Holwell Shuster & Goldberg Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of UNHCR in Major SCOTUS Case

New York—In a major Supreme Court case, Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the U.N. organization responsible for protecting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. HSG represents UNHCR in Arizona v. Mayorkas, a case that presents the question of whether individual states can belatedly intervene in an appeal in order to prolong the use of pandemic-era “Title 42 orders,” which have been used to prevent at-risk individuals from lawfully seeking asylum in the United States. 

HSG lawyers Vincent Levy, Kevin Benish, and Patrick Woods served as counsel for UNHCR, alongside UNHCR Senior Protection Officer Alice Farmer. In their brief, they highlight UNHCR’s responsibility for promoting and supervising countries’ compliance with international refugee law, and outline the U.N. Refugee Agency’s position that Title 42 orders “violate fundamental tenets of the Refugee Convention and its Protocol.”

HSG’s amicus brief was filed in support of Respondents in the case, who are represented by the ACLU. Read the brief here.