We are heartbroken and devastated by the Supreme Court’s decision in East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Barr, which will allow the Trump Administration’s third country transit asylum ban to go into effect immediately while the legality of the ban is still being challenged in court.
This means that virtually all asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children, who pass through another country on the way to the United States without requesting asylum in that other country, are now barred from seeking asylum in the United States. The vast majority of migrants who are not from Mexico are now ineligible for asylum in the U.S. Through this callous decision, the Supreme Court has allowed the Administration to re-write U.S. law and unlawfully interfere with the unequivocal right to apply for asylum. As we said when this policy was first announced, this policy will immediately put lives in danger. Migrants are exceptionally vulnerable to violence during their travels and often do not feel safe remaining in countries along their journey to the U.S. Additionally, many of the countries they pass through do not have the robust asylum systems necessary to provide the safety and freedom migrants are seeking.
This policy further diminishes the United States as a place where anyone can seek safety and refuge. It violates the fundamental human rights of migrants across the world. Everyone has the right to safety and freedom, regardless of where they were born or the route they take.
With this ban in effect, the United States has turned its back on those who are most vulnerable and most in need of safety and protection.
