A federal court has blocked the deportation of immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality who brought a lawsuit filed Tuesday by American Civil Liberties Union and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. New “expedited removal” policies put forth by Attorney General Jeff Sessions instruct asylum officers to “generally” deny such claims, undermining the fundamental human rights of women and contradicting decades of settled domestic and international law.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s gutting of asylum protections for immigrants fleeing domestic violence and gang brutality. At issue are new “expedited removal” policies put forth by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that instruct asylum officers to “generally” deny such claims — calling them purely “personal” — as well as apply erroneous legal standards, and ignore contrary federal court precedents.
Yesterday U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum providing guidance to asylum officers in light of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent ruling in the asylum case known as Matter of A-B-. The new memorandum marks yet another shameful attempt by the Trump Administration to shut down access to the U.S. asylum system, in blatant violation of our domestic and international legal obligations to refugees.
