A cringeworthy moment at the Supreme Court today—Alito doubts whether an asylum seeker was REALLY persecuted, and ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt has to explain how Tamil persecution works in Sri Lanka. supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments… 
Background on the "white van phenomenon" in Sri Lanka here. If Alito had read the amicus briefs he would've realized that the asylum seeker's account was chillingly plausible. bbc.com/news/world-asi…
If Alito had even skimmed this amicus brief, for instance, he could've avoided revealing his ignorance about a key fact in the case. supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/1…
Here is another amicus brief that explains the "white van phenomenon" in Sri Lanka. It links to this horrifying report. freedomfromtorture.org/sites/default/… It's alarming that Alito apparently had no idea about this fact—which, again, is central to the case.
And here is a link to that (excellent) brief, from professors of asylum law: supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/19/1…
