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Rebuilding our asylum system, fighting for safety and justice

Through coordinated litigation, advocacy, and training the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) is working to rebuild our asylum system and expand the United States’ promise of protection for those escaping persecution.

Our Mission

The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies defends the human rights of courageous refugees seeking asylum in the United States. With strategic focus and unparalleled legal expertise, CGRS champions the most challenging cases, fights for due process, and promotes policies that deliver safety and justice for refugees.

Defending Asylum Seekers in the Courts

CGRS undertakes strategic litigation to advance sound asylum laws and protect due process rights. Our current docket includes federal lawsuits challenging anti-asylum border policies and high-impact appellate cases that present opportunities to restore paths to protection.

Technical Assistance Center

CGRS provides free expert consultation, litigation resources, and training to attorneys and advocates working with asylum seekers.

Access assistance
Access litigation resources - practice advisories, country conditions evidence, sample briefs, and more - to support your case.
Find an expert witness
Search our database of country specialists and health professionals who provide expert testimony in asylum cases. Experts can register for the database to connect with advocates representing asylum seekers.
Attend an upcoming training
Learn more about CGRS’s upcoming trainings and webinars.
Advocating for Just Policies

We advocate for the fair and dignified treatment of asylum seekers and promote policies that honor our country’s legal obligations to refugees. We call on the Biden administration to act swiftly to restore access to life-saving protection.

Save Asylum Now protest sign
CGRS Opposes Anti-Asylum Senate Bill
CGRS urges Congress and the White House to reject legislative proposals that would decimate our asylum system and eviscerate life-saving protections for people fleeing persecution.
A child holding a backpack wading through a flooded street.
Climate Displacement Advocacy
CGRS is pursuing advocacy and litigation to confront the climate crisis. Our goal is to expand legal avenues to protection for climate or disaster-displaced people seeking refuge in the United States.
Protecting Survivors of Gender-Based Violence
CGRS is at the forefront of the movement to ensure protections for women and girls seeking safety, advocating for policies that recognize gender-based persecution as a basis for asylum.
CGRS Files Brief on Climate Displacement
CGRS submitted an amicus brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to inform its upcoming Advisory Opinion regarding States’ human rights obligations in the context of the unfolding climate emergency.
Accountability for Open-Air Detention Conditions
CGRS lodged a federal complaint against DHS for violating its own custody standards for asylum seekers held in open-air detention sites at the border.
Tell Congress: Don't Trade Away Asylum!

Congress is negotiating a funding deal that could eviscerate asylum protections in the United States. Anti-immigrant Senators are pushing extremist proposals that would revive deadly mass expulsions, punish and detain people seeking safety, and result in the deportations of refugees to countries where they face persecution and torture.

We need advocates and allies to speak up now! Please take a few minutes today to call your Senators and urge them NOT to trade away the right to seek asylum. 

Support CGRS’s work

Your support for CGRS goes to work every day, protecting the human rights of women, children, and LGBTQ+ people seeking refuge in the United States.

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Be the first to know about case updates, policy developments, and action opportunities.