澳彩开奖

San Diego, CA (Aug. 10, 2022)听鈥� On Friday, August 5, a district court judge听听颈苍听听that the government鈥檚 turnback policy听鈥�听its practice of systematically rejecting asylum seekers at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border听鈥�听is illegal. The court concluded that under U.S. law, border agents are obligated to inspect and process individuals arriving at ports of entry and provide them with a fair and meaningful opportunity to seek asylum. In the wake of this ruling,听, the听,听, the听, and the听澳彩开奖听call upon the Biden administration to heed the court鈥檚 ruling, end the turnback policy, and work toward restoring a fair, humane, and orderly asylum process at the southern border.

鈥淭he court's decision rightly recognizes that the government's long-standing practice of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry is illegal,鈥� the听Al Otro Lado听litigation team听said today. 鈥淲e hope the ruling will push the federal government to adopt policies at ports that place it on the right side of history, welcoming those seeking refuge in accordance with the procedures required by law.听We are disappointed, however, by the court鈥檚 conclusion that the Supreme Court ruling in听Garland v. Aleman Gonzalez听limits its ability to redress the profound suffering that people seeking asylum will continue to endure. Since its inception, the turnback policy has stranded thousands of vulnerable families, children, and adults in precarious conditions, where they have faced kidnapping, assault, disappearance, and death. The lack of injunctive relief for due process violations resulting from 鈥榬apacious executive overreach,鈥� to use the court鈥檚 language, is incredibly frustrating.鈥�

Since at least 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have deprived migrants of the opportunity to seek asylum, using tactics including lies, intimidation, coercion, verbal abuse, physical force, the threat of family separation, and delays to deny access to the asylum process, forcing vulnerable families, children, and adults to spend months in perilous conditions in Mexico.

罢丑别听Al Otro Lado v. Mayorkas听case challenged this policy and practice under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The case was brought four years ago by Al Otro Lado, a non-profit legal services organization serving indigent asylum seekers and others on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, along with 13 individual asylum seekers harmed by the policy. They are represented by the American Immigration Council, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the 澳彩开奖, and the law firm听.

In a summary judgment decision听听in September 2021, the court found turnbacks unlawful and requested briefing on appropriate remedies. Advocates asked the court to issue an injunction blocking the government from continuing to turn back asylum seekers at ports of entry. In its latest opinion, the court declined to do so, concluding that its hands were tied by the June 2022 Supreme Court ruling in听Garland v. Aleman Gonzalez, which the court found to preclude lower courts from enjoining the practices of immigration enforcement agencies, even those such as the turnback policy which 鈥渢rample upon . . . statutory and constitutional rights.鈥� The court found that it could order injunctive relief in individual cases involving noncitizens in removal proceedings, but could not address the government鈥檚 policies on a class-wide basis.

The court鈥檚 ruling should push the Biden administration to end turnbacks once and for all. It should also push the administration to redouble its efforts to terminate the deadly Title 42 policy, which continues to prevent people seeking safety at the southern border from accessing the U.S. asylum process.

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