Refugee and Immigrant RightsSvitlana Doe v. Noem
Defending beneficiaries, sponsors, and organizations against the administration’s termination of key humanitarian programs, seeking to restore lawful status and prevent instability and removal.
Strategic Litigation at Human Rights First
Using the law to defend democracy, protect refugees, and hold abusers accountable.
At Human Rights First, we bring strategic, high-impact cases that protect constitutional freedoms, safeguard people seeking refuge, and ensure that governments and private actors are held accountable when they abuse power.
Our litigation program sits at the intersection of Democracy Protection, Refugee and Immigrant Rights, and International Human Rights. We represent individuals and organizations whose rights are under attack. In moments of democratic backsliding and escalating attacks on human rights, the courts remain a critical safeguard.
While our cases bring justice for individual clients, they also constrain abuses of power more broadly, and preserve the democratic values on which the United States was founded.
Active Cases
Refugee and Immigrant Rights
International Human RightsEl Sammak v. Egypt
Challenging Egypt’s assault on protesters outside the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations and seeking accountability for violence carried out by foreign agents on U.S. soil.
U.S. Democracy ProtectionWESPAC SLAPP Lawsuit
Protecting an organization's First Amendment rights against retaliatory litigation
International Human RightsUT v. Bondi
Challenging the expansion of Asylum Cooperative Agreements, which facilitate transfers of asylum seekers to third countries despite inadequate protections, due process violations, and risk of chain refoulement.
Refugee and Immigrant RightsDVD v. DHS
Challenging DHS’s policy of deporting individuals to countries not identified in their immigration proceedings, without notice or a chance to raise fears of persecution or torture.
LawsuitYunseo Chung v. Trump Administration
Defending a lawful permanent resident from arrest for protected political expression
Refugee and Immigrant RightsSvitlana Doe v. Noem
Defending beneficiaries, sponsors, and organizations against the administration’s termination of key humanitarian programs, seeking to restore lawful status and prevent instability and removal.
International Human RightsEl Sammak v. Egypt
Challenging Egypt’s assault on protesters outside the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations and seeking accountability for violence carried out by foreign agents on U.S. soil.
U.S. Democracy ProtectionWESPAC SLAPP Lawsuit
Protecting an organization's First Amendment rights against retaliatory litigation
International Human RightsUT v. Bondi
Challenging the expansion of Asylum Cooperative Agreements, which facilitate transfers of asylum seekers to third countries despite inadequate protections, due process violations, and risk of chain refoulement.
Refugee and Immigrant RightsDVD v. DHS
Challenging DHS’s policy of deporting individuals to countries not identified in their immigration proceedings, without notice or a chance to raise fears of persecution or torture.
LawsuitYunseo Chung v. Trump Administration
Defending a lawful permanent resident from arrest for protected political expression
Select Closed Cases
International Human RightsIverson v. Trump
When the Trump administration sanctioned ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, U.S. Army veteran Eric Iverson, who works for the ICC as a prosecutor, was forced to halt his work investigating atrocities in Darfur. We sued, arguing that applying sanctions in this way violated Iverson’s First Amendment rights and unlawfully interfered with accountability for war crimes. In May 2025, the administration conceded the case by issuing a Treasury license allowing Iverson to fully resume his work.
U.S. Democracy ProtectionPatriot Front Civil Suit
Human Rights First joined co-counsel in filing a federal civil lawsuit against the neo-Nazi extremist group Patriot Front and its leader following a violent 2022 assault on Charles Murrell III along Boston’s Freedom Trail. The suit sought accountability for the organized, racially motivated attack and sent a clear message: extremist violence will be met with legal consequences. In January 2025 Human Rights First and partner Foley Hoag secured $2.7 million in compensatory and punitive damages for Charles Murrell.