Asylum News 60

Amicus Briefs Submitted to Supreme Court on Serious Crimes Bar Human Rights First and leading legal scholars have submitted an amicus brief in a case involving the “particularly serious crime” bar that is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The amici argue that, in excluding a refugee from protection, the U.S. Refugee Act requires consideration of an individual’s “danger to the community” and not simply a mechanical determination of whether a “particularly serious crime” was committed. Amici argue that the Board’s approach contradicts the plain language of the Refugee Act as well as Congress’s intent to incorporate the Refugee Convention’s terms. The amici include Guy Goodwin-Gill, James C. Hathaway, and Deborah Anker; they were represented by Brian J. Murray, Gene Crawford, and James E. Gauch of Jones Day LLP. To read the amicus brief, click here. New HRW Report on HIV/AIDS Services for Detained Immigrants On December 7, 2007, Human Rights Watch issued a new report entitled “Chronic Indifference: HIV/AIDS Services for Immigrants Detained by the United States.” The group’s study found that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)-supervised facilities insufficiently monitor medical care in detention centers and provide inadequate and inconsistent medical care to jailed immigrants. The report noted that DHS does not collect even “fundamental” information relating to the treatment of immigrants with HIV/AIDS, and that the agency’s policies and procedures do not meet national and international guidelines on HIV/AIDS care of detainees. To read the report, click here. International Migrants Day In December 2000, the United Nations declared December 18 as International Migrants Day in recognition of the December 18, 1990 U.N. General Assembly approval of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. For more information, including a list of international events and press releases from the 2007 International Migrants Day, click here.