CGRS
LightNews LightNews
banner
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
CGRS
@cgrsasylum.bsky.social
250 followers 300 following 32 posts
The Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) advocates for the rights of women, children, and LGBTQ+ #refugees. 🦋 cgrs.uclawsf.edu
Posts Replies Media Videos
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
BREAKING: Last night AG Bondi reinstated regressive rulings from the first Trump admin in an attempt to end asylum for women and families seeking refuge.

“This is a brazen power grab by Trump’s Justice Department," CGRS Director @karenmusalo.bsky.social says: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/news/trum...
Photo of family at border wall; overlay text reads: "Trump Slams the Door on Women and Families" Quote from CGRS Director Karen Musalo reads: "“This is a brazen power grab by Trump’s Justice Department - an attempt to rewrite our laws to deny protection to women and families escaping deadly violence. Bondi’s decision in S-S-F-M- attempts to turn back the clock on decades of hard-fought progress to recognize domestic and other forms of gendered violence as violations of women’s human rights. Her ruling in R-E-R-M- & J-D-R-M- is a calculated strategy to end asylum for families who deserve protection. We will continue to fight for a fair and just interpretation of our refugee law, in compliance with our international legal obligations, and will see the administration back in court.”
September 3, 2025 at 8:51 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
The Trump admin's recent asylum ruling is part of a broader assault on women’s rights and immigrant rights, our director @karenmusalo.bsky.social writes for @latimes.com.

The decision will make it far more difficult for refugee women and girls to find safety.

www.latimes.com/opinion/stor...
Screenshot of LA Times headline of op-ed by Karen Musalo reads, "Under Trump, U.S. returns to treating violence against women as a "private matter," paired with photo of woman holding sign with illustration of woman walking along road to a entry titled "asilo USA" with butterfly; text reads "El asilo es una esperanza no cierres tu corazon!!" Screenshot of excerpt from LA Times op-ed reads: "The U.S. has been waffling for decades over whether women have a right to refugee protection when fleeing gender-based violence. Under different administrations, the Department of Justice has established and reversed precedents, issued and repealed rulings. But the latest flip-flop by the Trump administration is not just another toggle between rules. In July, the Trump administration’s high court of immigration, the Board of Immigration Appeals, issued a deeply troubling decision. The ruling held that a “particular social group” — one of the five grounds for refugee protection — cannot be defined by gender, or by gender combined with nationality. The ruling, in a case known as Matter of K-E-S-G-, is binding on all adjudicators across the country. The legal reasoning is both unpersuasive and alarming. It seeks to return refugee law to an era when violence against women was dismissed as a private matter, not of concern to governments or human rights institutions. It is part of a broader, ongoing assault by the Trump administration on women’s rights and immigrant rights — in this case, attempting to turn back history to 1992."
August 4, 2025 at 7:35 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
Join us on Wednesday for this critical and urgent conversation with @cristosal.bsky.social on challenges to human rights and democracy in El Salvador. 🇸🇻👇
alianzaamericas.bsky.social Alianza Americas @alianzaamericas.bsky.social · Jul 25
🚨 Authoritarianism is rising in El Salvador.
Join a timely conversation with Noah Bullock from @cristosal.bsky.social on defending rights & democracy.
🗓️ Wed, July 30 | ⏰ 11am CA/MX

🔗 Register bit.ly/44JY6ex and support Cristosal: givebutter.com/SupportCrist...

#HumanRights
July 28, 2025 at 10:38 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
BREAKING: Today the Justice Department issued a decision declaring that refugees fleeing gender-based violence may no longer qualify for asylum.

Its clear intent is to give judges a basis to reject women’s cases without considering them fairly.

Our statement: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/trump-l...
Photo of mother and child holding sign that reads, "Ya Basta de Deportaciones." Overlay text reads, "Justice Department Launches Attack on Refugee Women" Quote from CGRS Legal Director Blaine Bookey reads, "With the stroke of a pen, the administration is attempting to erase decades of progress and drag us back to an era where the persecution of women and girls was seen as inevitable and irrelevant to our refugee protection system. But Trump’s Justice Department cannot distort the law to achieve its political ends. We will continue to fight for our client and for all women and girls who turn to the United States for refuge, who have a legal right to seek asylum and have their claims considered fairly under our laws."
July 18, 2025 at 8:13 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
📢 New: Our latest analysis unpacks the Inter-American Court’s Advisory Opinion on the climate emergency. It highlights key takeaways on cross-border displacement and State obligations.

