16 Jul Public Comment on the Proposed Rule that Would Gut Asylum/Torture Protections
MCJ’s immigration director, Amelia McGowan, submitted a public comment on the Proposed Rule that would gut asylum/torture protections in a letter to the US Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security.
On behalf of the Mississippi Center for Justice, I strongly urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw these proposed rules in their entirety. If implemented, these rules would violate the United States’ duties under domestic and international law, flout the rule of law by attempting to gut due process protections and decades of well-established legal protections, and make a mockery of the United States’ historical commitment to providing safety and protection to those fleeing persecution and torture worldwide. You have the duty to ensure that does not happen.
As a home-grown, public interest law firm, the Mississippi Center for Justice advances racial and economic justice through an approach that combines legal services with policy advocacy, community education and media outreach. The Center partners with national, regional and community organizations to develop and implement campaigns designed to create better futures for low-income Mississippians and communities of color in the areas of educational opportunity, financial security, healthcare, affordable housing, and immigration. Through a partnership with the Mississippi College School of Law, we host Mississippi’s only law school immigration clinic, and together, we are Mississippi’s only legal service provider that focuses on providing free asylum and appellate representation for Mississippi immigrants in need. I have seven years of experience teaching, practicing, and writing on asylum law on a state, regional, and nationwide basis, and have represented asylum seekers before the asylum offices, immigration courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, and Fifth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeal. I have written on asylum issues in The Hill and the American Bar Association – International Law Section’s Year in Review. I have attached a copy of my CV to this comment.