Think Immigration: The Rumors Are Flying on Social

We’ve been here before. Our area of law is such a target for political agendas going back to the beginning of our country. At the moment, we are in the middle of a full throttle assault on basic principles of due process, equal protection, constitutional amendments, policies, processes – no stone appears left unturned. I don’t think we are at a more critical juncture to bring facts, rational analysis, and the clear legal and humanitarian translation of impact to the public. Social media, AI, etc. are flooding our friends and neighbors with misinformation and half-truths.

Uncertainty in what the rules are breeds confusion, and of course fear of the unknown.  I wanted to share a recent media inquiry about a social media post. I know, none of us has sufficient time ordinarily to take all the questions, and it feels especially hectic now.   Immigration attorneys are being asked to deal with changes it seems by the minute in the day to serious situations. How do we juggle that precious time and use of our overtaxed anxiety triggers? Sometimes we have to stop and made judgment calls to intervene.

Last week, a reporter reached out about a new claim circulating on social media in Spanish. The posts allege that, "President Trump ordered a review of all asylum cases approved since 2012 for Venezuelan citizens, claiming that more than 90% are fraudulent cases fabricated by applicants and family groups." What if you were a Venezuelan asylum seeker or an asylee already approved? I can only imagine what nightmares this sort of rumor causes.

Well, the question is – is it true? I may not be able to do much, but I know I can at least try to provide a little facts and law from our complex immigration world. I set my crazy work demands aside for a moment to jump down the rabbit hole to work on a reply.

A lot of false rumors start with a kernel of fact,but have no context.

In this case, it seemed that the very recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem not to renew Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans was the source. Not extending or even rescinding TPS is not what we want to see for a country in turmoil like Venezuela, but ending a TPS extension is very different from a new policy that would impact people with approved asylum claims.

Further research shared by the outlet found that it seemed the individual who first posted this rumor later admitted he fabricated it to provoke fear among those celebrating recent deportation actions. Just what we need, more fake news.

I may be a business immigration attorney, but I did my best to share with the reporter how the basic process works for someone granted asylum, how first they apply, may be granted work permit, move through the process, and eventually if they prove their claim, are granted asylum. I relied heavily on resources from the American Immigration Council and attached their explanations. The reporter asked a ton of questions. I had to go dig to address timing for the ability of the asylee to apply for citizenship and then how denaturalization/revocation works.  At the end of this, heck I felt I was a better lawyer to have gone through these questions. It actually did not take me too long to pull the responses together.

How do you avoid being taken in by rumors? Well, the first thing to think about if you read or hear something that concerns you is where is this coming from? What source does the reporter or influencer cite? If they don’t cite any source, that’s a definite red flag. If you want to be sure, go looking yourself, but only consider actual reputable sources, whether they are known news outlets without a strong bias one way or the other, or trusted organizations, like AILA in the immigration law space. If someone says a new policy was announced in an executive order, go look at the White House page and see what it actually says.  The AILA media team (commsteam@aila.org) is always a great resource for rumor deconstruction.

I’m reminded of the great Aretha Franklin’s 1968 song, Think, and in particular these lyrics:

“Think about what you're trying to do to me…

People walking around everyday
Playing games, taking scores
Trying to make other people lose their minds
Ah, be careful you don't lose yours, oh”

Please also keep in mind, that just because a policy change is announced does not make it the law of the land, no matter the political optics. We still (as of now) have checks and balances and just like the first Trump Administration, the courts will see an influx of cases to check the executive overreach.  Lawyers are in the middle of the breach. What a great profession to hold the course.

To all my AILA member colleagues, I urge you to take the time to respond if you are asked for your expert insights on these sorts of rumors. Keep providing the good, accurate information about how our immigration system does and doesn’t work.   Please take the time to share your knowledge and squelch the misinformation.  Please keep holding the torch high, we need the light now more than ever. 
Happy to be in the trenches with you all.

AILA members who hear rumors or see something new, please remember to use AILA’s Report a Trend feature (located on each National Committee page) as the best way to gather examples of what’s happening on the ground so that AILA can look into it and track it on AILA’s Trend Tracker. 

AILA members who hear rumors or see something new, please remember to use AILA’s Report a Trend feature (located on each National Committee page) as the best way to gather examples of what’s happening on the ground so that AILA can look into it and track it on AILA’s Trend Tracker.