From May 10-12, 2023, Tahirih was part of a delegation of human, civil, and immigrants’ rights leaders led by the Haitian Bridge Alliance. The delegation visited the Texas Rio Grande […]

For three years, Title 42 has restricted access to asylum for migrants seeking protection in the U.S. and as it comes to a long-overdue end, the administration has decided to pass a rule that doubles down on illegal and inhumane policies that prioritize deterrence and violate due process. And they are doing so despite outcry from advocates across the country, thousands of comments submitted in opposition to the proposed rule, nearly 80 lawmakers, and condemnation by the asylum officers union.

Under the new asylum ban, migrants most vulnerable to violence and exploitation, including women and girls and other survivors of gender-based violence, will have little hope of finding safety and will languish at our southern border where they are at increased risk of violence, sexual assault, and trafficking.

Through requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and litigation, the Tahirih Justice Center and the American Immigration Council have successfully uncovered a number of documents providing insight into […]

When Tahirih launched our Afghan Asylum Project in August 2021, we knew it would be a massive undertaking that would require a lot of support from our staff and our […]

On April 7, Tahirih and pro bono counsel Orrick filed a lawsuit against USCIS for its failure to timely process asylum applications. The seventeen Tahirih clients who are plaintiffs in the litigation filed their applications at least five years ago and continue to await adjudication, despite the completion of many later-filed applications. Delays in asylum adjudication compound the stress and hardship of survivors, and Tahirih and Orrick look forward to vindicating the rights of these survivors to timely adjudication of their meritorious claims for relief.

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 Tahirih Justice Center submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Circumvention of Lawful Pathways