The “turnback” case and campaign highlight how the fundamental right to seek asylum saves lives
A coalition of legal and advocacy organizations today launched a national campaign to protect the right to seek asylum as the Supreme Court prepares to hear a case on the issue this spring. The No Turning Back campaign seeks to mobilize support for people seeking safety and raise awareness of the importance of asylum in the United States as a lifeline for persecuted people across the world.
“The right to seek asylum is not a policy preference or a loophole—it is a legal right and moral commitment forged in the aftermath of the Holocaust,” Nicole Elizabeth Ramos, Director of the Border Rights Project at Al Otro Lado, the plaintiff organization in the Noem v. Al Otro Lado case, said today. “This case asks whether that right still has force under the law, or whether a president can wipe it away through unchecked executive action, shutting the door on people who are simply asking for the chance to save their lives.”
The Al Otro Lado case concerns the now-defunct policy of summarily turning back people seeking safety at ports of entry along the southern border, unlawfully refusing to inspect them, and depriving them of the opportunity to seek asylum. Although the turnback policy has not been in effect since 2021 and President Trump has implemented other anti-asylum measures at the border, the current administration asked the Supreme Court to assess the legality of the policy as part of its sweeping attack on immigrant and refugee communities. Amid a near-total shutdown of the border and a massive, violent deportation campaign, which has included occupations of several cities, the Trump administration has resurrected this case in yet another bid to erode immigrant rights.
“The government continued to turn back asylum seekers well after it was aware of the profound human suffering the policy engendered,” said Angelo Guisado, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel in the case. “Now it asks the Supreme Court essentially to end asylum at the border altogether. It demonstrates limitless and gratuitous cruelty.”
The turnback policy, euphemistically dubbed “metering” by government officials, denied thousands of people the right to seek asylum, forcing them to languish in perilous conditions in Mexico or return to the danger they had fled. In 2017 Al Otro Lado, a binational organization providing free legal and humanitarian aid to immigrants, and several asylum seekers successfully brought a class action suit challenging the policy, which the courts ruled unlawful in 2022 and 2024.
“The government’s illegal turnback policy deprived people seeking safety of their legal rights, exposing refugee families, children, and adults to grave danger,” said Melissa Crow, Director of Litigation at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) and co-counsel in the case. “The policy has been repeatedly struck down by the courts and was rescinded over four years ago. Amidst unrelenting assaults on immigrant and refugee communities, the Trump administration is now attempting to relitigate this defunct policy that created a humanitarian crisis at the border. This is a transparent bid to get the Supreme Court to hand down a ruling that further erodes the rights of people seeking protection. We refuse to back down.”
To highlight what is at stake ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, Al Otro Lado and organizations that represent it in court – including the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Democracy Forward – have launched No Turning Back, with partners including Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc., Constitutional Accountability Center, Church World Service, East Bay Community Law Center, Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, Global Strategic Litigation Council, Haitian Bridge Alliance, HIAS, Human Rights First, Kino Border Initiative, Sahiyo U.S. Inc., Refugee Congress, Refugees International, Tahirih Justice Center, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy and Services, and the Welcome With Dignity Campaign.
“In the face of the Trump-Vance administration's autocratic abuse of our asylum and immigration systems, speaking out takes courage. Thankfully, as we have seen in so many efforts to confront the anti-democratic actions of this administration, courage is contagious, and we are grateful for and inspired by Al Otro Lado and our partners in this effort,” said Sarah Rich, Senior Attorney at Democracy Forward and co-counsel in the case. “Asylum saves lives. Democracy Forward is committed to fighting this unlawful turnback policy, and to supporting this coalition of advocates working to protect asylum seekers and prove that America lives up to the values we hold dear.”
Trump’s brutal tactics have triggered a backlash in the form of increased support for immigration, with a record 79 percent of people saying it is good for the country, according to a Gallup poll. Over the years, the right to seek asylum has remained broadly popular among Americans, as many see it as fundamental to the country’s history and ideals. A recent poll found an overwhelming 86 percent of voters want the United States to maintain an asylum process.
For more information on the organizations involved in the Supreme Court case, see their websites: