Lawsuit: U.S. Turning Away Asylum Seekers

A marker at the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
July 12, 2017

Immigration advocates filed a class-action lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the Trump administration is violating the law by turning away people seeking asylum at the U.S-Mexico border.

The lawsuit charges that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at ports of entry along the Mexican border prevented migrants from seeking asylum. In one case, the lawsuit states that a Honduran woman and her daughter fled after both were sexually assaulted in front of each other in their home country. The suit states the family was denied the opportunity to seek asylum on three different occasions at the port of entry in Tijuana.

Melissa Crow, legal director of the American Immigration Council, is one of the plaintiffs.

"The claims are essentially that what Customs and Border Protection is doing is in blatant violation of U.S. law and international law.," Crow said.

Crow said migrants have been turned away at the border with California, Texas and Arizona. The suit alleges CBP adopted the practice in the last half of 2016 under former President Barack Obama and continued it under President Donald Trump.

CBP spokesman said the agency cannot comment on pending litigation.