🌎 🔍 A must-read for advocates, scholars, and policymakers.

📄 Read here: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/our-work/pub...
The IACtHR’s Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency: An Important Step for the Protection of Climate-Displaced Individuals | Center for Gender and Refugee Studies
cgrs.uclawsf.edu
July 8, 2025 at 5:59 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
BREAKING: Today a federal court struck down the Trump admin's shutdown of asylum at the southern border.

Statement w/@aclu.org @immigrantjustice.bsky.social @txcivilrights.bsky.social @raicestexas.bsky.social @lasamericasiac.bsky.social @florenceproject.bsky.social: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/federal...
Photo of demonstrator holding sign that says, "Asilo Ya." Overlay text reads, "Court Strikes Down Trump Shutdown of Asylum at the Border" Quote from CGRS Senior Staff Attorney Edith Sangüeza reads, "Under our laws, any person seeking safety at our southern border has a legal right to apply for asylum. The government cannot wield racist, baseless claims of an ‘invasion’ to demonize refugees and unilaterally strip them of that right. For over six months, the illegal border proclamation has wrought nothing but suffering and chaos, forcing people fleeing persecution back to peril and leaving others stuck in detention, struggling to navigate a made-up process. The administration should now comply with the court’s order and immediately reinstate a fair asylum process at the southern border."
July 2, 2025 at 8:47 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
Today the Trump admin terminated #TPS for Haiti 🇭🇹 - putting half a million people at risk of deportation to a country mired in deadly violence.

The decision "amounts to a death sentence for many of our Haitian neighbors,” our Legal Director Blaine Bookey says: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/cgrs-de...
Photo of women waving Haitian flags. Overlay text reads, "CGRS Decries Termination of TPS for Haiti" Quote from CGRS Legal Director Blaine Bookey reads, "In its announcement, DHS absurdly declares that the ‘situation in Haiti has improved enough that it is safe for Haitian citizens to return home.’ Having worked with partners on the ground in Haiti for the last 20 years, I can say with certainty this is a bald-faced lie. If deported, many Haitians currently residing in the United States will have no home to which they can return at all. Mass deportations will only create more instability in Haiti, exacerbating the country’s mounting displacement crisis and undermining the efforts of partners working to restore peace, at grave risk to their own safety. And those sent back will be particularly vulnerable to harm, in a country where deportees are routinely preyed upon by gangs and threatened by the authorities. The decision to terminate TPS for Haiti was clearly motivated not by reality, but by the deep-seated anti-Black racism that the president and his allies have for years wielded in despicable attacks on Haitian immigrants and refugees."
June 27, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by CGRS
nilc.org
The Supreme Court's ruling on nationwide injunctions and birthright citizenship in Trump v. CASA raises more questions than answers.

Here's what we know so far: www.nilc.org/articles/ana...
Analyzing the Supreme Court’s Dangerous Decision in Trump v. CASA
Today, the Supreme Court decided the case of Trump v. CASA, a challenge to Executive Order 14160, which seeks to end the right to birthright citizenship for individuals born in the United States whose...
www.nilc.org
June 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
This #FathersDay, the families of those disappeared to El Salvador’s CECOT prison are missing their dads, sons, and partners, unsure if they will see them again.

#FamiliesBelongTogether and free.

Take action with @nilc.org to demand their safe return: bit.ly/cecotaction #BringThemBack
June 15, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by CGRS
immdef.bsky.social
🚨TRIGGER WARNING🚨 Our clients were reporting for a routine ISAP appt, following govt protocol. But when they arrived, father was taken away from his daughter and wife. Today, the daughter is still in pain as the rest of the country prepares to celebrate Father’s Day. t.co/iONtuwbUZg
https://youtu.be/S6U7aS3rHhU?si=6xCd_3YWHozRrJ6F
t.co
June 13, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by CGRS
jayapal.house.gov
This is absolutely outrageous. This is a US Senator — full stop. To treat him like this is beyond the pale and the mark of an authoritarian regime.

