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Original Date Announced
July 26, 2019USCIS acting director sends guidance to asylum officers emphasizing the importance of considering whether asylum seekers who have been victims of private violence are able to relocate within their countries of origin, and directs asylum officers to elicit testimony to determine if the noncitizen attempted to internally relocate to any safe areas in their home country prior to travel to the United States. [ID #85]
Asylum and Internal Relocation GuidanceEffective Date
July 26, 2019Current Status
Fully in EffectOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: Change in PracticeSubject Matter: Asylum, Withholding and CATAgencies Affected: USCISAssociated or Derivative Policies
- May 29, 2018 USCIS removes asylum officer training documents from USCIS website
- April 30, 2019 Asylum interviewers will no longer be trained to consider lack of asylum seekers' evidence
- December 11, 2020 EOIR and DHS issue final rule significantly restricting asylum, withholding of removal, and CAT protections
Pre Trump-Era Policies
- The new guidance cites to the existing regulation, 8 CFR 208.13(b)(3), to emphasize the importance of assessing a person’s ability to safely relocate to another part of his or her home country. However, the guidance omits reference to the other important aspects of the internal relocation analysis mentioned in the regulation requiring the adjudicator to analyze whether "it would be reasonable to expect the applicant to [internally relocate]." 8 CFR § 208.13