Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by several news outlets regarding developments in Afghanistan and the resumption of the Remain in Mexico policy:
USA Today, “Thousands of Afghans Are Looking for Refuge in the U.S. But the Immigration Process Isn’t Simple.” Steve warned that the current options for Afghans are limited or complicated, such as applying for refugee status, a Special Immigrant Visa, or humanitarian parole. He also noted, “The Biden administration is going to have to walk a tightrope politically. The Biden administration has to assure the public that on the one hand they are continuing to vet all refugee applicants, and make sure that they’re not terrorist threats. On the other hand, they’re trying to do so quickly so that they can get people out of harm’s way.” Read the article here.
PolitiFact, “How Are Refugees Being Vetted? Here’s What We Know.” Steve said, “The State Department is trying to speed up the vetting processing for SIV applicants, but it is still taking several months.” Read the article here.
Sinclair Broadcast Group, “With ‘Remain in Mexico’ Order, Supreme Court Challenges Biden on Immigration.” Steve said, “The Supreme Court’s decision will embolden states like Texas to continue to challenge the Biden administration’s immigration policies in court. Even if the administration eventually wins on the merits, such challenges will slow down the process of making immigration policy changes.” Read the article here.
Univision, “How is Biden’s Asylum Policy After Ruling on the ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program?” Steve said, “The government has several options. First, it can abide by the court order and reinstate the [Migration Protection Protocols] policy and not appeal. But the government has already said it will appeal. Second, it can abide by the injunction for the time being, but also appeal on the merits, arguing that the decision of the court of first instance is wrong on the law. However, that will take several months. Third, the government can abide by the injunction for the time being, but also issue a new rule that attempts to remedy the alleged procedural problems identified by the trial court. However, a new regulation would probably take several months to go through the rulemaking process. In the short term, therefore, the Remain in Mexico policy will continue to prohibit asylum seekers from waiting in the United States for their immigration court hearing.” Read the article here (Spanish, with English translation offered).