The ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, and CGRS filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s new policy forcing asylum seekers to return to Mexico and remain there while their cases are considered. “This new policy severely undermines the very purpose of our asylum system, endangering rather than safeguarding the lives of our individual plaintiffs and others fleeing persecution,” said CGRS Co-Legal Director Blaine Bookey.
Last Thursday DHS announced the immediate implementation of its Migrant Protection Protocols, which will forcibly return many asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. southern border to Mexico. “This latest policy violates due process and our legal obligations to refugees,” CGRS Co-Legal Director Eunice Lee said today. “It will lead to the wrongful denial of claims, and worse, the endangerment of human life and safety.”
CGRS urges the Senate to reject the “End the Shutdown and Secure the Border Act,” which was introduced by President Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier this week. The Trump-McConnell bill contains numerous extreme provisions that would slam the door on vulnerable children and refugees.
