Asylum seeker detained

R

rojo

Member
Hey guys,

I have a friend who got detained by ICE and is now in ICE custody.
So they moved to the US in 2017 through POE at US Mexico border and were paroled into the US.

They applied for asylum with EOIR and their case was dismissed last year by the judge. Then their attorney filed for asylum with USCIS so their case is pending with USCIS now. Last week he was detained by ICE as he was driving his truck near CA and AZ border (he is a truck driver).

When he asked ICE why he was detained they said he had no legal status. My friend replied that his case was pending and that he had an EAD but ICE officers still said EAD just means he is authorized to work but it does not mean he has a status.

I am just worried for other asylum seekers whose cases are pending with USCIS or EOIR. Does that mean everybody whose asylum case is pending is under the same risk? Can you guys share your thoughts?
 
What they said about EAD not meaning he has status is correct. The more useful thing to show is that he has a pending asylum application. They do not normally initiate removal proceedings against someone who has a pending asylum application (regardless of whether they have an EAD) just for being out of status.

I am not familiar with what's the best recourse if someone who has a pending asylum application is placed in removal proceedings. I know they can apply for asylum as a defense in removal proceedings (defensive asylum). The weird thing here is that, it seems you are saying they were already placed in removal proceedings before, and had applied for defensive asylum before, and the removal proceedings were dismissed? If so, then it would seem unfair for them to put him in removal proceedings again, because if they keep dismissing the removal proceedings and putting him in again, it basically prevents him from ever getting defensive asylum approved. I hope that they will see that his previous removal proceedings were dismissed, and not initiate a new one, or at least reopen his previous removal proceedings and continue the defensive asylum from where he left off.

What does his attorney say?
 
The relevant sentences in your post are: "They applied for asylum with EOIR and their case was dismissed last year by the judge. Then their attorney filed for asylum with USCIS so their case is pending with USCIS now."

Are you saying this person submitted an asylum application number 1, and the case was dismissed? And.

They submitted asylum application number 2, which is now pending?

This is strange. What happened with asylum application 1? What do you mean that the application was dismissed by the judge? There are only five outcomes of an asylum merits hearing, there is no 'case dismissed' option. At the merits judge hearing, the outcomes can be:
  • Asylum Granted – The judge approves your asylum request, allowing you to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for a green card.
  • Other Relief Granted – Even if asylum is denied, the judge may grant withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
  • Asylum Denied and Removal Ordered – The judge denies your case entirely and issues a deportation order, which can be appealed.
  • Decision Reserved – The judge postpones the decision and will issue a written ruling later.
  • Case Continued – The hearing is rescheduled to a later date due to missing evidence, documents, or other procedural reasons.
So your claim that the case was dismissed by a judge is probably not correct. Something happened there that we are not being told.

That the lawyer, can submit another application, is VERY strange. I think the lawyer might just have needed to be paid. You can't submit multiple cases, especially if one of them reaches the immigration judge.

Given that he is detained by ICE, means the judge might have denied his case, and entered a final order of deportation. Even though his EAD is not expired, he still has no status.....pending asylum case is not a status, in theory.
 
newacct said:
What they said about EAD not meaning he has status is correct. The more useful thing to show is that he has a pending asylum application. They do not normally initiate removal proceedings against someone who has a pending asylum application (regardless of whether they have an EAD) just for being out of status.

I am not familiar with what's the best recourse if someone who has a pending asylum application is placed in removal proceedings. I know they can apply for asylum as a defense in removal proceedings (defensive asylum). The weird thing here is that, it seems you are saying they were already placed in removal proceedings before, and had applied for defensive asylum before, and the removal proceedings were dismissed? If so, then it would seem unfair for them to put him in removal proceedings again, because if they keep dismissing the removal proceedings and putting him in again, it basically prevents him from ever getting defensive asylum approved. I hope that they will see that his previous removal proceedings were dismissed, and not initiate a new one, or at least reopen his previous removal proceedings and continue the defensive asylum from where he left off.

What does his attorney say?
Click to expand...
Yes, they filed for asylum defensively. A week before their individual hearing the judge along with DHS dismissed his case. I think it was quite common under Biden admin.

Then they applied again with USCIS because old case was dismissed against their will, because they would have preffered to move forward with their case.
 
7of9 said:
The relevant sentences in your post are: "They applied for asylum with EOIR and their case was dismissed last year by the judge. Then their attorney filed for asylum with USCIS so their case is pending with USCIS now."

Are you saying this person submitted an asylum application number 1, and the case was dismissed? And.

They submitted asylum application number 2, which is now pending?

