On December 28, 2020, ASISTA submitted two comments in response to two proposed Department of Justice, Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR rules) which would limit access to relief for immigrants with matters in Immigration Court, including survivors.
by: Cecelia Friedman Levin, ASISTA Policy Director with Grace Huang, Policy Director, Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-based Violence
This week, ASISTA, along with our partners, submitted an amicus brief in the case Northwest Immigrant Rights Project v. U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This brief challenges USCIS’s sweeping changes to fee waiver policies which limit access to critical immigration relief for immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and other crimes.
On January 21, 2020, ASISTA submitted comments in response to a proposed rule issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security establishing several new bars to asylum, including creating barriers for immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. Read ASISTA’s comment here .
ASISTA with support from the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors (AIS) has released an advocacy toolkit to help those who work with survivors engage in advocacy efforts with their member of Congress.
On April 16, 2019, ASISTA and the National Organization for Women (NOW) submitted a comment in opposition to the proposed USCIS Tip Form, as the form would be a tool for abusers and perpetrators of crime to weaponize the immigration system against survivors, with impunity. Read our comment here .
On December 10, 2018, ASISTA filed a Comment on DHS’ Proposed Rule on Public Charge . DHS’ proposed rule will harm immigrant survivors of domestic and sexual violence as well as survivors of human trafficking. Access and use of public benefit programs may make the difference in whether survivors and their children can escape abuse. ASISTA opposes the proposed rule because DHS should not put survivors in the position of choosing between their immigration status and their ability to survive after abuse.
Annotated Notes on NTA Memo Implementation On November 15, 2018, USCIS held a stakeholder engagement call on the implementation of the NTA memo on survivor-based protections. ASISTA, AILA and ILRC compiled these annotated notes and practice pointers based on USCIS’ responses during that stakeholder call.
On January 9, 2018, the National Taskforce to End Sexual and Domestic Violence (of which ASISTA is a co-chair of the immigration sub committee) issued a statement denouncing the Administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. If expelled from the United States, many of the 200,000 individuals now protected by Salvadoran TPS will face grave danger and high levels of violence, including gender-based violence. The National Taskforce calls on the Trump Administration to reconsider its decision to end TPS and urges Congress to enact a permanent legislative solution. NTF TPS letter final -1-9-18