Eighteen states and the District of Columbia filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday in Washington to bolster plaintiffs challenging a new U.S. policy that denies asylum to those claiming to be victims of gang or domestic violence.
The policy was previewed in early June by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who wrote in a legal opinion that asylum cannot be a "redress for all misfortune."
"The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes—such as domestic violence or gang violence—or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime cannot itself establish an asylum claim," he wrote.