E.Q. v. DHS

Suing to Stop Rushed Screenings in Initial Asylum Interviews

The Trump Administration’s new Mandatory Bars Rule undermines the integrity of the asylum system by imposing additional barriers to protection for people fleeing persecution and torture in their home countries. 

This rule requires asylum officers to conduct initial fear screenings to assess whether individuals are subject to any of five mandatory bars that would render them ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal. Previously, due to the legally and factually complex nature of such determinations, these mandatory bars were only considered during a full merits hearing before an immigration judge. At this initial fear screening stage, noncitizens are typically detained, have limited access to relevant evidence, and are usually unrepresented by counsel. 

This case is being brought to court by Human Rights First and co-counsel Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (“CGRS”), and pro-bono counsel Crowell & Moring. Organizational plaintiffs include Amica Center, the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (“FIRRP”), and the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (“RAICES”) in the case, along with an individual plaintiff, E.Q.  

Read more about the case in KJZZ Phoenix: Legal aid groups file suit against a Biden-era rule that changes fear screenings for asylum seekers.