Exclusive: New training document for asylum screenings reflects tougher U.S. stance
By changing the rules for asylum screenings the government “is erecting an invisible wall,” for those seeking protection, said Dree Collopy. Author: Ava Benach, page 2
By changing the rules for asylum screenings the government “is erecting an invisible wall,” for those seeking protection, said Dree Collopy. Trump’s tough student and work visa policies are pushing legal immigrants to Canada
"Filing an H-1B is not that complicated, but pretty much every filing for H-1Bs have gotten requests for additional material. Sixty-eight percent of H-1B filings have been flagged for additional filings, sometimes for federal court." - Sarah Pitney US launches plan for asylum seekers to wait in Mexico
“With this policy, the Trump administration is purposefully keeping Central Americans in unsafe conditions without access to counsel and evidence in an effort to send them straight back to the hands of their persecutors.”
- Dree Collopy Analysts Find Restrictive Measures In New Trump Immigration Bill
“This bill will bring an end to asylum for all minors from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala arriving at the U.S. border. This historic change in asylum law would categorically block tens of thousands of children from ever applying for asylum.” - Dree Collopy Trump is right: There is a crisis at the border. But he’s causing it.
"President Trump tried to claim Tuesday night that shutting down the federal government over his demand for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border is a compassionate action — that he is taking a stand on behalf of the American public and even immigrants in response to what he called a “humanitarian and security crisis.” Trump was right about one thing: What’s happening on the southern border is a crisis. But it is his choices that have created it, and his wall would not solve anything." -- Dree Collopy Amid Fears Of Deportation, Maryland Immigrant Parents Can Officially Designate Guardians For their Children
Although her focus is on helping clients prevent deportation altogether, Benach said she now spends time instructing families on how to fill out the standby guardianship forms. “It’s responsive to a great need in the immigrant community here,” Benach said. “It gives people a little peace of mind.” -- Ava Benach Maryland’s Guardianship Law Protects Kids of Parents Fearing Deportation
How the government shutdown is making the US immigration system even worse.
“If I were to walk into court asking for a final decision before the the shutdown even happened, I would have to wait until 2021,” Ava Benach, an immigration attorney at Benach Collopy told ThinkProgress in an interview. “I have a client who was supposed to have a hearing on January 3 where we were going to resolve a number of issues and create a plan going forward, and now who knows when that will happen?” December 2018 Client of the Month- Selamawit Chale
One morning in April of 2015, we had the honor of meeting Selamawit Chale for the first time. She came to our office, broken, hurting, and terrified, but at the same time, her inner strength was palpable. We learned that Selam was once a bright and hopeful young woman, anxious to make a difference in the world and to contribute to her communities; however, traumatic events in her childhood, followed by years of emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her husband had silenced her. How Migrant caravan many force Congress to fix a broken asylum system.
Ava Benach, an immigration attorney from Washington, said those denial rates simply prove that asylum rules haven’t adjusted to modern realities. She said victims of domestic abuse and gang violence should absolutely qualify for asylum because Central American governments cannot help them, either because they are unable or unwilling to confront the husbands and gangs that carry out those crimes.