In Grace v. Sessions, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is challenging Attorney General Sessions’ decision In re A-B-, which increased legal barriers to asylum and held that victims of domestic violence and gang violence are not the type of “particular social group” that merits protection under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Sessions’ policy is an effort to crack down on fraud in the asylum system, but the ACLU argues that implementing it would make a mockery of the process and prevent bona fide asylum seekers from receiving fair hearings.

In a dramatic turn of events, the court discovered, during a jurisdictional hearing, that two of the plaintiffs had been deported that morning. The judge ordered the plane turned around and the plaintiffs returned and threatened to hold Sessions in contempt of court. The case highlights legal and procedural questions in the expedited removal process, which is currently under consideration for wide expansion.

Continue Reading “Turn that Plane Around!”: The Pending Decision on the Deportation of Asylum Seekers