Last week, the Administration announced that they would delay the mass raids scheduled for last week. Even though these actions have been briefly delayed, the announcement of these mass immigration enforcement actions created immense fear nationwide. For immigrant survivors of violence, this news exacerbates the trauma and fear they already endure because of the abuse they have experienced. Advocates can help address this fear by providing critical know your rights information and sharing ways to prepare themselves in the event they are confronted by ICE. Below is a list of actions practitioners working with immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking can take now to help survivors who are at risk of an immigration enforcement action.
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On June 5, 2019, USCIS published another notice and opportunity for comment on their proposed fee waiver changes . These changes were initially proposed in September 2018 , and later addressed in a second opportunity for comment in April 2019 . This third notice provides additional details regarding USCIS’ rationale for adjusting the fee waiver form and practices. You can review this new notice here . We encourage stakeholders to submit comments to show the impact of these harmful changes to fee waiver forms and guidance on survivors and their families.
On May 29, 2019, ASISTA and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) sent a letter to USCIS leadership expressing concern that the two-month grace period to transition to the new Form I-918 would cause hardship to survivors, advocates, and law enforcement agencies. On Friday, June 21, 2019, USCIS updated the I-918 Form website , so that information regarding the edition date now reads: Edition Date: 04/24/19. Starting Jan. 1, 2020 , we will only accept the 04/24/19 edition. Until then, you can use the 02/07/17 edition. Read USCIS’ news alert here. Thank you to all the attorneys and advocates who shared how the short grace period would impact their agency and their work on behalf of survivors. We will provide any update if additional information becomes available.
In May and June of 2019, some practitioners have reported that USCIS issued a number of NTAs in connection with denied U and T visa applications. Given these reports, ASISTA in conjunction with CAST, Freedom Network USA, American Association of Immigration Lawyers (AILA), Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC), and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles created a practice update to addresses some of the actions practitioners can take in individual cases as well as to support policy-level advocacy efforts.