SPLC: Our Fight Against the Trump Administration’s War on Asylum Continues

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued the following statement by Melissa Crow, senior supervising attorney with the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project, about the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling allowing the “Remain in Mexico” policy to remain in effect pending the filing and disposition of a petition for review by the Supreme Court. Late last month, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision holding that the policy is illegal.
 
“Today’s ruling does not deter us in the least. We will continue to fight this clearly illegal and unconscionable policy and the myriad of other policies this administration has implemented to eviscerate the legal rights of people seeking asylum.
 
“Tens of thousands of vulnerable migrants from all over the world have been trapped under desperate conditions in Mexico for the duration of their removal proceedings. We must restore the rule of law.”
 
Background:
 
The Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies filed a lawsuit, Innovation Law Lab v. Wolf, challenging the “Remain in Mexico” policy. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of asylum seekers forcibly returned to Mexico. Plaintiffs also include the following organizations: Innovation Law Lab, Al Otro Lado, the Central American Resource Center of Northern California, Centro Legal de la Raza, the University of San Francisco School of Law Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic, and the Tahirih Justice Center. Today’s ruling in this case can be viewed here: https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/19a960_wolf_v._innovation_law_lab_order.pdf