If they can do this to a sitting Senator, just think about what they can do to you. Absolutely no one should be treated this way.
democracydocket.com Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · Jun 12
California Sen. Alex Padilla was just forcibly removed from a DHS press conference and handcuffed.

"I am Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary."

Video from @Elex_Michaelson on X via Padilla's staff.
June 12, 2025 at 6:57 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
​​“Sen. Padilla @padilla.senate.gov attended a public press conference seeking answers on behalf of the millions of Californians he represents," CGRS Director @karenmusalo.bsky.social said today. "The Trump admin used violent force to silence him."

Our response: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/cgrs-co...
Quote from CGRS Director Karen Musalo reads: "​​Today’s assault on Senator Padilla is totally unacceptable. Senator Padilla attended a public press conference seeking answers on behalf of the millions of Californians he represents, including constituents who have been grievously harmed in the administration’s escalating attacks on immigrant communities and protestors exercising their First Amendment rights. Rather than answer the senator’s questions, the Trump administration used violent force to silence him. The treatment of Senator Padilla is consistent with this administration’s pattern of using force and intimidation against elected officials and judges exercising their responsibilities under the Constitution. We urge every member of Congress and elected officials at all levels of government to condemn this shocking assault on Senator Padilla.”
June 12, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by CGRS
padilla.senate.gov
If this is how this administration responds to a Senator with a question, you can only imagine what they're doing to farmworkers, to cooks, and to day laborers throughout California and across the country.

We will hold this administration accountable.
June 12, 2025 at 10:19 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
BREAKING: We just filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump admin's unlawful asylum shutdown policy, with partners at @alotrolado-org.bsky.social, @haitianbridge.bsky.social, @immcouncil.org, @democracyforward.org, and @ccrjustice.org.

Our joint statement: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/asylum-...
Image of border fence. Overlay text reads, "Asylum Seekers Challenge Trump's Asylum Shutdown Policy." Includes logos for Al Otro Lado, Haitian Bridge Alliance, CGRS, American Immigration Council, Democracy Forward, Center for Constitutional Rights Quote from CGRS Litigation Director Melissa Crow reads, "The asylum shutdown policy imperils the lives of people seeking safety at the southern border and flouts our immigration laws. Under the shutdown policy, families, children, and adults fleeing persecution have been left stranded in Mexico, where they risk grave harm, with no legal recourse. Our plaintiffs include asylum seekers who, while awaiting a chance to request asylum at ports of entry, have been kidnapped, tortured, and threatened by cartels that prey on migrants. The court must step in to vacate the shutdown policy and restore access to a fair asylum process at the U.S.-Mexico border."
June 11, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Reposted by CGRS
isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social
NEW: Frizgeralth de Jesús Cornejo Pulgar was among the 238 Venezuelans removed to El Salvador without due process in mid-March. He has no criminal history or a final order of deportation.

On Friday, a US immigration judge terminated his asylum case, effectively ejecting him from the legal system.
Trump disappeared them to El Salvador. Now, they're being erased by immigration courts.
At least 14 cases of Venezuelans sent to a Salvadoran mega prison have been dismissed by US immigration judges.
www.motherjones.com
June 2, 2025 at 6:13 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
The Trump administration's proposals to send migrants from the U.S. to Libya, Rwanda, and other third countries "make a mockery of the post-World War II refugee protection framework," CGRS Director @karenmusalo.bsky.social writes in @latimes.com.
www.latimes.com/opinion/stor... @uclawsf.bsky.social
Contributor: The U.S. failed refugees during the Holocaust. Trump's Libya plan would too
The administration has proposed sending asylum seekers to Libya and Rwanda, both notoriously unsafe for refugees.
www.latimes.com
May 20, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by CGRS
immdef.bsky.social
We’ve launched a new community resources page for our immigrant community and families facing deportation or increased ICE activity.

Get trusted, up-to-date info to protect yourself and your loved ones.