This is strange. What happened with asylum application 1? What do you mean that the application was dismissed by the judge? There are only five outcomes of an asylum merits hearing, there is no 'case dismissed' option. At the merits judge hearing, the outcomes can be:
  • Asylum Granted – The judge approves your asylum request, allowing you to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for a green card.
  • Other Relief Granted – Even if asylum is denied, the judge may grant withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
  • Asylum Denied and Removal Ordered – The judge denies your case entirely and issues a deportation order, which can be appealed.
  • Decision Reserved – The judge postpones the decision and will issue a written ruling later.
  • Case Continued – The hearing is rescheduled to a later date due to missing evidence, documents, or other procedural reasons.
So your claim that the case was dismissed by a judge is probably not correct. Something happened there that we are not being told.

That the lawyer, can submit another application, is VERY strange. I think the lawyer might just have needed to be paid. You can't submit multiple cases, especially if one of them reaches the immigration judge.

Given that he is detained by ICE, means the judge might have denied his case, and entered a final order of deportation. Even though his EAD is not expired, he still has no status.....pending asylum case is not a status, in theory.
Click to expand...
cases being dismissed was very common in certain immigration court especially under Biden admin.
 
7of9 said:
The relevant sentences in your post are: "They applied for asylum with EOIR and their case was dismissed last year by the judge. Then their attorney filed for asylum with USCIS so their case is pending with USCIS now."

Are you saying this person submitted an asylum application number 1, and the case was dismissed? And.

They submitted asylum application number 2, which is now pending?

This is strange. What happened with asylum application 1? What do you mean that the application was dismissed by the judge? There are only five outcomes of an asylum merits hearing, there is no 'case dismissed' option. At the merits judge hearing, the outcomes can be:
  • Asylum Granted – The judge approves your asylum request, allowing you to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for a green card.
  • Other Relief Granted – Even if asylum is denied, the judge may grant withholding of removal or protection under the Convention Against Torture.
  • Asylum Denied and Removal Ordered – The judge denies your case entirely and issues a deportation order, which can be appealed.
  • Decision Reserved – The judge postpones the decision and will issue a written ruling later.
  • Case Continued – The hearing is rescheduled to a later date due to missing evidence, documents, or other procedural reasons.
So your claim that the case was dismissed by a judge is probably not correct. Something happened there that we are not being told.

That the lawyer, can submit another application, is VERY strange. I think the lawyer might just have needed to be paid. You can't submit multiple cases, especially if one of them reaches the immigration judge.

Given that he is detained by ICE, means the judge might have denied his case, and entered a final order of deportation. Even though his EAD is not expired, he still has no status.....pending asylum case is not a status, in theory.
Click to expand...
The judge can dismiss the case, this is old news, under Biden Administration many judges dismiss Asylum applications, when this happens people can resubmit the application with USCIS
 
Johannita226 said:
The judge can dismiss the case, this is old news, under Biden Administration many judges dismiss Asylum applications, when this happens people can resubmit the application with USCIS
Click to expand...
Yes, you're correct. Since he was detained it looks like he's back with immigration court in detention now.
Thanks everyone and wish my friend good luck in detention, hopefully he gets asylum granted.
 
rojo said:
Yes, you're correct. Since he was detained it looks like he's back with immigration court in detention now.
Thanks everyone and wish my friend good luck in detention, hopefully he gets asylum granted.
Click to expand...
Hello, any update on your friend's case? I have a loved one in the same scenario, had a pending asylum with USCIS, and had EAD based on that and got detained a few weeks ago. He is a border arrival and DHS never filed his NTA with the court, so his attorney filed asylum with USCIS and they uscis processed his application and received an EAD. Any possibility of a bond?
 
born_refugee said:
Hello, any update on your friend's case? I have a loved one in the same scenario, had a pending asylum with USCIS, and had EAD based on that and got detained a few weeks ago. He is a border arrival and DHS never filed his NTA with the court, so his attorney filed asylum with USCIS and they uscis processed his application and received an EAD. Any possibility of a bond?
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear that.

So my friend's case got dismissed by the DHS and the Judge and he was told he would be deported. However, my friend decided to fight and asked his attorney to file an appeal. So right now he's still being detained while his appeal is pending. I don't know how long the appeal will take but all that time he will be detained.

I think there was recent news that bonds were cancelled for people who arrived via Mexico border. So you could try a bond and see if it works, but I doubt it.
 
Honestly the two things you asked at the end are kinda the key here.
For first thing, yeah, a pending USCIS asylum case doesn’t actually give someone “status.” The EAD just means he can work, ICE still sees the person as out of status if there was a gap or if the old EOIR case got closed weird. It sucks but that’s how they treat it.
and no, it doesn’t automatically mean every single asylum applicant is at the same risk. A lot depends on their history… like if their defensive case For the second one, got dismissed, how clean the transfer to USCIS looked, if there was any gap in filings, stuff like that. Officers sometimes see a weird mix of old EOIR notes and new USCIS data and they jump on it.
We went through something kinda similar with a relative, and we ended up calling De Castroverde Law Group in Vegas just to figure out what his “status” even looked like during that in-between time. They explained the part about how ICE reads those gaps, which made the whole thing make a bit more sense. Not fun but at least we understood what was going on.
 
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