Breaking Down the News: Litigation Challenging “Asylum Cooperative Agreements”

Current status: litigation remains pending as of September 2026

U.T. v. Blanche is a federal class action challenging the government’s use of “Asylum Cooperative Agreements” (ACAs) that the United States is attempting to use to send asylum seekers to third countries instead of allowing them to pursue their asylum claims in the United States. While U.S. law permits transfers to a truly safe third country under limited circumstances, the government’s current agreements violate both the asylum statute and international refugee protections because many of the designated countries lack functioning asylum systems and cannot provide the safety and fair process the law requires.

The case also challenges the federal regulations and policies that implement these agreements, as well as the government’s efforts to expand their use. After the original agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras were terminated, the case was placed on hold. It has since resumed as the government has pursued new agreements with countries including Uganda, Belize, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia, and Paraguay, and increasingly sought to use those agreements to prevent asylum seekers from having their claims heard in U.S. immigration courts.

The Tahirih Justice Center is an organizational plaintiff along with Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center. The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights First, and the National Immigrant Justice Center are serving as Tahirih’s counsel in this matter. Tahirih’s involvement reflects its decades of work representing immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, forced marriage, and other forms of gender-based violence. For many of these survivors, being transferred to a country where they have no meaningful ties, limited legal protections, or inadequate services can expose them to renewed danger and deny them a meaningful opportunity to seek asylum. Through this case, Tahirih is working to ensure that asylum seekers—particularly immigrant survivors—receive the fair hearing required by law and are not sent to countries that cannot genuinely provide safety or protection.

For more information on ACAs, please see our Breaking Down the News update on ACAs.

Please note: Policies and practices in this area of law are changing rapidly. Tahirih will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as new information becomes available.