📲 Visit www.ImmDef.org/resources
youtube.com/shorts/_T5Tu...
New Community Resource Page!
YouTube video by Immigrant Defenders Law Center
youtube.com
May 15, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by CGRS
humanrightsfirst.org
NEW: Afghans face alarming danger of return to Taliban persecution, our latest analysis warns.

As the U.S. ends TPS for Afghans & Pakistan escalates deportations, lives are on the line. Read more:

humanrightsfirst.org/library/afgh...
Afghans in Danger of Taliban Persecution: Urgent Recommendations to Save Lives, Uphold International Law, and Advance U.S. Interests - Human Rights First
Executive Summary Afghans who previously fled their country are in danger of forced return to Taliban persecution due to the Government of Pakistan’s mass expulsions and the Trump administration’s ref...
humanrightsfirst.org
May 14, 2025 at 8:07 PM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
This week CGRS, with @rfkhumanrights.bsky.social and other partners, filed a request with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, seeking emergency precautionary measures to halt enforced disappearances to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison.

Learn more: cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/groups-...
Photo of protest against disappearances to El Salvador. Overlay text reads: "BREAKING: IN AN EMERGENCY FILING AGAINST EL SALVADOR, WE ARE SEEKING RELEASE FROM INCOMMUNICADO DETENTION OF PEOPLE FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED FROM THE U.S." Quote from CGRS Staff Attorney Julie Bourdoiseau reads: "Those disappeared to CECOT have been ripped from their homes and families, imprisoned in deplorable conditions, with no due process and no recourse. These include people who came to the United States seeking refuge from persecution and state repression, only to suffer further abuses at the hands of the Trump and Bukele administrations. Our governments must not be allowed to operate above the law. This illegal scheme must end."
May 10, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Reposted by CGRS
mtrstates.bsky.social
After hours of detainment, Newark Mayor Baraka has been released.

This arrest is shameful. @maketheroadnj.bsky.social has been at Delaney Hall demanding accountability since day one and we will continue to fight back against any attempts to make New Jersey a mass deportation zone.
May 10, 2025 at 12:49 AM
cgrsasylum.bsky.social
⚖️Victory! Today a federal court struck down key parts of a Biden admin rule severely restricting asylum.

We're proud to represent @lasamericasiac.bsky.social @raicestexas.bsky.social w/co-counsel @aclu.org @immigrantjustice.bsky.social @txcivilrights.bsky.social.

cgrs.uclawsf.edu/news/distric...
Photo of family at border fence. Overlay text reads, "Court Strikes Down Biden-Era Asylum Restrictions" Quote from Melissa Crow, CGRS Director of Litigation, reads: "Today's decision recognizes the Biden-era border rule was yet another unlawful attempt to deprive people fleeing persecution of eligibility for asylum. As evidenced by our plaintiffs' experiences, the rule emboldened border officers to ignore explicit expressions of fear and to intimidate or mislead asylum seekers into giving up their claims for protection. Many people seeking safety were summarily deported to danger, and family members were separated despite having identical claims. This decision affirms that no president can rewrite our asylum laws by executive fiat."
May 9, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Reposted by CGRS
welcomewdignity.bsky.social
“The US should not be in the business of disappearing anyone to torture."

Yesterday, members of #WelcomeWithDignity, advocates, & attorneys from @fwd.us, @immcouncil.org, @cristosal.bsky.social & more, held a press call to discuss the Trump admin’s forced disappearances to El Salvador. Learn more ⬇️
Attorneys & Advocates Discuss the Harms of Trump Administration’s Forced Disappearances to El Salvador  – Welcome With Dignity
welcomewithdignity.org
May 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by CGRS
indivisible.org
With Trump defying the Supreme Court to keep Kilmar Abrego Garcia (along with hundreds of others) imprisoned in El Salvador, we find ourselves in a moral and constitutional crisis. Calls and emails to Congress aren’t sufficient to end these crises, but they are necessary.
We’re in a constitutional crisis
We are in the midst of a full-blown constitutional crisis.
indivisibleteam.medium.com
April 21, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Reposted by CGRS
repyassansari.bsky.social
We are in a constitutional crisis.

I’m in El Salvador to shine a light on Kilmar’s story and keep the pressure on Donald Trump to secure his safe return home.
April 21, 2025 at 1:54 PM