Trump’s “Remain In Mexico” Policy To Go Before the U.S. Court of Appeals For the Ninth Circuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 30, 2019

San Francisco, CA ー On Tuesday, October 01, 2019, oral arguments will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the matter of Innovation Law Lab v. McAleenan, a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s policy of forcing thousands of asylum seekers to remain in Mexico until the conclusion of their removal proceedings before a U.S. immigration court. 

In bringing the lawsuit, Innovation Law Lab and its co-plaintiffs allege that Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the United States’ duty under domestic and international law to not return people to dangerous conditions. A federal court ruled in April that the policy is unlawful and temporarily blocked its implementation; the Ninth Circuit subsequently lifted the lower court’s injunction pending further court proceedings. Subsequently, multiple amicus briefs have been filed in support of plaintiffs, including briefs by current US Asylum Officers, former US government officials in the Departments of State and Homeland Security, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

“The United States has a longstanding tradition of providing safe haven to people fleeing persecution,” Tess Hellgren, attorney at Innovation Law Lab, explained. “Over the years, Congress has enacted laws to implement our country’s international and humanitarian obligations. In violation of these laws, the Trump Administration’s policy traps asylum seekers in dangerous conditions and impairs their right to seek refuge.” 

Since the implementation of the policy in January, there has been documentation of widespread kidnappings, sexual violence, crime, homelessness, and illegal deportations of migrants trapped in untenable situations along the border. Advocates along the border also report that the policy has severely impeded asylum seekers’ access to legal representation, posing nearly insurmountable logistical barriers to retaining and communicating with legal counsel in the United States.  Many of those targeted by the cruel program are forced into homelessness in Mexico while they have families and friends ready, willing and able to house and support them in the United States.

“The federal government cruelly refers to this program as the ‘Migrant Protection Protocols.’ We call MPP by its more accurate name, the ‘Migrant Persecution Protocols,’” said PJ Podesta of Innovation Law Lab. “We hope the Ninth Circuit puts an end to this xenophobic, violent, and illegal policy, which has already caused immeasurable harm to individuals and families seeking protection and forced to remain in Mexico.”

This lawsuit is brought by Innovation Law Lab along with eleven individual plaintiffs and the Central American Resource Center of Northern California, Centro Legal de la Raza, the University of San Francisco School of Law Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic, Al Otro Lado, and the Tahirih Justice Center. Plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). 

MEDIA CONTACT
Ramon Valdez
971-238-1804
ramon@innovationlawlab.org