Refugee Litigation in the Trump Era: Protecting Overseas Humanitarian Migrants in U.S. Courts
![handle is hein.journals/slro71 and id is 210 raw text is: ESSAY
Refugee Litigation in the Trump Era:
Protecting Overseas Humanitarian
Migrants in U.S. Courts
Mariko Hirose'
Introduction
As 2017 began, thousands of refugees and other displaced persons abroad
were on their paths to escaping the dangers of their home countries through
one of several U.S. humanitarian migration pathways.' John Doe 1, an Iraqi
citizen whose life was in danger because of his service as an interpreter for the
U.S. Army, had been conditionally approved for refugee resettlement to the
U.S., where he planned to reestablish his life with the support of his former
military supervisor.2 J.A., a young woman in El Salvador who had been
repeatedly threatened by gang members, had completed every step of
processing for her parole application under the Central American Minors
program and had been told that she and her son would soon be on a flight to
reunite with her mother, who has been living in the U.S. with lawful status.3
The inauguration of President Trump and the onslaught of executive
actions that followed, however, trapped Doe 1, J.A., and countless others in an
unforeseen nightmare. Their paths to safety were now beset with obstacles that
they could not have anticipated-and for many, those paths led to dead ends,
forcing them to restart at square one in seeking a safe refuge for themselves and
their families.
Litigation Director, International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). Title for affiliation
purpose only; this Essay is written in my personal capacity and does not represent the
views of IRAP as an organization. I am grateful to my colleagues at IRAP and to our
partners for advancing the work described in this Essay.
1. The term refugee as used in this Essay refers to those in overseas refugee processing. I use
refugee litigation here to refer to litigation on behalf of refugees and other displaced
persons abroad.
2. See Class Action Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief 11 7, 144-47, Jewish
Family Serv. of Seattle v. Trump, No. 17-1707 (W.D. Wash. Nov. 13, 2017) [hereinafter JFS
Complaint]. The pleadings for the lawsuits discussed in this Essay are available at Litigation,
INT'L REFUGEE ASSISTANCE PROJECT, https://perma.cc/XL93-6BAF (archived Jan. 29, 2019).
3. See Class Action Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief 11 8, 93-97, S.A. v. Trump,
No. 18-3539 (N.D. Cal. June 13, 2018) [hereinafter SA. Complaint].
210](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/slro71&div=18&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Refugee Litigation in the Trump Era: Protecting Overseas Humanitarian Migrants in U.S. Courts
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