Groups Challenge Rejections of Asylum Seekers at the Border

August 22, 2017 - CGRS applauds our colleagues at the American Immigration Council, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Latham & Watkins LLP, who in July filed a class action lawsuit challenging the U.S. government's unlawful practice of turning away asylum seekers at the southern border. Filed on behalf of Los Angeles and Tijuana-based legal services organization Al Otro Lado and six individual asylum seekers, the lawsuit alleges that, emboldened by the Trump Administration’s anti-refugee rhetoric and policies, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have used a variety of tactics – including “misrepresentation, threats and intimidation, verbal abuse and physical force, and coercion” – to deny asylum seekers the opportunity to pursue their claims.

CBP’s well-documented practice of turning away asylum seekers jeopardizes the lives of women, children, and families who look to the United States for safe haven. It is also illegal; under U.S. and international law, an individual who expresses fear of persecution in their home country has the right to pursue claims for asylum and related forms of immigration relief.

Related resources:

• Read Senator Dianne Feinstein’s letter to former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, urging him to provide CBP officials with clear guidance on the proper treatment of asylum seekers at the southern border.
• The ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties, the American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project recently launched HoldCBPAccountable, an informative website tracking litigation efforts to hold CBP accountable for abusive practices.

Photo from Justin Sullivan, Getty Images.