In a surprise decision yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration’s asylum ban can proceed for now, while the legal fight plays out in courts. Contrary to the U.S.’ obligations under domestic and international law, border officials can now deny applications from migrants who have traveled through other countries on their way to the U.S., if they haven’t been denied asylum in those other countries.
Advocates, attorneys, and members of Congress expressed fury on Twitter, noting that this decision guts the U.S. asylum system and will leave countless numbers of migrants in danger. Though the decision will not bar asylum seekers forever, yesterday’s decision was an unnecessary choice by the Supreme Court to enable the Trump Administration’s efforts to make the U.S. as hostile a place for immigrants as possible.
Read some of these tweets, below:
In defiance of America’s values, @realDonaldTrump & his enablers want to curb all immigration (legal included) from countries they consider undesirable by eroding asylum & the fundamental human rights of all migrants.
Sadly, they now have another enabler: the Supreme Court. https://t.co/JR7QC3OoHE
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@RepEscobar) September 12, 2019
Sitting at home now thinking of everyone I met this week and how this news will impact them. Like the young single dad who fled persecution inNicaragua and then travelled by foot and bus and train to Mexicali with his 4 y/o son riding much of the way on his shoulders. 6/
— Lindsay Toczylowski (@L_Toczylowski) September 12, 2019
So many stories of rape, kidnapping and exploitation of migrants in Mexicali. Folks being returned after MPP hearings are specifically targeted for kidnappings. One young couple was so traumatized after being kidnapped they spoke in a whisper our entire consultation. 11/
— Lindsay Toczylowski (@L_Toczylowski) September 12, 2019
The people I met there were fleeing unfathomable violence & had endured harrowing journeys to get as far as the border. Their courage, resilience & sacrifice for their families should be honored, but instead our government is tormenting them & their children. It's appalling.
— Hayley Burgess (@hayleyrburgess) September 12, 2019
This is a major set back in the lives of thousands of people fleeing persecution. People – men, women, AND children, will be sent back into danger. People will die.This is a damaging step but the underlying legality is still before the courts. https://t.co/qjSCYdr908
— Michelle Brane (@MichelleBrane) September 12, 2019
So much bad news this evening. The United States is no longer a refuge for those fleeing persecution. We will keep fighting of course. I know millions of Americans still believe we should aspire to be better, to be that beacon of light. But right now it is feeling dark.
— Michelle Brane (@MichelleBrane) September 12, 2019
My heart aches. SCOTUS lets the US government ban asylum seekers who transited through another country before reaching the US while litigation plays out. Never mind whether it’s safe or possible for them to seek asylum there. Our protection systems are effectively closed to most. https://t.co/H18CzbbKFY
— Royce B. Murray (@roycebmurray) September 11, 2019
Poor people who aren’t Mexicans have been effectively barred from asylum in the United States of America.
Are we great again yet? https://t.co/tAbUMzy8sG
— Aaron Hall (@immlawACHall) September 11, 2019
A brief list of people now banned from asylum if they arrive at the southern border, go up to a port of entry, and ask for asylum “the right way.”
– Venezuelans fleeing Maduro
– Nicaraguans fleeing government crackdowns
– Transgender women fleeing persecution
– All non-Mexicans.— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) September 11, 2019
Let’s just call this what it is: this is a goddamn human rights disaster. https://t.co/GdMUPIfa8g
— Kara Lynum (@karalynum) September 11, 2019
Lives will be lost.
Refugees who have well-founded fears of persecution will be barred from asylum if they seek protection at the border.
Barred on the pretext that they didn't apply for asylum in a transit country where they would not have been safe. https://t.co/KA7y1cy6Vw
— Eleanor Acer (@AcereEleanor) September 11, 2019
So, this includes Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Chinese, and others who may be religious/ethnic minorities being persecuted, since many of them have increasingly come to the border through Mexico. https://t.co/JQLOJeJw5J
— Tanvi (@Tanvim) September 11, 2019
All of these people are now in peril, literally for their lives. That's what asylum is about. Yet the Court allows the Trump Administration to change the rules immediately, without _any_ court having ruled that its policy is legal.https://t.co/gRKTM9CPtO
— Sasha Samberg-Champion (@ssamcham) September 11, 2019
Your regular reminder that gullible fools told you that Trump only wants to stop "illegal" immigrants from entering the US. The whole ball game has always been about dramatically restricting *legal* immigration, a position that's supported by a fringe minority in this country. https://t.co/RitmLJ8X2C
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 11, 2019
This has a particularly nasty impact on unaccompanied kids who almost solely come through the southern border and lose the TVPRA benefit of getting to seek protection 1st from the asylum office https://t.co/TaPcPCtHnP
— Ashley Huebner (@A_Huebner) September 11, 2019
The Supreme Court's decision to allow the asylum ban to go into effect (for now) is…. just devastating. Anyone who has passed through another country (ie, anyone but Mexicans) is going to be denied asylum. For some, that will be a death sentence. The cruelty is overwhelming.
— Rebecca Kirzner (@KirzBecka) September 12, 2019
No words. This will go to exacerbate the #refugee crisis in the region on all fronts.
