Third Country Transit Ban — Asylum Ban 2.0

Updated:

The Department of Justice (DHS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a rule that makes individuals who traveled through another country to reach the United States and who arrived at the southern border on or after July 16, 2019, ineligible for asylum unless they applied for asylum in one of the countries through which they travelled. The rule contains certain limited exceptions, including for victims of severe forms of trafficking and for those who came to the United States through countries that are not parties to international treaties regarding refugees. In effect, the rule is a de facto asylum ban on the majority of asylum seekers entering the U.S. through the southern border. Notably, asylum seekers may still be eligible for more limited forms of relief, namely, withholding of removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) or protection under the Convention Against Torture.  The ban has been challenged in federal court in East Bay Sanctuary Covenant v. Barr and CAIR Coalition v. Trump.  These cases remain pending.