CAIR Coalition's Immigration Impact Lab is currently litigating several pending matters, along with our pro bono partners, including:
ASYLUM
National Amicus Brief Advocating for Mental Health Circumstances to Be Considered in Determining Whether Someone is Barred from Asylum
Matter of B-Z-R-, 28 I&N Dec. 424 (A.G. 2021)
The Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition and co-counsel and co-amici Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network filed a powerful national amicus brief to the Attorney General in the case Matter of B-Z-R- advocating for asylum-seekers' mental health circumstances to be considered when evaluating whether they face the "particularly serious crime" bar to asylum.
Amicus Brief (click here)
Challenging the Administration's Rule Barring Asylum Eligibility for Asylum-Seekers Who Travel Through a Third Country (Asylum Ban II)
CAIR Coalition et al. v. Trump, No. 19-2117 (D.D.C., June 30, 2020)
CAIR Coalition is proud to have successfully defeated President Trump’s second asylum ban - a rule seeking to bar asylum for individuals who entered or attempted to enter across the southern border if they did not seek protection from a third country while en route to the United States. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of CAIR Coalition, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), and Human Rights First and led by Hogan Lovells.
Press Release on Decision (click here)
Decision Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (click here)
Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment and Vacating the Interim Final Rule (click here)
Complaint (click here)
Memorandum in Support of Motion for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction (click here)
Initial Press Release (click here)
Asylum Litigation - Challenging the Administration's (Asylum Ban I)
O.A. and S.M.S.R. v. Trump, 404 F. Supp. 3d 109 (D.D.C. 2019)
Hogan Lovells, CAIR Coalition, and Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, Inc. (RAICES) filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s Proclamation seeking to bar asylum for all migrants arriving at the southern border through Mexico other than at a port of entry, S.M.S.R. et al. v. Trump.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of individual plaintiffs, CAIR Coalition, and RAICES. With individual plaintiffs impacted by the rule and novel statutory and due process claims, including a child plaintiff and a claim related to children asylum-seekers, this lawsuit builds on other litigations challenging the government’s new asylum rules.
This case was joined with a similar case brought by Human Rights First (HRF), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), and Williams & Connolly, O.A. et al. v. Trump.
On August 2, 2019, Judge Moss granted in part Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Class Certification, holding that the Administration’s asylum ban violated the plain text of the immigration laws and that Trump Administration cannot bar refugees from asylum for crossing between ports of entry.
Decision granting Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion for Class Certification (Click here)
Press Release on Court's Decision (Click here)
Amended Complaint (Click here)
Press Release on Filing of the Lawsuit (Click here)
DUE PROCESS & DETENTION
Challenging Lack of Fair Bond Hearings for Immigrants Detained in Maryland
Dubon Miranda et al. v. Barr et al., No. 20-1110 (D.Md., filed Apr. 30, 2020)
CAIR Coalition, the ACLU Immigrants Rights Project, the ACLU of Maryland, and Sanford Heisler Sharp LLC filed a class action that seeks to establish certain basic procedures during immigration bond hearings in Maryland: namely, (1) a requirement that the government bear the burden of proving that the individual is a flight risk and danger that justifies their detention (rather than the burden being on the respondent to prove a negative as it is currently) and (2) a requirement that immigration judges consider immigrants’ ability to pay in setting bond amounts and their eligibility for release on alternative conditions of supervision.
On May 29, 2020, District Judge Catherine C. Blake granted a class-wide Preliminary Injunction, ordering that at the bond hearings for immigrants who are detained and eligible for bond hearings, the government must bear the burden of justifying continued detention by clear and convincing evidence, and the immigration judge must consider the noncitizen's ability to pay a set bond amount and suitability for release on alternative conditions.
Decision Granting a Preliminary Injunction (Click here)
Complaint (Click here)
Press release (Click here)
Fighting for the Release of Detained Immigrants at Risk of Serious Illness and Death from COVID-19 Due to Medical Conditions and Age in Maryland and Virginia
Toure et al. v. Hott et al. (EDVA., filed Apr. 9, 2020)
CAIR Coalition, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers' Guild, and the Legal Aid Justice Center filed a lawsuit against ICE demanding the release of immigrants who are detained in Virginia and have medical conditions that make them at serious risk of illness or death due to COVID-19. On April 29, 2020, Judge O'Grady of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia denied Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction. This decision is currently pending on appeal at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Complaint (Click here)
Press release (Click here)
Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction (Click here)
Coreas et al. v. Bounds et al. (D.Md., filed Mar. 24, 2020)
CAIR Coalition, the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers' Guild, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Maryland filed a lawsuit against ICE demanding the release of immigrants who are detained in Maryland and have medical conditions that make them at serious risk of illness or death due to COVID-19. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted Plaintiffs' Motions for a Temporary Restraining Order and/or Preliminary Injunction for all Plaintiffs in two different immigration detention centers.
To access the court’s decision granting a preliminary injunction for the Petitioners at the Worcester County Detention Center, click here.
To access the court’s decision granting a preliminary injunction for the Petitioner at the Howard County Detention Center, click here.
Complaint (Click here)
Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (Click here)
Press release (Click here)
Expert declaration (Click here)
Defending Children Asylum-Seekers Facing Unlawful Deportation and Detention Due to the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)
A.C.H.C. et al. v. Barr et al. (D.D.C., filed Mar. 17, 2020)
CAIR Coalition, Justice Action Center, and O'Melveny filed a lawsuit on behalf of three young siblings who are facing imminent, unlawful removal and detention as a result of removal orders under MPP, despite their right to have hearings in immigration court and reunite with their father/stepfather during the process. MPP is a policy the government recently adopted that forces asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while pursuing their asylum claims in immigration court. The lawsuit seeks to reunite the children with their father/stepfather during their immigration court process, hault the children's deportations, and allow for them to have a hearing in immigration court on their individual asylum and other claims.
Amended Complaint (Click here)
Original Complaint (Click here)
Press Release (Click here)
AP News Story (Click here)
New York Times Story (Click here)
