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The Tahirih Justice Center stands in solidarity with the communities of Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas that were impacted by the weekend’s heinous acts of violence. In response, Archi Pyati, Tahirih Chief of Policy, issued the following statement.
The Tahirih Justice Center is relieved that a judge from the San Francisco District Court has issued a preliminary injunction on the asylum ban, forcing the policy to grind to a halt. The decision in San Francisco follows an earlier ruling in the D.C. District Court that allowed the ban to continue. However, today’s ruling in California applies across the country, meaning that the asylum ban must end nationwide, preserving the right of individuals fleeing persecution to seek asylum at our borders.
The Tahirih Justice Center is disappointed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision to keep the new asylum ban in effect, which bars anyone approaching the U.S. southern border from applying for asylum, with limited exceptions. The rule was initially rolled out by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security on July 16, 2019 and is being applied at the screening stage at the border as well as in immigration courts.
The Tahirih Justice Center joins 95 other civil society organizations and 120 experts in migration, refugee law, and human rights in sending a letter to the Inter-American Commission. We hope that this forceful request will lead the Commission to conduct a comprehensive, initial visit to the U.S.-Mexico border and to use all mechanisms available to protect the human rights of migrants.
The Tahirih Justice Center and partner organizations filed an amicus brief with the Board of Immigration Appeals in support of a U visa applicant in removal proceedings. The brief stresses that, under ICE guidance and BIA precedent, a U-visa applicant is presumptively entitled to a continuance of removal proceedings if USCIS determines that the U-visa application is prima facie approvable.
The Tahirih Justice Center is deeply concerned by the administration’s expansion of expedited removal, which will apply to anyone arrested by ICE, anywhere in the United States. Exceptions will be made for immigrants who are able to prove that they have lived in the U.S. continuously for more than two years.
This rule compromises the safety and legal rights of immigrants, including survivors of gender-based violence. It worsens the climate of fear already felt by immigrant survivors and will discourage individuals from seeking help.
The Tahirih Justice Center submitted testimony for the record to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, Immigration & Citizenship Subcommittee, for a hearing on July 16, 2019 on the impact of unprecedented U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) case processing delays on survivors of gender-based violence.
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