Defending asylum seekers in court is at the heart of what we do. The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies is committed to protecting as many refugees as possible under existing law even as we work for a more just legal system. We litigate in two key areas: advancing substantive asylum law to keep legal avenues open for refugees and protecting the asylum system itself to make sure that people have access to a fair legal process. This litigation docket provides an update on some of the major cases that CGRS is fighting in court.
Pangea Legal Services v. DHS
CGRS and the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program won an injunction blocking a Trump-era rule that would have created nearly insurmountable barriers to asylum.
Title 42 Challenges
CGRS brought multiple court challenges to the illegal Title 42 policy, which allowed the government to expel people seeking safety to danger.
U.T. v. Barr
CGRS and co-counsel brought a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's “Asylum Cooperative Agreements” with Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.