In an unprecedented attack on a long-held American tradition, the Trump administration is engaged in a comprehensive effort to close the door on people seeking refuge from persecution. For those seeking refugee status from abroad, the administration has resettled the lowest number of refugees in more than 40 years and intends to continue this trend … Continue reading »
Today's Updates
1526
Asylum
Sessions Again Limits Independence of Immigration Judges and Signals His Intent to Increase Detention of Asylum Seekers
Using a uniquely broad authority – certification – to unilaterally reconsider cases already reviewed by non-politically appointed judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), Attorney General Sessions issued a decision yesterday that once again limits the independence of immigration judges by narrowing the circumstances under which they may terminate certain cases before them. He … Continue reading »
Amnesty International USA, Columbus Dispatch Call on Trump Administration to Halt Mauritanian Deportations
“US shouldn’t become new persecutor of refugees” The Columbus Dispatch is out with a new editorial, “US shouldn’t become new persecutor of refugees,” decrying the U.S. government’s insistence on deporting Black Mauritanians to a country that is likely to arrest and enslave them. The issue was recently raised in a powerful cover story in The … Continue reading »
Women’s Refugee Commission Joins Ohio Legal and Pediatric Experts to Discuss the Southern Border Refugee Situation
A recording of the call is available here. Cleveland, OH – The Trump Administration’s manufactured “family separation” crisis at our nation’s southern border has captured headlines and outraged Americans in Ohio and nationwide. On the same day that the government released updated numbers showing that its policies have not had the “deterrence effect” it … Continue reading »
ICYMI: New York Times, “Closed for Business: Trump Administration Moves to Shrink Grounds for Asylum”
In an article for the New York Times, Caitlin Dickerson describes the real consequences of the Trump administration’s recent decision to strong-arm judges and adjudicators tasked with deciding the fate of thousands of asylum seekers. The intended result: deny virtually all asylum claims by women fleeing horrific abuse, kids and others running from ruthless gangs, … Continue reading »
Attorney General Sessions and DHS Secretary Nielsen Join Force Again, This Time to Close the Door on Asylum
USCIS issued a memo on Wednesday that strong-arms adjudicators tasked with deciding the fate of thousands of asylum seekers to deny virtually all cases involving women fleeing horrific abuse, kids and others running from ruthless gangs, and most others claiming fear of persecution, where the persecution is not directly caused by a government. This … Continue reading »
By Decree, Jeff Sessions and Kirstjen Nielsen Unilaterally Gut Asylum in America
“My husband tortured me,” she said simply. She said he regularly choked her until she passed out. He would cut himself and make her drink his blood. She showed me the fingers he had broken. She raised her blue uniform to reveal two letters — the first two of his name — that her husband … Continue reading »
ICYMI: USA Today, “Trump Administration Restrictions on Asylum are Cruel”
Yesterday, USA Today published an op-ed from DHS Watch Director Ur Jaddou. The piece criticizes the controversial policies adopted by the Trump administration at the border that are resulting in families being separated and refugees being turned away. As Jaddou notes, “The Trump administration, notably Attorney General Jeff Sessions, is implementing a morally bankrupt and … Continue reading »
Frank Sharry: “We Once Called Our Nation a ‘Shining City on the Hill.’ No Longer”
The announcement from Attorney General Jeff Sessions that most asylum seekers fleeing domestic and gang violence will no longer qualify for asylum protection in the U.S. is another in a string of cruel immigration announcements by the Trump Administration, America’s Voice Education Fund said today. Also yesterday, AG Sessions announced a new push to denaturalize … Continue reading »
ICYMI: “Trump keeps making it harder for people to seek asylum legally”
Dara Lind of Vox explains how the Trump Administration is throwing obstacles in the way of those seeking asylum at our southern border. Read excerpts from Dara Lind’s explainer below and read it in its entirety here: The Trump administration justifies its “zero tolerance” policy of prosecuting everyone who crosses into the US illegally — … Continue reading »