Supreme court denial must not result in deportation of asylum-seeking families

The Supreme Court will not hear a case brought by more than two dozen families who have been ordered deported without having their full cases heard by an immigration judge. The families fled horrific violence and human rights abuses in Central America. Many of the families have been held for more than a year in immigration detention facilities, most recently in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The denial by the Supreme Court could result in the families being deported imminently.

“These families cannot be sent back to certain danger. The United States has an international obligation to grant asylum seekers a fair hearing. They must not be deported, or detained any longer, and must have their full cases heard by an immigration judge,” said Margaret Huang, executive director of Amnesty International USA. “Families fleeing danger who pose no threat to anyone else should not be treated like criminals. They deserve justice.”