Challenging The U.S. Government’s Practice of Turning Away Asylum Seekers at the Border
A class action lawsuit was filed today challenging Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) practice of turning away asylum seekers who present themselves at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The American Immigration Council and our co-counsel, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Latham and Watkins, LLP, are privileged to represent Al Otro Lado, a non-profit legal services organization that serves indigent deportees, migrants and refugees in Los Angeles and Tijuana, along with six courageous individuals who experienced CBP’s unlawful conduct firsthand.
The individual plaintiffs in the case have fled persecution, violence or death threats in their home countries, and endured arduous journeys to the U.S. border. Their experiences demonstrate that CBP uses a variety of tactics – including misrepresentation, threats and intimidation, verbal abuse and physical force, and coercion – to deny bona fide asylum seekers the opportunity to pursue their claims.
To learn more about the litigation, visit:
- Challenging Customs and Border Protection’s Unlawful Practice of Turning Away Asylum Seekers (Complaint)
- Groups Sue U.S. Government for Turning Away Asylum Seekers (Immigration Impact)
KJ