Center for Gender & Refugee Studies

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Advancing the fundamental human rights of refugee women and children around the world.

10/17/2026

"This administration is engaged in an all-out assault on the rights of unaccompanied children seeking safety,” says Melissa Crow, Director of Litigation at CGRS. “We have both a legal and moral duty to protect these children, and our plaintiffs who work tirelessly to uphold that duty by providing high-quality legal representation. In return, the government is actively undermining their efforts, placing their clients on a deportation fast-track, abandoning due process, and returning vulnerable children to situations where they risk persecution and torture. It’s illegal, it’s dangerous, and it’s unimaginably cruel.”

We’re proud to represent our partners at The Door - A Center of Alternatives, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, GHIRP - Galveston-Houston Immigrant Representation Project, Immigrant Defenders Law Center, and JFCS Pittsburgh in this litigation, alongside our co-counsel at National Immigration Law Center, National Center for Youth Law, and the Trial Impact Project.

Read our full statement: https://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/news/advocates-unaccompanied-children-file-lawsuit-stop-federal-governments-fast-track-deportation

10/09/2026

This week a federal court declared the Trump administration’s Remain in Mexico policy unlawful and ordered that it be vacated and set aside.

For Francisco Doe, a named plaintiff in the class action lawsuit, the ruling marks "an important day" for people seeking asylum who were stranded in Mexico under the policy.

"We went through horrible, heavy things, and it means a lot to finally have this recognition that what the United States government did to us was illegal," Francisco says.

Read our full statement with our plaintiffs Immigrant Defenders Law Center Jewish Family Service of San Diego and co-counsel Innovation Law Lab National Immigration Project: https://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/news/court-strikes-down-remain-mexico-policy

09/25/2026

📝Comment today to defend due process for people seeking safety!

There are just three days left until the government closes comments on its new anti-asylum rule.

This rule allows the government to deny people asylum interviews and instead place them straight into deportation proceedings.

It's designed to speed up deportations at the expense of due process, with no regard for the safety of families, kids, and adults seeking refuge.

But we have an opportunity to make our voices heard!

Use our simple template to submit your comment before the comment deadline at 11:59 ET on Monday, September 28.

🔗 bit.ly/commentasylum

09/15/2026

As we mark the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, CGRS interns are spotlighting members of our team working to defend the rights of people seeking safety.

“I try to stay really mindful that our work is only one piece of the puzzle, certainly not the whole story of how social change happens,” says Neela Chakravartula, Associate Director of Litigation at CGRS.

“When faced with bad decisions and legal setbacks, it helps to remember that. Often, the most powerful outcome of these cases is how they bring people together – building lasting partnerships among advocates, attorneys, and people on the ground who will continue to work together in the future.”

Read Neela’s full interview and learn more: https://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/nc-interview

09/09/2026

As we mark the 75th Anniversary of the Refugee Convention this year, CGRS interns are spotlighting our Refugee Leadership Program fellows.

For our fellow P.Z., who is seeking asylum in the United States, it is crucial that U.S. leaders and communities understand “that we are human beings.”

In an interview, they shared, “We are the ones whose humanity was stripped from us once already, and the cruelty with which our lives are handled here sides with the very people who dehumanized us. Not seeing our families, being forced into poverty, and waking up every day afraid our lives will be taken from us again.”

“And still...We build communities. We heal you. We feed you. We contribute to every part of American life. So tell us, how are we the threat?”

People seeking asylum deserve to be safe and free, to have the opportunity to rebuild their lives, and to live in dignity. It’s past time for the United States to uphold its commitments to refugees and welcome people seeking safety with fairness and compassion.

Read the full interview and learn more here: https://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/pz-interview

Photo Credit: UNHCR/Chris Melzer

08/14/2026

CGRS is excited to launch our second annual Refugee Leadership Program, designed to support individuals who have personally experienced forced displacement and incorporate their expertise into our work.

Fellows will gain hands-on experience advocating for refugee rights in the United States, as well as enriching professional development and networking opportunities. They will also lead a project shaped by their interests and perspectives.

This is a remote, paid opportunity. Learn more and apply by August 30 at bit.ly/rlp2027.

📸 Khalid Eid

08/01/2026

🚨🇭🇹Earlier this week, the Trump administration's termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti took effect, placing over 330,000 Haitians at risk of deportation overnight.

We need our leaders in Congress to step up NOW to protect our Haitian neighbors.

In April, the House passed a bill that would require the administration to extend TPS for Haiti through 2029. This bill is now before the Senate, where it currently has 30 cosponsors. It needs at least 60 to advance.

Please call your Senator’s office and urge them to become a cosponsor today, using these call scripts adapted from our partners at the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH). ☎️

Follow IJDH and our partners at Haitian Bridge Alliance for updates and legal info for impacted community members.

07/31/2026

🚨Today the Trump administration abandoned over 20,000 immigrant and refugee children, allowing the contract that covered their legal representation to expire.

“For over 10 years, CGRS has had the honor of supporting attorneys representing children seeking asylum through the Unaccompanied Children Program,” CGRS Deputy Director Moira Duvernay said today.

"We have seen firsthand the life-saving difference that legal representation makes for vulnerable children fleeing persecution, trafficking, and violence. These children desperately need an advocate in their corner to keep them safe and to ensure their due process rights and best interests are respected."

Swipe through to learn more and take action to protect unaccompanied kids.

Read our full statement: https://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/news/cgrs-decries-gutting-unaccompanied-children-program

07/02/2026

🚨Speak up for people seeking safety today!

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court gave Trump the green light to slam the door on people seeking asylum at our nation’s doorstep.

The Court’s ruling in our case Mullin v. Al Otro Lado threatens a crucial lifeline for families, children, and adults fleeing danger.

We need Congress to reject Trump’s cruel policies and make things right.

Call your reps today and urge them to take immediate action to protect the rights of people seeking asylum.

06/25/2026

🚨The Supreme Court has delivered a devastating blow to asylum rights in the United States.

In Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the Court ruled today the government can physically block people from seeking asylum at official border crossings, turning them back to danger.

As Justice Sotomayor explained in a dissent joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson, the Court’s decision “blesses the Executive Branch’s decision to slam the door shut on all who are fleeing persecution, despite the detailed inspection and asylum system that Congress enacted and commands.”

Swipe through to read initial reactions from our legal team, and read our full statement here: https://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/en/news/blow-asylum-rights-supreme-court-allows-trump-administration-block-asylum-seekers-border

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http://cgrs.uclawsf.edu/

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