Lambda Legal, Immigration Equality and co-counsel Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP filed a federal lawsuit, Immigration Equality v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, challenging the Trump administration’s recently published “death to asylum” rule, which makes sweeping, essentially fatal changes to the United States asylum system, a joint press release noted.
The press release stated that the rule—set to go into effect Jan. 11, 2021—would make it virtually impossible for LGBTQ and people living with HIV fleeing persecution to secure asylum in the United States. In fact, the new rule eliminates eligibility for asylum to anyone with a gender-based claim. Further, even if a judge finds that someone is eligible for asylum, the new rule declares that most refugees should be denied protection because they don’t deserve it.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Immigration Equality, Oasis Legal Services, The TransLatin@ Coalition, Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project and Transgender Law Center. The suit said that populations these organizations directly serve—asylum seekers who are LGBTQ or living with HIV—will face insurmountable barriers to asylum in the United States, no matter how strong their claims may be.
Lambda Legal Law and Policy Director Jennifer C. Pizer said, “The Trump administration’s disdain for immigrants and refugees and indifference to their suffering is no secret. Just as with every single action on immigration that this administration has taken, the glaringly obvious goal of this rule is to end asylum altogether. These unjustified, arbitrary and capricious, and illegal changes effectively close the door for nearly all refugees, betraying one of our nation’s core values—that we offer safe haven to persecuted minorities seeking safety from prejudice-based life-threatening violence.”