Press Release
Published on April 8, 2019
Los Angeles—Following today’s preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the Trump Administration’s Remain in Mexico policy, Human Rights First’s Robyn Barnard, who represents two refugees returned to Mexico under the policy, issued the following statement:
We are pleased that today’s preliminary injunction will offer relief to the men, women, and children who come to the United States simply to seek protection and are turned away at our border, and we will continue to fight on behalf of the more than one thousand refugees already suffering in dangerous conditions in Mexico as a result of this policy.
Our clients, Ariel* and Alec*, have been forced to wait in a very precarious situation in Tijuana since being returned after their initial immigration court hearings. They have been sick without access to necessary medical care, and reliant on the charity of others, because they have no right to work to ensure they have a roof over their heads. We hope that both will be allowed safe passage into the United States following this order.
As President Trump rids the Department of Homeland Security of top officials in search of even more extreme immigration hardliners, today’s ruling is a reminder that the policies already put in place to dismantle the asylum system are—in many cases—illegal, and will not hold up in court.
*pseudonyms
For more information or to speak with Barnard contact Corinne Duffy at DuffyC@humanrightsfirst.org or 202-370-3319.
