The Trump Administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Children Arrivals (DACA) program that protects 800,000 undocumented immigrants is cruel and heartless. CGRS stands with DREAMERs and all members of the immigrant community as we continue to reject this Administration’s repeated scapegoating and racist attacks against immigrant families. We call on Congress to immediately take action and pass legislation to protect our immigrant youth.
CGRS is launching a new project—a searchable database of qualified and pre-vetted country specialists and health professionals who serve as expert witnesses to support asylum seekers in the United States. This service will be offered to attorneys and experts alike, free of charge. In addition to improving our referrals, which we have been providing through our technical assistance program for many years, CGRS will ramp up trainings for attorneys and experts on the use of expert testimony in immigration court to expand the pool of qualified experts and increase protection for individuals fleeing persecution.
CGRS joined by 10 other non-profit organizations and pro bono counsel Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP, filed an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Osorio-Martinez, et al. v. Sessions, on appeal from denial of a preliminary injunction by a federal District Court. The case concerns the fate of four mothers and their children who have been detained at the Berks County family detention center in Leesport, Pennsylvania since 2015. CGRS presented arguments and country conditions information to assist the court in considering the likely risk of serious harm that the families face if removed to their countries-of-origin in the Northern Triangle region of Central America.
