National Immigrant Rights Organizations Urge Supreme Court to Protect Green Card Holders’ Right to Travel
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Sarai Bejarano media@latinojustice.orgRachel Cohen rachel@immdefense.org
New York, NY – LatinoJustice PRLDEF, alongside the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, and Immigrant Defense Project, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Bondi v. Lau, a case that could significantly impact the rights of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to travel internationally without risking their immigration status.
The case asks the justices to question whether the government can treat a green card holder returning from travel abroad as if they are newcomers seeking admission into the United States and subject them to detention or removal based only on unproven allegations of past wrongdoing, rather than clear and convincing evidence.
The brief argues that allowing the government to rely on mere suspicion would undermine long-standing legal protections and place millions of green card holders at risk of detention, loss of status, and prolonged legal uncertainty. The amici explain that under the government’s position, lawful permanent residents could have their green cards confiscated and be detained or paroled indefinitely while the government searches for evidence, turning routine travel for family, work, or emergencies into a high-stakes risk.
“This case is about whether the government can strip people of their rights based on mere suspicion,” said Rex Chen, Supervising Counsel for Immigrant Rights, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “The Supreme Court must uphold basic rights and ensure that green card holders are not treated as if they are strangers to a country they lawfully call home. Illegally giving the government leeway to put some green card holders at risk opens up the potential for racial profiling and treating groups such as Blacks and Latinos more harshly.”
The amicus brief also highlights that the right to travel is a fundamental liberty interest that applies to lawful permanent residents and is essential to maintaining family ties, fulfilling religious obligations, and participating in everyday life, such as visiting an ill parent, getting a critical medical procedure done, spending time with a spouse or child that is stuck overseas due to a multi-year backlog for relatives to get visas, studying abroad, or taking a business trip to meet industry experts. It also explains that U.S. immigration law draws a clear distinction between individuals seeking admission and those who have already been lawfully admitted, protections that should not be erased based on unproven allegations.
The brief urges the Court to affirm the lower court’s decision and interpret immigration law in a way that protects constitutional rights, including the right to travel, and prevents unjust detention based on unproven claims.
“We urge the Court to protect the right of Green Card holders to travel freely. The idea that the government can strip freedom of movement based on just the suspicion of past misconduct is unconscionable,” said Noah Baron, Assistant of Litigation at Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. “The right of Green Card holders to travel in and out of the U.S. is essential, especially for those who have family abroad. Allowing immigration and customs officers to restrict that right, especially with no workable standard, invites arbitrary and discriminatory treatment—and will not only upend the lives of green card holders at the whim of immigration and customs officers.”
"The government's position in Bondi v. Lau would hollow out the meaning of permanent residency — reducing it to a status that can be upended at the border on the basis of suspicion alone," said Razeen Zaman, Immigrant Rights Director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). "For Asian immigrants and immigrants across all communities, the freedom to travel abroad and return home is not optional — it is the basic dignity that permanent residency is supposed to protect. That should not be a gamble. No one should have their green card taken at the airport, be placed in detention, and face the threat of deportation because of an unproven allegation. The law requires the government to meet its burden — clear and convincing evidence — not to detain first and hope the proof materializes down the road."
“Long time green card holders in the United States must have the right to maintain family, cultural and religious ties abroad without fear of being targeted by the Department of Homeland Security upon mere suspicions of conduct,” said Nabilah Siddiquee, Litigation Director at the Immigrant Defense Project. “With ICE and Border Patrol flooding U.S. airports and attacking our communities, the stakes are higher than ever. We urge the Court to take action to protect the fundamental right to travel for green card holders.”
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