Tahirih Justice Center introduced a new report that examines how unsettled policies and laws harm women and girls fleeing persecution at a congressional briefing on Sept. 30, 2009.
The report, “Precarious Protection: How Unsettled Policy and Current Laws Harm Women and Girls Fleeing Persecution,” takes a critical look at the lack of clarity and coherence in the field of gender-based asylum law. Together with the harsh implications of current immigration laws and policies of general application to all asylum seekers (including the one-year filing deadline, the expedited removal process, and restrictive detention policies with limited access to parole), it can prevent women and girls fleeing persecution from finding the protection they need and deserve.
Tahirih’s Director of Public Policy Jeanne Smoot presented the report’s finding as part of a briefing panel. Colleagues and briefing co-sponsors from the Women’s Refugee Commission and Human Rights First joined Smoot as panelists.
A former Tahirih client, award-winning actor and human rights activist Sam Waterston, and Congressman Jim Moran, who represents Tahirih’s district and has been a long-standing Tahirih supporter, also gave remarks.
