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Say No to Ending Asylum in the United States

July 15, 2019 – The new rule posted by the Trump administration effectively ends asylum in the United States. This blatant violation of human rights and U.S. and international law cannot be allowed to stand.

“We are totally abrogating our international responsibilities through this regulation,” said Lenore Millibergity, interim executive director of the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM).  “We are condemning people who are in fear of their lives to possible death.  Every time that the United States has denied asylum to entire classes of desperate refugees in the past, we have had to look back in shame at such decisions. We must say no to this inhumane and illegal attempt to end asylum in the United States.”

The new regulation says that any asylum seekers coming through a third country will be barred from applying for asylum in the United States. That means only Mexicans, Canadians, and people arriving in small boats or swimming to our shores would be allowed to apply for asylum.

This regulation makes a mockery of U.S. asylum law, which says that time spent in a third country only bars people passing through a designated “safe third country” or having “firmly resettled” in a third country. Neither Mexico nor any Central American country is designated as a “safe third country” for the very good reason that none of these countries is safe.

Despite the dangers asylum-seekers face, this administration’s inhumane and illegal “Remain in Mexico” policy already sends them back to danger in Mexico. According to Doctors Without Borders, “more than 45 percent of 378 patients treated by MSF in Nuevo Laredo [between January and May] have suffered at least one episode of violence in the city, as they waited to cross into the US.” U.S. immigration authorities send vulnerable refugee families to Tamaulipas, despite U.S. State Department warnings of crime and kidnappings there. The State Department warnings advise against all travel in Tamaulipas, placing the state at the same risk level as Syria and Afghanistan.

“Neither this appalling new regulation nor the inhumane ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy can stand,” Millibergity said. “The courts must act, and swiftly, to protect not only asylum seekers but also the rule of law in the United States.”

Summer Transitions

Two full-time staff members transitioned into new positions at ILCM this spring and in June we welcomed 15 summer interns.  

Jennifer Stohl Powell by Mon Non for ILCM

Jennifer Stohl Powell began working as ILCM’s legal director in June. Jennifer is an experienced immigration attorney and has handled cases at ILCM for refugees and domestic violence and crime victims for the last two years. Before ILCM, she worked at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) for over 20 years and supervised SMRLS’ immigration and farm worker unit for 13 years. She is a graduate of Carleton College, the University of Minnesota Law School, and she holds a master of arts degree in nonprofit management from Hamline University. Jennifer states that ”she is thrilled to serve ILCM staff and clients in this new role.”  

In May, Griselda Gurrola transitioned into the full-time position of volunteer coordinator. Griselda has worked at ILCM since October 2017 as a receptionist. Previously, she worked for more than two years with two private attorneys. She is also currently enrolled in the Paralegal Program at Inver Hills Community College. 

Along with these staff changes, ILCM welcomes 15 summer interns. Among them:  

Photo provided by Ana Delgado

Ana Delgado joined ILCM as a law clerk under interim executive director Lenore Millibergity. She is currently studying law at the University of Minnesota. An immigrant herself, Ana is passionate about ILCM’s mission and looks forward to working one-on-one clients. 

Amalia Chiapperino is one of the five interns assisting with Detainee Legal Assistance calls. A senior at Macalester, Amalia is finishing her bachelor’s in international studies with an Arabic minor. After graduation she is interested in pursuing law school to work in human rights or immigration law. She joined ILCM with the hopes of learning new skills and serving the Minnesota immigrant community.  

ILCM also said goodbye to Margaret Martin and to Sandra Portilla who graduated from the University of Minnesota and is beginning a new career path in family and social services.  

Listen to the Children

As part of a legal action to force a change in conditions under which children are held, the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law filed transcripts of some of the attorneys’ interview with children. Here are some of the children’s stories:

The following are excerpts from declarations filed in connection with the request for Temporary Restraining Order in Flores v. Barr

About unsafe / unsanitary conditions

We are in a metal cage with 20 other teenagers with babies and young children. We have one mat we need to share with each other. It is very cold. We each got a mylar blanket, but it is not enough to warm up. There are benches but we cannot sleep there. Sometimes it is so crowded we cannot find a place to sleep, so they allow a few of us to sleep outside the fenced area. The lights are all of the time. (Age 16, female)

I’m hungry here at Clint all the time. I’m so hungry that I have woken up in the middle of the night with hunger. Sometimes I wake up from hunger at 4 a.m., sometimes at other hours. I’m too scared to ask the officials here for any more food, even though there is not enough food here for me. (Age 12, male)

