Asylum Fee Gouging (By Baby-T) To End: East Bay IV Now Being Held In Abeyance, Pending Likely Dismissal.

More welcome news, as more and more of Baby-T's "price gouging orders", against people of extremely limited means, fall into the ash-cans -- of our less-than-honorable shared history -- moments no one will, in the fullness of time, look back on with anything but. . . shame.

As we expected, here is that latest bit of positive news -- effectively ending this lititgation (in all likelihood):

. . .On September 29, 2020, the Court entered an order staying, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 705, implementation and the effective date of USCIS Immigration Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements, 85 Fed. Reg. 46,788 (Aug. 3, 2020) (the “Final Rule”) in its entirety, and enjoining, on a nationwide basis, Defendants from implementing or enforcing the Final Rule or any portion thereof pending final adjudication of this matter. ECF No. 98 (“Preliminary Injunction Order”). . . .

On February 2, 2021, the President signed Executive Order 14,012, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans,” 86 Fed. Reg. 8,277 (Feb. 5, 2021) (the “EO”), attached hereto as Exhibit. The Final Rule at issue in this litigation is named in the EO at Section 3(a)(ii), which states that certain government officials, including the Secretary of Homeland Security shall “recommend steps, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to revise or rescind those agency actions.” Section 3(b) further states that the same government officials “[w]ithin 90 days of the date of this order. . . shall each submit a plan to the President describing the steps their respective agencies will take to advance the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.” Finally, Section 3(c) states that the same government officials “[w]ithin 180 days of submitting the plan described in subsection (b) of this section. . . shall each submit a report to the President describing the progress of their respective agencies towards implementing the plan developed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and recognizing any areas of concern or barriers to implementing the plan.” Additionally, Section 5(a) of the EO states that the same government officials shall “within 60 days of the date of this order, develop a plan describing any agency actions, in furtherance of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, that they will take to: . . .(iii) make the naturalization process more accessible to all eligible individuals, including through a potential reduction of the naturalization fee and restoration of the fee waiver process.” Section 5(b) of the EO further states that the same government officials “[w]ithin 180 days of the issuance of the plan developed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section . . . shall submit a report to the President describing the progress in implementing the plan, any barriers to implementing the plan, and any additional areas of concern that should be addressed to ensure that eligible individuals are able to apply for naturalization in a fair and efficient manner. . . .”

In light of the Preliminary Injunction Order and the EO, and in the interests of judicial economy, the parties have conferred and agreed to jointly request that the Court stay this case and hold all proceedings in abeyance to allow defendant the Secretary of Homeland Security to undertake the review contemplated by the EO. . . .

Now you know -- and brighter, if still frigid, days. . . ahead. Smile. . . .

नमस्ते