Case Seeks to Stop Dangerous Policy Undermining Rule of Law, Threatening People Fleeing Persecution

San Diego, CA – People fleeing persecution and torture in their home countries have joined immigrant rights organizations Al Otro Lado and Haitian Bridge Alliance to challenge the Trump administration’s unlawful shutdown of asylum processing at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The plaintiffs are represented in the lawsuit, Al Otro Lado v. Trump, by the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), the American Immigration Council, Democracy Forward, and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

The Trump administration has taken drastic steps to block access to the U.S. asylum process, in flagrant violation of U.S. law. On January 20, the president issued a proclamation that made it effectively impossible for individuals to present themselves at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum. In doing so, the government pulled the rug out from under people who had been waiting to schedule appointments at ports of entry and imposed vague and onerous documentation requirements as a pretext to bar access to the asylum process.

The administration also abruptly canceled all advance appointments that had been scheduled through the government’s CBP One app, leaving approximately 30,000 asylum seekers stranded in Mexico without any recourse. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Maria Doe, scheduled an appointment through CBP One in hopes of seeking asylum after suffering a years-long retaliation campaign by a cartel that had targeted her for testifying against its police collaborators in Mexico. The appointment was cancelled on January 20, forcing Maria and her husband into hiding.

“Trump’s asylum shutdown policy is a stark reminder that we, as a nation, have learned nothing from the Holocaust, that we have neither regret nor memory of 1938, when we turned away over 900 Jewish refugees aboard the MS St. Louis who were then fleeing Hitler’s rapid takeover of Europe,” Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, Al Otro Lado’s Border Rights Project Director, said today. “Under this policy, at U.S. ports of entry all across the U.S.-México border, it is the MS St. Louis every single day, and while there is no way that we will ever be able to quantify the death toll, we do know who is to blame. The pressing question for those who enforce and uphold this illegal policy is: Can you live with this much blood on your hands?”

“The asylum shutdown policy is an affront to the United States’ basic values and a direct attack on the fundamental human right to seek protection,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA). “Haitian Bridge Alliances stands alongside asylum seekers who are being denied their rightful opportunity to lawfully present themselves for inspection at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border and request asylum protection, as permitted by both international human rights and U.S. immigration law. We demand that the U.S. government uphold its legal and moral obligations to provide refuge to those fleeing harm. Access to asylum must be restored immediately.”

“President Trump’s rush to abandon asylum seekers fleeing dangerous circumstances in fear for their lives in an unlawful overreach that imperils thousands of people – including children – in dire circumstances. America has offered refuge for those seeking asylum for the past half-century. This administration cannot undermine our democratic values and rights enshrined in U.S. law with a stroke of the pen,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Democracy Forward is proud to work with these brave plaintiffs and our partners to hold the administration accountable and to protect the rights of people seeking asylum.”

“The asylum shutdown policy imperils the lives of people seeking safety at the southern border and flouts our immigration laws,” said Melissa Crow, Director of Litigation at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). “Under the shutdown policy, families, children, and adults fleeing persecution have been left stranded in Mexico, where they risk grave harm, with no legal recourse. Our plaintiffs include asylum seekers who, while awaiting a chance to request asylum at ports of entry, have been kidnapped, tortured, and threatened by cartels that prey on migrants. The court must step in to vacate the shutdown policy and restore access to a fair asylum process at the U.S.-Mexico border.”

“The ability to seek asylum at the border is an essential element of our immigration laws, and for good reason,” said Rebecca Cassler, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council. “Asylum is a crucial lifeline for people fleeing violence, including our clients, who are stranded in Mexico with nowhere to turn. The administration’s policy to end asylum access at ports of entry is blatantly unlawful. Success for our clients would not only save their lives, but would also be a win for the rule of law.” 

“Amongst unlawful deportations, abductions, and renditions, the elimination of the asylum system at the U.S.-Mexico border ranks as just as catastrophic,” said Angelo Guisado, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The United States has demanded that desperate and destitute migrants wait unfathomable amounts of time and meet every procedural hurdle to apply for asylum, only to then slam the door shut in their face. It is an utter disgrace.”

Our asylum statute, which was first enacted as part of the 1980 Refugee Act, expressly provides that “[a]ny [noncitizen] who is physically present in the United States or who arrives in the United States (whether or not at a designated port of arrival …), irrespective of such [noncitizen’s] status, may apply for asylum.” Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act – the claimed basis for the presidential proclamation – does not authorize the president to suspend the right to apply for asylum at ports of entry.

The complaint seeks relief from the presidential proclamation and an end to the shutdown of asylum at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Read the full complaint here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.