SPLC Statement on Trump Administration’s Attack on Asylum Seekers Amid Global Crisis
‘Denying asylum seekers their rights will do absolutely nothing to solve this pandemic’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) issued the following statement by Melissa Crow, senior supervising attorney with the SPLC’s Immigrant Justice Project, regarding reports that the Trump administration plans to turn back asylum seekers due to the COVID-19 pandemic:
“Since taking office, this administration has worked tirelessly to thwart our nation’s laws through various schemes aimed at blocking asylum seekers. It is unbelievable that amid this global crisis, they remain consumed by this effort, using the pandemic as an excuse to turn back asylum seekers. Denying asylum seekers their rights will do absolutely nothing to solve this pandemic.”
The SPLC is fighting the Trump administration’s efforts to destroy the asylum system. Along with several other advocacy organizations, we are actively challenging numerous policies aimed at eviscerating the legal rights of people seeking asylum, including the “Turnback Policy,” the “Remain in Mexico Policy” and the asylum bans. More information on these lawsuits is available here.
We are also fighting the weaponization of the immigration court system to serve the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda. The SPLC and several other nonprofit organizations recently filed a lawsuit challenging the dysfunctionality of this system.
