FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Aleisha Flores, aflores@advancingjustice-aajc.org (DC)
Liana Liang, lliang@ajsocal.org (Southern California)
Liza Ameen, lameen@ajsocal.org (Southern California)
Grace Pai, gpai@advancingjustice-chicago.org (Chicago)
James Woo, media@advancingjustice-atlanta.org (Atlanta)
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – the nation’s largest affiliation of independent Asian American civil rights organizations – welcomes U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy’s ruling that the government’s third-county deportation policy is unlawful. In his ruling, Judge Murphy condemned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s practice of removing people to countries not designated on their removal orders without providing notice or any opportunity to object, a practice the court described as taking “people and drop[ping] them off in parts unknown,” in violation of their right not to be deprived of “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The judge’s order is paused for 15 days to allow the government time to seek an appeal.
Under the administration’s third-country deportation policy that Judge Murphy set aside, U.S. immigration officers deported people to third countries they have no ties to without meaningful notice or any opportunity to raise claims for protection. The court found that this practice violates federal immigration law and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Many of those targeted for removal to third countries are people who were granted legal protection from removal to their home countries by U.S. immigration judges based on the likelihood they would face persecution or torture in those countries. Many of these individuals were quickly sent to the very countries where their lives would be in danger. We have seen Asian immigrants deported to countries like Uzbekistan, Costa Rica, and Panama, where they have no ties and were detained under coercive and inhumane conditions, according to international human rights groups.
Judge Murphy rightly ruled that the government’s third-country deportation policy is unlawful. Sending people to unfamiliar countries without resources and without the opportunity to object, and where they may be placed in harm’s way, is unconscionable. All people within the United States are entitled to due process under the Constitution, and Judge Murphy’s ruling affirms that those facing removal have a right to notice and an opportunity to be heard before being sent to a country that they have no connection to and where their lives may be at risk.
We recognize the immense pain and suffering this administration’s deportation practices have caused our communities. We will continue to work tirelessly to fight the outrageous treatment of our immigrant communities and to demand that justice and the rule of law be restored.
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About Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of four leading Asian American civil rights organizations committed to advancing the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and building a more just society for all.
