Center for Gender & Refugee Studies

Happy New Year from all of us at CGRS! With our incredible community of advocates and allies at our side, CGRS was able to meet the challenges of 2020 head-on - expanding our services and continuing to demand justice for refugees. Today and every day, we are deeply grateful for your support! Our team is now heading into 2021 with renewed hope and determination. We're ready to pursue real, transformative change for people seeking asylum in the months ahead.... Learn more about our policy vision for the next administration in the video below, from our Legal Director Blaine Bookey and Policy and Advocacy Director Kate Jastram!

Trump's Justice Department just made a shameful, last-ditch attempt to restrict asylum, issuing a new decision in the Matter of A-B- case - which has become the battleground on the issue of whether domestic violence survivors can qualify for asylum. While the case, involving a Salvadoran survivor known as Ms. A.B., remains pending at the Fourth Circuit, today's ruling attempts to erect additional barriers to asylum for people fleeing domestic violence, gang brutality, and oth...er abuses. "CGRS will continue to fight for justice for our client, Ms. A.B.," our Legal Director Blaine Bookey said today. "We’re ready to hold the Biden administration accountable to its promises to restore asylum for domestic violence survivors and all others who turn to the U.S. for safe haven. As a first step, the new administration must vacate both Attorney General rulings in Ms. A.B.’s case and revoke Trump-era regulations that seek to codify Matter of A-B- and restrict access to asylum." Our full statement https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//cgrs-comment-attorney-general

This week CGRS filed a legal challenge to a sweeping rule that marks the Trump administration’s most far-reaching attempt to end asylum yet. With our co-counsel at the Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program and Sidley Austin LLP (Official), we’re representing plaintiff organizations Pangea Legal Services, Dolores Street Community Services, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), and Capital Area Immigrants' Rights Coalition - CAIR Coalition. Am...ong its numerous harmful provisions, the rule will: Allow judges to deny asylum without even holding a hearing Codify and expand the illegal third country transit ban, which impacts nearly all non-Mexicans seeking asylum at our southern border Explicitly exclude from protection survivors of gender-based violence, children targeted by gangs, and LGBTQ+ people fleeing abuse The rule is set to take effect on January 11, 2021. We're asking the court to issue a temporary restraining order to immediately halt implementation of the rule while they consider our case. #SaveAsylum Read our full statement. https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//groups-challenge-trump-admini

Join CGRS this Thursday for a briefing on Haitian women's migration with Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración, AC (IMUMI) and Haitian Bridge Alliance! We'll be discussing our newly published report documenting the virulent anti-Black racism and gender-based discrimination facing Haitian migrant women in Tapachula, Mexico. Our report shines a light on the devastating impact of anti-immigrant policies and the distinct, intersectional challenges encountered by Haitians and other Black migrants traveling through the Americas and in Mexico. #ImmigrationIsABlackIssue Register here http://bit.ly/HaitiBriefing

BREAKING: A federal judge just blocked a sweeping Trump rule that would gut protections for people seeking asylum - days ahead of its scheduled effective date. CGRS is proud to be co-counsel on this suit with the Harvard Law School Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program and Sidley Austin LLP (Official), representing plaintiff organizations Pangea Legal Services, Dolores Street Community Services, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC), and Capital Area Immigrant...s' Rights Coalition - CAIR Coalition. This monstrosity of a rule would erect nearly insurmountable obstacles to protection for people fleeing life-threatening violence, said Jamie Crook, CGRS Director of Litigation, who argued the case yesterday. We are grateful that the court has taken swift action to stop this dangerous rule from taking effect and placing courageous refugees in harm’s way. Our full statement. https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//court-blocks-illegal-%E2%80%9

We’ve filed a lawsuit challenging two Trump administration rules that have drastically restricted access to work authorization for people seeking asylum. CGRS and our co-counsel at the National Immigrant Justice Center, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP represent 14 asylum seekers who are precluded from work permits under the new rules, as well as organizational plaintiffs AsylumWorks, Tahirih Justice Center, and Community Legal Servi...ces in East Palo Alto. If permitted to take effect, these rules will force courageous survivors of violence into dangerously precarious living situations, needlessly compounding their suffering. They will also make it significantly more difficult for asylum seekers to afford legal representation, which we know can make a life-saving difference in these cases, and to sustain themselves and their families while they seek protection, CGRS staff attorney Annie Daher said today. Read more at the link below! https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//asylum-seekers-and-service-pr

