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The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) is a leading voice in the movement to rebuild the U.S. asylum system and expand access to protection for women, children, LGBTQ+ people, and others seeking refuge. Our Policy & Advocacy team serves as a critical resource on asylum to policymakers, journalists, and the public. We provide rapid analysis of policy developments and offer practical recommendations for decision-makers at all levels of government, advising our leaders on how to ensure the United States lives up to its legal and moral commitments to people fleeing persecution.
Selling Out LGBTQ Immigrants Will Result in the Death of Queer and Trans Asylum Seekers
CGRS joined 40 LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights organizations in a letter to Congress and President Biden, urging them to reject legislative proposals that would gut asylum protections for LGBTQ+ refugees.
Refugee and Human Rights Law Experts Urge Congress to Uphold Asylum
CGRS Director Professor Karen Musalo joined refugee and human rights law experts in a letter urging Congress to reject proposals that would effectively dismantle the U.S. asylum system.
CBP Violations of Custody Standards and Human Rights of Individuals Detained in Open-Air Detention Sites in the San Diego Sector Require Immediate Attention to Save Lives
Seven immigrant rights organizations lodged an urgent federal complaint with the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) concerning gross human rights violations by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which has held people seeking asylum in squalid, unsafe open-air detention sites along the U.S.-Mexico border in California.
Joint Statement on Asylum Negotiations
We joined a statement to Congress expressing extreme concern over proposals that would devastate the U.S. asylum process and harm asylum seekers and other vulnerable immigrants.
Joint Analysis of Lankford-Cotton Bill and Violations of International Law
This memo outlines the ways in which the legislative proposals advanced by Senators Lankford and Cotton during budget negotiations would violate U.S. obligations to refugees under international law.
Letter to President Biden on Anti-Asylum Funding and Policy Proposals
We joined a letter to President Biden urging the administration to reject funding and policy proposals that would eviscerate access to asylum.
Cartagena+40: Una oportunidad para abordar el desplazamiento climático
Este documento examina los vacíos legales en las políticas de los Estados Unidos para enfrentar la migración climática y el potencial del proceso Cartagena +40 para abordar el desplazamiento climático en las Américas
Policy Memo: Climate Change and Cross-Border Displacement
This policy memo reviews seven existing and potential legal and policy options for improving the United States’ response to people fleeing across international borders in the context of the adverse effects of climate change and disasters.
Climate Change and Cross-Border Displacement: What the Courts, the Administration, and Congress Can Do to Improve Options for the United States
This paper examines seven existing and potential legal and policy options for improving the United States’ response to people fleeing across international borders in the context of the adverse effects of climate change and disasters.
Reforms Needed to Bring the United States into Compliance with the Refugee Convention & Protocol
This factsheet explains that the treaty obligations underpinning U.S. asylum law should be used in all contexts from individual representation to administrative rulemaking and statutory reform.
