almost entirely eliminate due process for non-citizens at the administrative appellate level. asylumist.com/2026/02/17/b...

More Asylum Seekers Are “No Shows” in Immigration Court In FY2025, the first year of the Trump Administration, the number of abandoned cases in #immigrationcourt soared to 51,446. www.asylumist.com/2026/02/04/m...

More Asylum Seekers Are “No Shows” in Immigration Court

Recent data reveals that increasing numbers of asylum seekers are failing to appear for their Immigration Court hearings and effectively abandoning their applications to remain in the United States…

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USCIS Begins Re-Verifying — and Sometimes Detaining — Refugees What does USCIS’s “war on fraud” means for #Refugees and other immigrants? How should you prepare in the event that your case is subject to re-verification? www.asylumist.com/2026/01/28/u...

USCIS Begins Re-Verifying — and Sometimes Detaining — Refugees

Earlier this month, USCIS announced the commencement of Operation PARRIS (Post-Admission Refugee Reverification and Integrity Strengthening) in Minnesota with plans to later expand across the count…

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