Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The United States has a longstanding tradition of welcoming individuals from around the world who are seeking protection and refuge. But recent U.S. policy has grown increasingly hostile toward asylum seekers and refugees. Instead of turning vulnerable individuals away, the United States should maintain its global reputation as a leader in refugee resettlement and humanitarian protection. Doing so not only upholds American values but sustains and strengthens our communities. Data from the Council shows that refugees and asylees make tremendous contributions to our economy as earners, taxpayers, and consumers. Learn more about the contributions and challenges of asylum seekers and refugees below.
The Asylum Turnback Case: From the First Filing to the Supreme Court
After years of jockeying through the courts, on June 25, a 6-3 majority of the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the government in Mullin v. Al Otro Lado. First filed in 2017, Al Otro Lado is the Council’s long-running litigation challenging the first Trump administration’s policy of turning back people seeking asylum as they approached ports of entry on… Read More
‘Metering’ of Asylum Seekers Is Bad Policy, Bad Law, and Bad for the Border
For years, the federal government had one, clear message for migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border: go to a port of entry and do not cross the border illegally. This message was bipartisan. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen declared in June 2018: “If you… Read More
Supreme Court Allows Trump to Strip TPS, Turn Away Asylum Seekers Arriving at the Border in Pair of New Immigration Rulings
Today the U.S. Supreme Court issued two seismic immigration law decisions, ruling 6-3 in the Trump administration’s favor in each case. The first case, Mullin v. Doe, overturns lower court decisions blocking the Trump administration’s move to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for roughly 350,000 Haitians and… Read More
In Blow to Asylum Rights, Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Block Asylum Seekers at Border
The Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump administration could turn back asylum seekers at ports of entry along the southern border, and that doing so does not violate federal immigration law. The case, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, addressed a now-defunct policy, under which immigration… Read More
The Trump Administration Stopped Processing Certain Green Card Applications. Our FOIA Found What Happened Next.
Under the second Trump administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has repeatedly paused the processing of applications for all types of immigration benefits, including applications for legal permanent residency, commonly referred to as adjustment of status or getting your green card. One of the first suspensions occurred between… Read More
The Supreme Court Hears Asylum Turnback Case: What You Need to Know
The opportunity to ask for asylum is a right protected under both U.S. and international law. Yet, during the first Trump administration, border officials physically blocked hundreds of thousands of migrants from accessing ports of entry to seek asylum. Under the government’s “turnback policy” (which the government calls… Read More
Supreme Court Today: Immigration Advocates Tell Justices Trump’s Turnback Policy Violated Law
Thousands denied right to seek asylum and forced back into danger; case has implications for refugee rights March 24, 2026, Washington, D.C. – Immigration advocates argued today before the Supreme Court that the Trump administration’s turnback policy violated federal immigration law. Under the now-defunct policy, immigration officers… Read More
From Imprisonment and Torture in Iran to Endless Detention in the US
The Trump administration has gone to war in Iran. And among the many rationales given is that, by “being beat to hell,” the Iranian regime will be weakened enough for a grassroots revolution to topple it.“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to… Read More
Federal Court Blocks Significant Pieces of Administration’s Sweeping Immigration Appeals Rule That Eliminates Meaningful Judicial Review
Order Halts Implementation of Dangerous Steps that Would Have Dismantled Safeguards at the Board of Immigration Appeals Washington, D.C. — The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order late last night in Amica Center for Immigrant Rights et al. v. Executive Office for Immigration… Read More
Legal Services Organizations Sue to Block Sweeping Immigration Appeals Rule That Eliminates Meaningful Judicial Review
Emergency Filing Seeks Court Order to Halt Implementation of Interim Final Rule that Dismantles Safeguards at the Board of Immigration Appeals Washington, D.C., Feb. 26, 2026 — Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Brooklyn Defender Services, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, HIAS, the American Immigration Council, and National… Read More
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