THIS FRIDAY 12/18: Learn what these new regulations mean for asylum seekers! Our attorneys will be presenting an overview of the rule's contents and offering initial strategy recommendations for advocates. RSVP here bit.ly/3oYlqO6

Today the Trump administration unveiled sweeping new regulations that will make it virtually impossible for people fleeing persecution to obtain asylum in the United States. Set to take effect within 30 days, these regulations explicitly exclude from protection survivors of gender-based violence, children targeted by gangs, and LGBTQ+ people fleeing abuse. They also allow immigration judges to deny asylum applications without even holding a hearing.... CGRS is ready to take the administration to court once again to challenge this brazen assault on our asylum system. Our full statement. https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//cgrs-decries-sweeping-anti-as

This morning news broke that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have prevailed in the 2020 presidential election. Our team at CGRS now looks to the next four years with renewed hope and determination, ready to work with the new administration to restore access to asylum in the United States. Communities around the country turned out in record numbers this year to reject the racist fearmongering that has characterized Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, voting to end his administra...tion’s unrelenting, years-long assault on immigrant and refugee rights. The people have delivered a mandate for Biden and Harris to do right by our communities on day one by reversing every last Trump policy that has placed asylum seekers in harm’s way and trapped immigrant families in terrifying limbo. It’s time to turn the page on the inhumanity of the Trump era and reimagine systems that deliver true justice for asylum seekers, address the root causes of forced migration, and offer permanent relief for the millions of immigrant families who call this country home, CGRS Director Karen Musalo said today. My colleagues and I are ready to roll up our sleeves and work alongside fellow advocates, organizers, and allies to build a better future for all. Click the link below for our full post-election statement! https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//cgrs-congratulates-joe-biden-

CGRS is #hiring summer law clerks for 2021! Law clerks will have the opportunity to support strategic litigation and policy initiatives to #SaveAsylum and defend human rights this summer, working closely with CGRS's team of dedicated movement lawyers. Learn more at the link below and help us spread the word to law students passionate about immigrant and refugee rights! https://bit.ly/3mPsHPC

Next Thursday CGRS Director Karen Musalo will join fellow UC Hastings Law faculty for a panel on what's next for the incoming administration. Karen will be discussing the outlook on asylum policy over the next four years. RSVP online and tune in on YouTube next week!

When it comes to asylum, the Trump administration has been "truly disciplined about being truly evil." This week's episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver breaks down three policies that have shut down asylum processing at our southern border - Remain in Mexico, unsafe third country agreements, and mass expulsions under the pretext of pandemic concerns. These cruel policies have put thousands of asylum seekers - including vulnerable children and families - directly in harm's way. CGRS is challenging them all in federal court. #SaveAsylum

Today the Supreme Court agreed to review the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in our lawsuit with the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center challenging the Trump administration’s #RemainInMexico program. It’s now been over a year since a federal court first struck down this cruel policy - yet thousands of families remain stranded in increasingly perilous conditions, where many have faced brutal violence and homelessness. We'll keep fighting to #EndMPP and #SaveAsylum.... https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//comment-supreme-court-decisio

Back in March, Mike Pence overruled CDC public health officials and forced a decision that has resulted in the summary expulsions of over 150,000 asylum seekers - under the pretext of coronavirus concerns. This cruel move has put people fleeing violent persecution - including over 9,000 vulnerable children - back into harm's way. CGRS and our litigation partners are fighting in the courts to put an end to this inhumanity. #VPDebate #SaveAsylum

Hear from our director Karen Musalo tomorrow afternoon in the latest installment of the University of Arizona Law's immigration speaker series! Karen will be giving a virtual talk on the past 40 years of U.S. asylum law and policy - and our country's failure to ensure protection for the persecuted. Free Zoom registration link below. https://law.arizona.edu//12094-immigration-law-and-policy-

