On September 11, 2019, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to bar virtually all asylum seekers entering the country through the southern border. National Immigrant Justice Center Executive Director Mary Meg McCarthy responds:
The highest court in the land is allowing the administration to severely roll back protections for people who have come to the United States seeking safety and freedom. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision allowing the administration to reject asylum claims at the southern border from migrants who entered the U.S. through Mexico, unless they were denied asylum in a third country. The asylum seekers who the National Immigrant Justice Center represents constantly tell us they are not safe in the countries through which they transit. People do not willingly leave their homes; they are forced to leave to save their lives. Requiring people to apply for asylum in a country where they do not feel safe violates domestic and international laws. Peoples’ lives are in danger and this decision puts their lives in imminent risk. This decision is contrary to American values.