PRESS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2021
Contact: Kali Cohn
972-638-7438
kcohn@hrionline.org
Human Rights Initiative of North Texas (HRI) Statement on Announcement to Expand Asylum Access
DALLAS – On June 16, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed two Trump Administration immigration decisions that unjustly limited access to asylum for people fleeing domestic and gang violence in their home countries. The legally flawed decisions, Matter of A-B- and Matter of L-E-A-, caused confusion that ultimately resulted in high denial rates for people entitled to protection from persecution.
“We applaud these efforts to reopen doors that were effectively shut to asylum seekers fleeing domestic and gang violence,” said Emily Heger, Equal Justice Works Legal Fellow, Sponsored by AT&T and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, who specializes in gender-based asylum claims. “Today, we celebrate with our clients who had lost a lot of hope over the last four years. As of today, they again have a fighting chance to secure refuge in the U.S.”
About HRI
For the past 20 years, Human Rights Initiative of North Texas has provided legal and critical social services for immigrant survivors of human rights abuses from all over the world. For more information, visit www.hrionline.org.
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