Last week CGRS joined the Human Rights Clinic - University of Miami School of Law and a coalition of organizations in an amicus brief filed in support of a lawsuit challenging SB 168 - a draconian state law that endangers immigrant survivors of gender-based violence in Florida. SB 168 requires every Florida county and municipality to expend maximum local resources and make best efforts to enforce federal immigration laws by cooperating with ICE to arrest and detain undocu...mented people. By imposing the threat of immigration enforcement against immigrant survivors and their families, it forces them into the shadows, in derogation of our government’s obligations under international human rights laws," CGRS Litigation Director Jamie Crook said today. https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//cgrs-joins-amicus-brief-chall

Join CGRS and the Immigration Advocates Network next Thursday for a free webinar on the new rules restricting work permits for asylum seekers. Panelists will explain how the rules impact a range of clients and offer practical guidance for advocates. Register at the link below to secure your place!

California practitioners, join CGRS on September 22 for the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area's free fall asylum webinar! We'll be presenting an overview of asylum law and offering a training on the Trump administration's new work authorization rules. Register online https://bit.ly/3hZT3M9

CGRS's latest piece for Ms. Magazine breaks down the significance of a series of recent Ninth Circuit rulings affirming that women fleeing domestic violence can qualify for asylum - and must be provided their fair day in court. For women like Jenni of Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA), these victories are reason for tentative optimism. Hearing that the Ninth Circuit has overturned the decisions in cases similar to mine gives me hope, Jenni told Ms. last week. My daughter and I might have the opportunity to stay in this country that we now call home. But the Trump administration's regulatory attacks on asylum continue to put survivors like Jenni at risk and threaten the good progress we've made for #ImmigrantWomenToo. Click the link below to learn more.

Today CGRS is proud to join 170+ orgs in releasing the 2021 Immigration Action Plan! This plan offers the next administration a blueprint to transform the U.S. immigration system and #SaveAsylum. Among other key recommendations, our plan calls for an end to the Trump administration’s myriad anti-asylum border policies, as well as the withdrawal of restrictive Department of Justice decisions that have severely eroded protections for survivors of domestic violence, gang brutal...ity, and other abuses. CGRS is proud to have played a role in drafting this visionary plan alongside our trusted movement partners. Click the link below to read it in full. https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//cgrs-joins-170-organizations-

Victory! We are very happy to share that this week the Ninth Circuit overturned three lower court decisions denying asylum to women seeking refuge from domestic violence in the United States. #ImmigrantWomenToo In all three cases, the Board of Immigration Appeals had relied on former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Matter of A-B- ruling to summarily deny the women asylum without conducting an independent evaluation of their claims. The Ninth Circuit's decisions affirm that ...Matter of A-B- does not impose a categorical ban on asylum for domestic violence survivors and send the cases back to the Board for fair consideration. CGRS provided amicus ("friend of the court") support in the women's cases, with our Legal Director Blaine Bookey presenting oral arguments in support of one of the applicants, Maria Fuentes Reyes, back in March. The Ninth Circuit’s decisions place these courageous women one step closer to the safety they deserve, Blaine said today. We are gratified that the court adopted our arguments, affirming unequivocally that the Trump administration cannot use Matter of A-B- as justification to single survivors out for discriminatory treatment." Read our full statement. https://cgrs.uchastings.edu//cgrs-applauds-ninth-circuit-d

We have just *three days left* to speak out and submit public comments opposing the Trump administration’s latest anti-asylum rule. This new rule weaponizes specious public health claims to shut the door on asylum seekers. It would allow the administration to deport many asylum seekers to danger without giving them their day in immigration court, under the pretext of public health.... We need as many people as possible to speak out against this shameful attack on asylum seekers. Click the link below to learn more and submit your comment today! https://cgrs.uchastings.edu/take-action

CGRS is proud to cosponsor the Haiti Emergency Relief Fund's webinar this Saturday featuring Mildred Aristide and a dynamic panel of speakers. The panelists will discuss the current health crisis in Haiti, including the impact of COVID-19, and the launch of the Campaign for Dignity to construct a new medical center and teaching hospital. Register here! https://linktr.ee/HERF https://www.facebook.com/events/3423275851016128