News in Brief

The following additional items may be of interest to our readers:

Trump Expands Executive Order on Venezuela: An August 5th Executive Order (EO) further extends the scope of a 2015 and subsequent EOs impacting Venezuelans. The latest EO directs that all property and interests in property of the Government of Venezuela that are in the U.S. are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in. The EO also extends the ban on immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the U.S. of certain Venezuelan nationals who have been determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to have materially assisted or otherwise provided support of any person included on the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons or entry of a person who has acted on behalf of any person whose property and interests are blocked by the EO.

Immigrant Youth File Class Action Lawsuit Challenging USCIS Denial of SIJ Applications:

A district court granted a preliminary injunction in a class action lawsuit filed by immigrants in Washington state challenging USCIS’s policy to deny Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) for youth who filed their applications after turning 18 years old.

TPS Extended to 3/31/2021 for Syrians: DHS announced the extension of Syria’s TPS designation for 18 months. The extension permits current Syrian TPS beneficiaries to re-register for TPS and remain in the U.S. with work authorization through March 31, 2021.

Processing Time Delay Lawsuit: Two immigrant advocacy groups allege that USCIS has failed to produce documents that could explain work permit delays, and urged a D.C. federal court to force USCIS to hand over the information. Overall processing times have increased 91 percent from fiscal year 2014 to FY 2018.

U.S. and Canada Implement Preclearance Agreement: DHS announced the implementation of an agreement with Canada that allows CBP to conduct full preclearance in rail, ferry, and cruise ship environments in Canada. CBP currently conducts preclearance operations at eight Canadian airports.

Videos Replace Interpreters at Hearings: EOIR has replaced in-court interpreters at master calendar hearings with video advisals in New York and Miami, for pro se respondents.

Motel 6 Agrees to Pay $10 Million in Revised Settlement for Sharing Guest Data with ICE: Motel 6 and ICE agreed to a $10 million settlement agreement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of guests who stayed at Motel 6 and whose personal information was provided by employees to ICE agents.