Jesuit Organizations and Law Schools Appalled by Asylum Decision by Attorney General Sessions

BY ISN STAFF | June 14, 2018

“We are appalled at this ill-conceived decision,” said Jesuit Refugee Service USA, the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology, the Kino Border Initiative, and 12 U.S.-based Jesuit law schools, in a statement expressing their opposition to a recent decision by Attorney General Jeff Sessions that seeks to rule out most claims of domestic and gang violence for asylum seekers arriving in the U.S.

Participating law schools include: Boston College Immigration Clinic, Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project & Center for Human Rights and International Justice; Creighton University; Fordham University Public Interest Resource Center; Dean of Georgetown University School of Law; Dean of Gonzaga University School of Law; Loyola University Chicago Center for the Human Rights of Children & Loyola University Chicago School of Law; Loyola Law School Los Angeles Immigrant Justice Clinic; Catholic Legal Assistance Ministry housed at Saint Louis University Law School; Santa Clara University; Seattle University; University of Detroit Mercy; and University of San Francisco Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic & School of Law.

 

 

Formal Statement Published by the Jesuit Organizations:

As Jesuit organizations and affiliated law professors and advocates serving refugees and asylum seekers, we are appalled at this ill-conceived decision. It is contrary to both U.S. and Catholic values which protect the most vulnerable, including victims of violence and persecution. In the midst of the largest global forced migration crisis in recorded history, with over 65 million people displaced from their homes, we must do more, not less, to address the needs of individuals, families and communities in search of safety and security.

Protection of the individual is at the heart of U.S. asylum and immigration law and should include those experiencing domestic and gang violence. We must not turn our backs on those who are most in need.

Founded on the core Jesuit values of welcome and accompaniment, we will continue to stand up for the dignity and inherent rights of any displaced person.