Silver Spring, MD — Drawing from a long history of advocacy and support for refugees, HIAS today filed an amicus brief in Noem v. Al Otro Lado, urging the Supreme Court to reject “turnback” policies that unlawfully block people from seeking protection at ports of entry.
HIAS’ brief reminds the Court that the legal right to seek asylum was born out of tragedy, drawing a connection between shameful moments in history when the U.S. turned away refugees at a border, without even a chance of asking for protection.
In 1939, more than 900 Jewish refugees boarded the M.S. St. Louis, fleeing Nazi persecution. Described by the New York Times as “the saddest ship afloat,” the vessel was forced back to Europe after being turned away by Cuba, and then by the United States. As the ship steamed back to Europe, HIAS, alongside other Jewish aid organizations, scrambled to secure safety for as many people as possible. Eventually, one-third of the passengers were murdered in the Holocaust – after being within sight of the coast of Miami.
In the wake of the turnback of the St. Louis and the Holocaust, the Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol became international law, and were ratified by the United States Senate, to prohibit any country from returning refugees to their persecutors. In 1980, the Refugee Act was signed into law, codifying these protections.
Decades later, the first Trump administration created the Remain in Mexico and metering policies – modern turnback policies that prevented people from being able to ask for protection when they arrived at the U.S.-Mexico border. HIAS worked in Mexico during this period, assisting hundreds of thousands of people forced to wait in dangerous border cities while their asylum cases wound their way through the U.S. immigration system.
“We have stood on both sides of this history — advocating for the passengers of the St. Louis in 1939 and serving families forced to wait in Mexico in recent years,” said Beth Oppenheim, HIAS CEO. “The human cost of denying entry is not theoretical. It is measured in lives disrupted, endangered, and sometimes lost. The court must uphold the clear promise in U.S. law: that those who reach our ports of entry have the right to ask for protection.”
The lawsuit is being brought by Al Otro Lado and a group of individual asylum seekers, and represented by the American Immigration Council, the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS), the Center for Constitutional Rights, Democracy Forward, and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 26, 2026.
HIAS’ brief can be found here. Learn more about the lawsuit and the accompanying No Turning Back Campaign.
