After SCOTUS Ruling, Asylum Seekers Ask Court for Protection
New Asylum Ban Should Not Apply to Those Turned Back at Ports of Entry
September 26, 2019, San Diego 鈥揟oday, immigrant rights attorneys moved to block the Trump administration鈥檚 Asylum Ban from affecting tens of thousands of migrants who have already attempted to access the U.S. asylum process before the ban was implemented. With limited exceptions, the Asylum Ban prohibits anyone who traveled through a third country and did not seek protection there from obtaining asylum here. The request filed today is in the ongoing case challenging the Trump administration鈥檚 policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border, including the 鈥渕etering鈥 policy that requires asylum seekers to get on endless lists in order to seek asylum in the U.S. The drastic reduction in processing asylum seekers by turning them back to wait was one of the earliest in the series of policies and practices the administration has implemented in an effort to deter asylum seekers at the Southern Border.听
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Said Erika Pinheiro, Al Otro Lado鈥檚 Litigation and Policy Director, 鈥淲e filed the class action lawsuit Al Otro Lado v. Nielsen two years ago to challenge the Trump administration鈥檚 policy of turning away asylum seekers either through tactics of fraud and coercion or, most recently, by placing vulnerable individuals on endless waitlists where they remain in dangerous conditions.鈥 Nicole Ramos, Border Rights Project Director for Al Otro Lado, adds, 鈥淲e are seeking emergency relief from the court to protect those individuals who would have avoided the brutality of the Asylum Ban but for the government鈥檚 illegal turnaway policy. Thousands of vulnerable lives are at stake, and our work to protect them will not be deterred by this latest attack on asylum seekers.鈥澨
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鈥淭he government cannot be permitted to exploit one illegal Trump policy 鈥 the Asylum Ban 鈥 to attempt to extinguish our clients鈥 challenge to the prior illegal policy 鈥 the Turnback Policy,鈥 said Baher Azmy, Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights. 鈥淭he court can ensure that the government be made to answer for the illegality of the Turnback Policy and that those individuals who had rightful claims of asylum are not denied access to the asylum process through the multiplicity of the Trump administration鈥檚 illegality.鈥澨
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The injunction requested today would remain in place until a final determination is made about the legality of the Turnback Policy and prevent the application of the Asylum Ban to categorically deny asylum to those vulnerable asylum seekers who should have been processed months ago.听
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鈥淭he government has engaged in a cruel bait and switch in its ongoing war against asylum seekers,鈥 according to Melissa Crow, Senior Supervising Attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center鈥檚 Immigrant Justice Project. 鈥淏efore the Asylum Ban was issued, the official message from the U.S. government was that asylum seekers should enter the United States 鈥榯he right way,鈥 by going to a port of entry on the Southern Border, instead of crossing without authorization through the desert or across the river. Now those who followed the rules may never have an opportunity to have their asylum claims decided on the merits.鈥
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While asylum seekers are coming to the Southern Border from many nations, thousands of Central Americans are fleeing their home countries and seeking asylum due to levels of violence in the region not seen since the civil wars in the 1970s and 80s. Human rights advocates note that U.S. foreign policy is fueling the violence and instability that is causing people to flee. Those fleeing undertake dangerous journeys to the U.S., frequently facing violence from gangs and security forces along the way.听
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The Southern Poverty Law Center, Center for Constitutional Rights, and American Immigration Council filed the lawsuit, Al Otro Lado v. McAleenan, No. 3:17-cv-02366 (S.D. Cal.), in July 2017 on behalf of individual asylum seekers and Al Otro Lado, an immigration legal services provider with offices in Mexico and California.听
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Al Otro Lado is also a plaintiff two other cases challenging the administration鈥檚 asylum ban, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Trump and East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Barr.
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Today鈥檚 filing can be viewed HERE.
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For more information, visit Southern Poverty Law Center, and .听
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The Southern Poverty Law Center, based in Alabama with offices in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.听For more information, see www.splcenter.org.
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Al Otro Lado provides cross-border legal services to deportees, refugees, and families separated by unjust immigration laws. With the help of our nonprofit partners and almost 1,000 volunteers, we connect our clients with free legal, medical, mental health, and other social services they need to heal and thrive. Al Otro Lado employs impact litigation and policy advocacy to promote systemic changes that protect immigrants鈥 rights.
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The Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and strategic communications. Since 1966, The Center for Constitutional Rights has taken on oppressive systems of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org. Follow the on social media: Center for Constitutional Rights on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram.
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The 听works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change鈥攍itigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. Follow the latest Council news and information on 听and Twitter .