We slept on mats on the floor and gave us aluminum blankets. They took our baby’s diapers, baby formula, and all of our belongings. Our clothes were still wet and we were very cold, so we got sick… I’ve been in the US for six days and I have never been offered a shower or been able to brush my teeth. There is no soap and our clothes are dirty. They have never been washed. (Age 16, female,)

Three days ago my baby soiled his clothes. I had no place to wash the clothes so I could not put them back on my baby because when he went to the bathroom his poop came out of his diaper and all over his clothing. Since then, my baby of only three months has only been wearing a small little jacket made of t-shirt material. I have nothing else for my son to wear…. I have been told they do not have any clothes here at this place. I just want my baby to be warm nough. I am having to make sure I carry my baby super close to me to keep his little body warm. (Age 17, female)

They told us that we could only have one layer of clothing, and they threw away the rest of our clothes in the garbage. (Age 16, male)

My baby got wet and I had to take his pants off two days ago and I have not been able to get any pants for him. (Age 18, female)

The day we arrived, my baby became sick. She could not open her eyes and had a fever which got much worse during the day. I asked the guard for help and he told me to “just deal with it.” I asked for help again, and was ignored. The third time I asked, I was crying because she was so much worse I was very worried for her. After two days, they took her to the doctor.” (Age unknown, female)

We have only bathed once since being detained. On June 4th, we were taken to an area with about 28 showers. We bathed and brushed our teeth. Since then, however, we have been able to bathe. I have not been able to wash and clean my baby since June 4th. We do not have toothbrushes or toothpaste or towels in the cages. My daughter’s onesie is very dirty. I have not been able to wash it since June 4th. (Age 17, female)

The day after we arrived here, my baby began vomiting and having diarrhea. I asked to see a doctor and they did not take us. I asked again the next day and the guard said “She doesn’t have the face of a sick baby. She doesn’t need to see a doctor.” My baby daughter has not had medicine since we first arrived. She has a very bad cough, fever and continues to vomit and have diarrhea. (Age 16, female)

At Ursula, we have not been able to shower. The toilet is out in the open in the cage, there is no door for any privacy. There is water but no soap to wash our hands. There are no paper towels to dry our hands. We have not been given a toothbrush or toothpaste to brush our teeth. (Age 17, male)

I was given a blanket and a mattress, but then, at 3:00 a.m., the guards took the blanket and mattress. My baby was left sleeping on the floor. In fact, almost every night, the guards wake us at 3:00 a.m. and take away our sleeping mattresses and blankets. They leave babies, even little babies of two or three months, sleeping on the cold floor. For me, because I am so pregnant, sleeping on the floor is very painful for my back and hips. I think the guards act this way to punish us. (Age 17, female)

Once, I needed clean clothes for my baby because she threw up but when I asked for them I was told they didn’t have any available. She is still in the same dirty clothes. (Age 17, female)

Children Taking Care of Children

I started taking care of xxx (age 5) in the Ice Box after they separated her from her father. I did not know either of them before that. She was very upset. The workers did nothing to try to comfort her. I tried to comfort her and she has been with me ever since. XXX sleeps on a mat with me on the concrete floor. We spend all day every day in that room. There are no activities, only crying. (Age 15, female)

There are little kids here who have no one to take care of them, not even a big brother or sister. Some kids are only two or three years old and they have no one to take care of them. (Age 11, male)

I am in a room with dozens of other boys. Some have been as young as 3 or 4 years old. Some cry. Right now, there is a 12 year old who cries a lot. Others try to comfort him. One of the officers makes fun of those who cry. (Age 17, male)

Family Separation

I was apprehended with my father. The immigration agents separated me from my father right away. I was very frightened and scared. I cried. I have not seen my father again… I have had a cold and cough for several days. I have not seen a doctor and I have not been given any medicine. (Age 5, male)

They took us away from our grandmother and now we are all alone. They have not given us to our mother. We have been here for a long time. I have to take care of my little sister. She is very sad because she misses our mother and grandmother very much… We sleep on a cement bench. There are two mats in the room, but the big kids sleep on the mats so we have to sleep on the cement bench. (Age 8, male)

At 3 AM the next day the officers told us that our grandmother would be taken away. My grandmother tried to show the officers a paper signed by my parents saying that my grandmother had been entrusted to take care of us. The officers rejected the paperwork saying that it had to signed by a judge. Then the officers took my dear grandmother away. We have not seen her since that moment. (Age 12, female)