Tahirih’s policy work is rooted in our core values and in our promise theory of change. We work to advance policies and laws that enable immigrant survivors of gender-based violence to purse legal immigration status, live in safety, and fore their own paths.

The Tahirih Justice Center is prioritizing the following policy goals to immediately improve protections for immigrant survivors with simultaneously seeking long-term, systemic change.

Governor Phil Scott signed a law that ends child marriage in the state by raising the legal age for marriage to 18 without exceptions. This victory makes Vermont the 8th state to completely end child marriage and comes after years of advocacy by the sponsor, Rep. Carol Ode, and advocates in Vermont to ensure that children can no longer be coerced into marriage

Tahirih relies on the support of committed volunteers and pro bonos who believe in our mission and share our vision to build a world free from violence. In April, as […]

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.

Tahirih Atlanta is pleased to welcome five new local advisory council members Takesha Bartley, Dr. Ayana Cummings, Mojdeh Farsi, Jamilah Stephens, and Anye Wanki. They join W. Imara Canady and […]

To tackle the unprecedented backlog of applications for humanitarian relief, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created the Humanitarian, Adjustment, Removing Conditions, and Travel Documents (HART) Service Center which will be comprised of a dedicated team of specially trained staff responsible for adjudicating VAWA self-petitions (I-360), issuing U visa bona fide determinations (I-918), and reunification of refugees and asylees with their family members (I-730).  

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.