Case Rounds: Notes from 7/8/2025
Introduction
Weekly Legal & Advocacy Collaboration Session
These weekly meetings are designed to support cross-organizational collaboration, build shared legal knowledge, and strengthen collective advocacy efforts.
Format and Participation Guidelines:
Participation is open to legal and advocacy professionals.
Speaking order is based on arrival time unless you indicate a time constraint and need to speak early.
Everyone shares once before anyone shares twice. Please begin by offering a question, update, or insight, and engage with responses from others.
Before speaking, please introduce yourself and the organization or role you represent.
No client-specific discussion. We do not provide individual legal advice or discuss identifiable case details. All conversation is general and practice-based.
Not open to DHS or DOJ (including DVT) personnel or affiliates.
This is a confidential, collaborative space for mutual learning, skill-building, and issue-spotting across Vermont’s immigration legal and advocacy ecosystem.
AI Note-Taking & Information Sharing
We use AI-assisted tools (Microsoft Copilot) to generate anonymized summaries of key insights and systemic trends.
No personal or client information is recorded.
Notes are securely stored and shared with participants upon request.
The goal is to reduce redundancy, track evolving best practices, and ensure access for colleagues who cannot attend in real time.
Please let us know if you prefer your contributions not be summarized in shared notes.
Highlights
Key Notes & Takeaways
Meeting notes and recordings are used to generate AI-powered summaries for the blog, which is searchable for past discussions.
Practice asylum interview moots are scheduled throughout the week, with opportunities for staff, interns, and volunteers to observe and build capacity.
Observers for moots are limited to internal colleagues, and client consent is required for participation; retainer agreements generally contemplate observation for training purposes.
Recordings of internal moots are posted on Microsoft Teams for staff reference.
The Boston Asylum Office will now handle local cases, replacing Newark, with expectations of lower grant rates and higher referral rates.
Current practice asylum interviews focus on both youth and adult cases, with an emphasis on preparing clients for logistics, interpreter use, and handling difficult questions.
Written pleadings should be submitted as ordered by the judge, with a strategic decision on whether to concede or contest facts and charges.
For cases involving unaccompanied minors, both asylum and special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) applications may be pursued, and coordination with family members is important.
When working with family members not represented by the organization, boundaries and roles should be clearly communicated and reinforced, especially regarding legal representation and information sharing.
Legal interpreters and paralegal interns should clarify their roles when switching between interpretation and support tasks.
Collaboration with external organizations (e.g., Migrant Education Program) can help families gather necessary documentation, with proper releases of information in place.
The group is considering a statewide legal interpretation training, with scheduling to be coordinated with key partner organizations.
For affirmative asylum filings, the group is shifting away from skeletal filings due to new policies prioritizing recent applications for quick interviews; full filings with supporting evidence are now preferred.
Model pre-hearing filings and templates are being developed to standardize and streamline case preparation and will be curated on our learning libraries.
In habeas cases, if significant new information is submitted by opposing counsel shortly before a hearing, seeking a continuance may be appropriate, and collaboration with ACLU experts is encouraged.
For ICE check-ins, if a client misses a scheduled appointment due to venue change, proactive communication with the court and ICE is recommended to document compliance efforts.
Volunteers providing transportation or DHS interactions support to clients should be briefed on rights during ICE encounters, including the choice to remain silent or present documentation, and the potential risks and benefits of each approach.
The two-year presence requirement for expedited removal remains based on arrival date; families approaching this threshold should be monitored.
Social Security cards are no longer automatically issued with EADs; clients should apply separately at the Social Security office after receiving their work permit.
