In response to the Supreme Court rulings on asylum access (Noem v. Al Otro Lado) and Temporary Protected Status (Mullin v. Doe; Trump v. Miot), Amy Fischer, Director of Refugee and Migrant Rights, Amnesty International USA, said:
“Today’s Supreme Court decisions are a devastating blow to the human rights of people seeking safety in the United States and 1.3 million of our immigrant families, friends, and neighbors who make our communities thrive. These rulings give the Trump administration the power to send countless people fleeing persecution, violence and death back into danger in violation of a core international legal obligation.
“Turning away asylum seekers at ports of entry at the border without even hearing their claims directly violates international law and the right to seek asylum. For years, Amnesty International and other human rights monitors have documented the dangerous, violent, and often deadly consequences of denying people seeking safety access to ports of entry and forcing them back into Mexico. These policies only fuel further chaos and violence at the border and worsen the crisis of forced displacement. Today’s decision is yet another layer to the U.S. government’s multi-year effort to end the right to seek asylum and force people back to danger.
“Stripping protections for people from Haiti, Syria, and the 15 other countries risks not only causing serious harm to those individuals, it also upends families, communities, and economies who rely on TPS recipients. Not even one of these 17 countries has conditions that allow for safe deportations. Amnesty International calls upon Congress to act with urgency to pass legislation re-establishing TPS and creating a roadmap to citizenship for those who have made the United States their home, some for decades.
“Today’s decision on TPS is one of the largest de-documentation efforts in United States history and could lead to unspeakable harm to over a million people by putting them at risk of being detained and deported back into violence, political instability, exploitation, and other dangerous conditions.
“These decisions endorse policies that have already put countless lives in danger and are contrary to human rights. The rights to seek asylum and be protected from being forced to return to a country where you may face threats to your life are protected by international law.
“These policies are simply cruel. People seeking safety in the U.S. are not a threat, instead they are part of our communities – our friends, our neighbors, our family members. Leaving them stranded or forcing them back to where they are likely to face serious harm is absolutely shameful, and clearly unlawful.
“Policies rooted in racism, cruelty and denial of human rights only deepen human suffering. Instead of doubling down on racist and anti-immigrant practices and policies, the United States should be restoring access to asylum at the border, and creating an immigration system that is fair and rooted in human rights.”
Additional Information
Amnesty International joined Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and Physicians for Human Rights in submitting an amicus brief on this case. In the brief, the groups brought together their collective research and expertise in the rights of asylum seekers and other migrants, and argued that the turnback policy caused “significant physical and psychological harm to asylum seekers” and violates the United States’ international legal obligations. Drawing on stories depicting assaults, violence and extortion, they especially highlighted that the turnback policy violates the right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement.
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