Today, the Department of Homeland Security issued a proposed rule that would drastically limit eligibility for asylum for many people seeking safety at our Southern border. Under these new regulations, a person seeking asylum at a U.S. port of entry on the Southern border who does not have an appointment or traveled through another country without applying for protection there first will be considered ineligible for asylum here – with few exceptions. This asylum ban cuts off a critical path to safety for survivors and sends them back to dangerous conditions where they often face further violence and trauma. 

The Tahirih Justice Center welcomes the introduction of the Refugee Protection Act (RPA). This bill not only ensures our doors remain open to refugees and asylum seekers but also reasserts long-held legal precedent.  

A recent report from our two organizations reveals shocking levels of gender-based violence at the US/Mexico border, and exposes how the deterrence-based asylum policy of the US is fueling it.

Tahirih’s client, Brenda Rincon, shared her story with Univision Atlanta reporter, Ana Herrera. Brenda says sharing her survival story helps her heal.

You can see the full interview in Spanish here.

Everyone deserves to live a life free from violence. That’s why at Tahirih, we believe that people seeking safety in the U.S. should be met with an asylum system that understands the trauma they have endured, instead of exposing them to more harm.

Unfortunately, that is not the case for survivors of gender-based violence who arrive at the southern border seeking protection here in the United States.

A new report by the Tahirih Justice Center and Oxfam America reveals how common it is for people seeking asylum to experience gender-based violence in Mexico while waiting to access the asylum process in the U.S.

A new report by Oxfam America and the Tahirih Justice Center documents how common it is for migrants seeking asylum to experience gender-based violence in Mexico while waiting to access the asylum process in the U.S.

In Surviving Deterrence: How U.S. Asylum Deterrence Policies Normalize Gender-Based Violence, Oxfam America and Tahirih explain how U.S. asylum deterrence policies, such as border closures and expulsions, exacerbate conditions that cause gender-based violence to proliferate at the southern border. The report further asserts that survivors who do manage to apply for asylum face an inequitable and re-traumatizing process on a systemic level.

The Houston Chronicle reporter, Elizabeth Trovall, spoke with Tahirih’s Chief of Programs about the obstacles Afghan refugees face while seeking asylum in the U.S.