HOUSTON – Immigration attorneys and immigrant rights organizations are advising some recent arrestees they still have a chance to remain in the United States.
This involves the recent arrest of individuals who claimed asylum, but had their cases dismissed by an immigration court judge.
“They don’t know that they can still say, ‘I am afraid,’” said Houston immigration attorney Raed Gonzalez.
During President Joe Biden’s administration, hundreds of thousands of immigrants accused of illegally crossing the border applied for asylum and were allowed to remain in the United States while their cases worked through immigration court.
A critical component of an asylum claim is proving a ‘credible fear’ of being deported to a person’s home country.
“That you have a real fear of returning to your home country because you have been persecuted in the past because of your race, religion, political ideas, national origin, or because you belong to a particular social group,” Gonzalez said. “You have to be found credible because of a fear of persecution, not because things are bad in your home country, not because you were displaced because of a natural disaster, or because your family is in the United States and you have no one else in your own country. You have to have been persecuted in the past, or there has to be a likelihood of persecution in the future for one of the protected grounds. It’s not just for any reason.”
Gonzalez said one of the first steps in this process is the ‘credible fear’ interview with an asylum officer.
“This is the step the Biden administration skipped,” said Gonzalez.
As 2 Investigates reported many times, the border became so overwhelmed during President Biden’s administration many immigrants caught illegally crossing into the US were given a notice to appear in immigration court and did not have that initial credible fear interview.
Gonzalez said in the case of recent arrests, immigrants have the right to ask for a credible fear interview if they never got one, even if their case was dismissed, they were arrested and subject to expedited removal.
However, Gonzalez said if an immigrant doesn’t know to ask for a ‘credible fear’ interview after they’ve been arrested, then they will likely be deported.
“They don’t know that they have to remake the claim that ‘I fear to go back home’ before an immigration officer and (ICE) is not going to ask them,” said Gonzalez. “We’re trying to educate individuals so that they know their rights and what to do.”
Gonzalez said if an immigrant requests asylum then they should be given a credible fear interview. If an asylum officer rules against them, they can appeal, and their case will go back into immigration court.
In response to recent arrests in Houston, Department of Homeland Security officials wrote President Trump’s administration does not believe the Biden administration properly vetted those who were caught illegally crossing into the US during the last two years but were allowed to remain in the country while their cases worked through the courts.
However, the government has recently sought the dismissal of many of these cases, which removes an immigrant’s legal standing to remain in the US.
“Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been,” read DHS’s statement.
DHS’s statement further noted, “If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.”
