Several bills that would create an exceptionally harsh system of deterrence and punishment for immigrants and asylum seekers in need of protection are being considered by the Texas state legislature. If passed, these bills would lead to criminalization, imprisonment, or expulsion back to dangerous conditions that survivors of violence originally fled when coming the U.S. seeking safety.

Last week, the U.S. and Canadian governments expanded their 2002 “safe third country” agreement to allow both countries to expel vulnerable people seeking asylum who have crossed the countries’ shared border in between ports of entry. The expansion of the deal was negotiated in secret a year ago and became effective just three days after its announcement on March 25.

The Washington Post reporter, Kimberly Kindy, interviewed Tahirih’s public policy experts on child marriage in U.S. You can read the full article here.

Senior Litigation Counsel at the Tahirih Justice Center, Rachel Sheridan, explains why the CBP One App is problematic for survivors of violence seeking asylum.

The recent reported news by the New York Times alerting that the Administration is considering reinstating family detention is shameful and a complete travesty of President Biden’s promises.

After several years of efforts, Wyoming has taken action to protect children by limiting child marriage in the state. House Bill 7 does not ban child marriage but is an important first step toward ending child marriage in the state. Until this year, Wyoming had no minimum age under which minors could not be married and allowed older minors to marry with nothing more than parental permission.  

BACKGROUND  On February 23, the Department of Homeland Security formally issued a proposed rule that would make most people seeking safety at the southern U.S. land border ineligible for asylum. […]