Date Created:
Place Created: California
Year Created: 1991
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Description: American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh was a landmark class-action lawsuit filed by a coalition of religious refugee-assistance organizations and Salvadoran and Guatemalan asylum seekers against the government. The plaintiffs alleged that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) systematically discriminated against Central American asylum applicants in violation of the Refugee Act of 1980. They also argued that the Fifth Amendment was violated by denying claims without individualized review. The case resulted in the 1990 ABC Settlement Agreement, which granted eligible Salvadorans and Guatemalans who entered the U.S. by specified dates new, de novo asylum interviews, protection from deportation while their cases were pending, and authorization to work. The settlement influenced asylum procedures by establishing due process protections.
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California