On September 2nd, a federal judge ruled that the U.S. government’s practice of turning away asylum seekers at ports of entry is unconstitutional. This ruling indicates that the U.S. is required by law to inspect and process asylum seekers when they present themselves at ports of entry and condemns the practice of metering, which denies migrants…
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In June 2021, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the decision in Matter of K-S-E-, in which the Board of Immigration Appeals had ruled that Kesly Sylvestre, a Haitian man, was “firmly resettled” in Brazil and that the Haitian government was able and willing to control his persecutors. Mr. Sylvestre was represented by our…
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Our Program recently joined Human Rights First and over 100 other organizations from across the country in submitting a letter to President Biden regarding his administration’s reported plans to continue to use the Title 42 expulsion policy. Under this policy, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has banned individuals from entering the…
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Yesterday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland vacated Matter of A-B- I & II and Matter of L-E-A- II, three controversial, precedent decisions that resulted in denials of protection to countless refugees, in particular those fleeing gender-based or gang violence. We at the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program applaud Attorney General Garland for taking action…
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On April 22, our Program, in partnership with the HLS Immigration Project, the University Network, students from Yale Law School’s Environmental Law Association, and the Yale Immigrant Justice Project, released the report Shelter from the Storm: Policy Options to Address Climate Induced Displacement from the Northern Triangle. This report examines the large-scale migration of residents…
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Want to get the latest news from the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical Program? Check out our Spring 2021 newsletter here. In this newsletter, we have updates on policy advocacy and litigation efforts, student and staff achievements, case victories, and more. If you would like to sign up to receive our newsletter via email, you can…
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This article features interviews with local immigration attorneys, including Staff Attorney Mariam Liberles, on Biden’s first actions on immigration.
“‘There needs to be a path to citizenship for so many people, including DACA recipients, TPS holders, and undocumented people here in the U.S.,’ [Ardalan] said. ‘We need to rethink our immigration system.’”
“‘This is the most far-reaching of the midnight asylum regulations unveiled in the Trump administration’s final days,’ said Sabrineh Ardalan, the director of the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinical program, one of the groups challenging the policy.”
San Francisco, California (January 8, 2021) – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction blocking a sweeping Trump administration rule that would gut protections for people fleeing persecution and torture. The injunction halts the new rule’s implementation nationwide ahead of its scheduled effective date of Monday, January 11,…
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