The lengths the Administration has gone on to destroy the U.S. asylum system are unspeakable. https://t.co/JvcWXDq9pQ
— Daniella Burgi-Palomino (@daniburgip) September 12, 2019
Nothing requires the Supreme Court to jump in, time and again, to prevent Trump's cruel and unlawfully enacted policies from receiving judicial review. Yet the Court is going out of its way to ensure that real people–who are being harmed right now–can get no legal protection. https://t.co/BCL9nufzFh
— Sasha Samberg-Champion (@ssamcham) September 11, 2019
Aside from the politics of it, as someone who has spent a lot of time with asylum-seekers waiting months and months in Tijuana, this SCOTUS decision intensifies an already massive human rights disaster.
Where do they go now? Where can they?
— Max RN (@MaxRivlinNadler) September 11, 2019
Asylum officer on yesterday's SCOTUS decision:
"We’re in the midst of a refugee crisis and the WH response are policies of exclusion enacted through this kind of bureaucratic violence. The administration is dismantling, misusing, and perverting this country’s asylum system.”
— America's Voice (@AmericasVoice) September 12, 2019
It is a perverse situation in which the government's abstract interest in not being enjoined pending a decision on the merits outweighs the real-world harm that vulnerable people are suffering from challenged policy. But that's where we are.
— Sasha Samberg-Champion (@ssamcham) September 11, 2019
They flee countries whose wars we started, fleeing gangs that we created, dodging bullets from guns we produce, leaving climate disasters our companies make, destitute because of policies we enact, and arrive at a border we drew because Texas wanted to keep slavery.
A disgrace. https://t.co/Gm6VBHcf2j
— Angelo Guisado (@VoltaireLaFlare) September 11, 2019
Official statement coming soon but rn we’re struggling to find words. There are 10K+ asylum seekers stuck in Tijuana. We r the only OTG org here providing legal aid. This is a death sentence for most our clients. Our hearts are broken + we’re exhausted. https://t.co/SJFdl8SU5d
— Al Otro Lado (@AlOtroLado_Org) September 12, 2019
Our Supreme Court is sentencing people to death. There are no safeguards, no institutions to stop this cruelty. We see others’ pain everyday. It seeps into the fibers of our beings. Over + over we are challenged to even help folks to pursue human fucking decency and dignity.
— Al Otro Lado (@AlOtroLado_Org) September 12, 2019
The Supreme Court doesn't normally explain itself when issuing stay decisions, but it has in the past—most recently when allowing part of Trump's Travel Ban to go into effect in 2017.
Last night's decision was just as monumental. The Court owed us an explanation. https://t.co/YYmyFbPed5
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) September 12, 2019
SCOTUS decision will very likely send asylum seekers back to harm, including death. Shame on this country. What a betrayal of our values. https://t.co/oKdEA075YW
— Grace Meng (@grace_meng) September 11, 2019
The upshot of tonight's SCOTUS decision is that the Republican justices don't give a goddamn about reining in executive power when a Republican president is abusing it.https://t.co/lKhctndscP
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) September 11, 2019
This is terrible news. Asylum at the border is now banned for all but Mexicans. More lives will be lost.
Call your elected rep. Tell them they need to come out strong against this. The election is coming up. They need to fight for immigrant rights. We certainly will be. https://t.co/DeXN4RHU72
— RAICES (@RAICESTEXAS) September 11, 2019
I vehemently disagree with the Supreme Court majority's decision to enable Donald Trump's assault on our asylum system. They are jeopardizing the lives of countless asylum-seekers—innocent men, women, and children.
This is not a game. This is life or death. We cannot be silent. https://t.co/GjTeiBxGnz
— Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (@RepRoybalAllard) September 11, 2019
As a few people have asked…
Yes, this amounts to effectively an elimination of the asylum system in the US. It has massive and deeply awful consequences. It can't get, by definition, enough coverage and focus. There are two very small options left that will apply to very few.
— Todd Schulte (@TheToddSchulte) September 12, 2019
“Once again the Executive Branch has issued a rule that seeks to upend longstanding practices regarding refugees who seek shelter from persecution” — Justice Sotomayor, in her dissent. This decision will put lives at risk. Shameful. https://t.co/RNW02saiBM
— National Immigration Law Center (@NILC) September 11, 2019
There is no justification for closing the border and denying asylum to Central American refugees. This hateful move is deeply at odds with core American values of fairness and inclusion. We reject this blatant attack on the Latino community.https://t.co/oK9TaPoLc7
— Families Belong Together (@fams2gether) September 11, 2019
"I was a stranger and you did not welcome me" (Mt 25).https://t.co/BLVPIOCWG5
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) September 12, 2019
In past 2 years the US has
1) Cut the refugee program to by ~95% of post WW2 per capita average. It is decimated and in the best scenario take many years to recover.
2) Until the courts give a final rule on the merits, essentially ending everyone's ability to apply for asylum— Todd Schulte (@TheToddSchulte) September 12, 2019
Blocking asylum seekers from entering the United States does not make us safer, violates our treaty obligations, tarnishes our image around the world, and endangers vulnerable people who are fleeing violence – especially children and families. America is better than this. https://t.co/KbnRFnSFsg
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) September 12, 2019
While not a permanent decision, allowing the #AsylumBan to continue for now will cause untold misery to so many people. We undermine our obligations to international human rights treaties & our own values.https://t.co/pfqZbpuiPx
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) September 12, 2019
