The Biden administration today rolled out a new rule that attempts to repair a deeply flawed asylum system. Although the rule rolls back dangerous changes to the asylum process made in 2020, and adopts some new procedures that are welcomed, it does not go far enough to ensure the protection of individuals seeking asylum in the U.S.

Last night, the Senate reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a vote that was six years in the making. The Tahirih Justice Center applauds Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for their legislative leadership in the fight to get VAWA over the finish line. The new authorization provides more than $500 million to increase resources for survivors of violence.

The Tahirih Justice Center celebrates yesterday’s court ruling in AsylumWorks v. Mayorkas. It’s a lawsuit that challenged two rules that prevented people seeking asylum from receiving timely work authorization.

Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a bill that would reshape the nation’s immigration courts by making them independent of the Department of Justice (DOJ), led by the U.S. attorney general. The bill would create a new immigration court system under Article I of the U.S. Constitution and it would ensure that judges are unbiased, that court procedures are transparent to the public, and that the executive branch does not decide on the court’s budget. The Tahirih Justice Center believes this bill is an important step to ensure a fair process for immigrants where matters of life and liberty are at stake.  

This year, we are celebrating a monumental milestone at our organization – it has been 25 years since our doors opened, and we have served more than 30,000 immigrant survivors of gender-based violence.

Today, the Biden administration issued a memo that attempts to end, for a second time, the Remain in Mexico policy, also knows as the Migrant Protection Protocols, which was implemented in 2019 and forced thousands of individuals to wait in Mexico while their asylum cases are processed.

This LGBTQ+ History Month, Tahirih’s Queer & Trans Caucus demands an immediate end to the state-sponsored violence that trans, nonbinary, two-spirit, and queer immigrants face at the hands of our immigration and criminal punishment systems.