When you encounter a non-citizen of the United States on an American street, the usual understanding is that he could be one of six things: 1. A person who was admitted to the United States after inspection at a port of entry (border or air or seaport) and is maintaining proper status; 2. A person who was admitted and then overstayed his period of admission or violated his status; 3. A person who was paroled into the United States. Parole…

On December 9, 2009, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a new policy regarding the custody of aliens coming to the border to seek asylum.  I wrote about the policy change with great excitement when it was announced. The memo states:   Each alien’s eligibility for parole should be considered and analyzed on its own merits and based on the facts of the individual alien’s case. However, when an arriving alien found to have a credible fear establishes to the satisfaction of…

People who study tests, whether they are good tests are not, use the concept of “reliability.” A reliable test is one that measures the knowledge of material consistently across time, individuals, and situations. So for example, if you give a history test on Monday and 20 percent get A’s and 20 percent get F’s, and then you re-test the next Monday and a different 20 percent get A’s and F’s, the test is not reliable. In the immigration context, people…

An internal USCIS memo floats the idea of making some reforms at USCIS. I recall no other time when the immigration adjudications branch of the U.S. government has begun such a comprehensive analysis of its programs and policies. Some of what is contemplated is procedural in nature – such as reviewing all of USCIS’s policy memoranda to make sure they are internally coherent, publishing regulations to explain how certain laws should be implemented, and figuring out how to make certain programs,…