News in Brief

Judge Orders DACA Reinstatement: The lawsuit against terminating DACA continues in federal court, where a district court judge ruled that the program must be fully restored. The government has until August 23 to respond or appeal the order.

TPS Extensions for Yemen and Somalia: On July 19, 2018, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) would be extended for Somalia, determining that the ongoing conflict and extraordinary yet temporary conditions that support Somalia’s current designation still exist. The country received its initial designation in 1991 for the same reason. There are about 500 Somali TPS beneficiaries, and they are eligible to re-register for an extension of their status for 18 months, through March 17, 2020. On August 14, 2018, TPS was extended for Yemen, who may extend their status through March 3, 2020. Initially designated in 2015 based on ongoing armed conflict resulting from the 2014 Houthi expansion, that conflict and humanitarian crisis continues today. There are approximately 1,250 current beneficiaries under Yemen’s TPS designation.

Immigration Judge’s Union Files Grievance with the Department of Justice: The National Association of Immigration Judges, the union representing some 350 immigration judges, filed a grievance with the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) seeking redress for the unwarranted removal of numerous cases from the docket of an immigration judge. The grievance asserts that EOIR violated the collective bargain agreement between the union and the agency, violated the immigration regulations concerning immigration judges, and the Due Process Clause of the Constitution.