The Stakes for Asylum Seekers Could Not Be Higher

Written by Judy Rohrer
As originally published on Common Dreams

“The stakes for asylum seekers could not be higher.” These words were penned by Justice Sonia Sotomayor in her joint dissent with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg to the Supreme Court ruling September 11 lifting a stay on a Trump administration rule that basically ends asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border. “The rule the government promulgated topples decades of settled asylum practices and affects some of the most vulnerable people in the Western Hemisphere,” wrote Sotomayor.

This July my partner, 80-year-old mother, and I met some of “the most vulnerable people in the Western Hemisphere.” We volunteered at the U.S.-Mexico border with Al Otro Lado (translation: “to the other side”). We wanted to witness what is happening…