Asylum
Asylum grants legal protection to foreign nationals already in the U.S. or arriving at the border who can’t go back to their home country because of persecution. Learn more about the asylum system in the United States, including how asylum is defined, eligibility requirements, and the difficult and complex application process.
Council and AILA submit Comments on Interim Final Rule Restricting Access to Humanitarian Protections at the U.S./Mexico Border
In June of 2024, the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) submitted a joint comment urging the Biden administration to rescind this IFR. Read More
Council and AILA Submit Comment on the Application of Certain Mandatory Bars in Fear Screenings
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) submitted comments to a Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice proposed rule that would apply certain bars to asylum during asylum seekers' credible and reasonable fear screenings. Read More
Biden’s New Changes to the Asylum Process: What You Need to Know
On June 4, President Biden issued a sweeping order under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act claiming that allows him to “suspend the entry” of most migrants who cross the border between ports of entry, echoing a similar order issued by President Trump in November… Read More
An American Immigration Council Analysis of the President’s 212(f) Proclamation and Interim Final Rule Restricting Asylum
On June 4, the Biden administration issued a presidential proclamation and an Interim Final Rule restricting access to asylum for people crossing into the United States without legal status. The Council analyzes this new Proclamation and Interim Final Rule Restricting Asylum in this factsheet. Read More
Biden’s Executive Action Will Not Make Border More Orderly or Secure
The U.S. government needs to be able to quickly and fairly sort out migrants who have a valid asylum claim, but instead of investing in U.S. ports of entry, immigration courts, or more options for legal migration, the order focuses on harsh and arbitrary turnbacks. Read More
Biden Proposes Rule to Quickly Remove Certain Migrants During Initial Screening Process at the Border
On May 9, the Biden administration proposed a rule that would allow asylum officers to consider and impose certain restrictions or “bars” to the initial asylum screening process at the border. Currently, these bars are considered later in the asylum process at a full hearing before an immigration judge. Read More
The Biden Administration’s Proposed Regulation On Asylum Bars: An Analysis
On May 9, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, published here, that would allow asylum officers to reject a subset of asylum seekers earlier in the process based on several factors that are currently considered only once an asylum seeker has a full hearing before an immigration judge. Read More
Civil Rights Groups File Lawsuit to Block Iowa’s Unconstitutional SF 2340
Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit today to block SF 2340, one of the worst, most far-reaching immigration laws ever passed in the state of Iowa. Read More
The State of Texas Isn’t Just Creating Chaos and Cruelty at the Border—It’s Trying to Break the Things That Work
For decades, the Catholic nonprofit Annunciation House has worked to support migrants in El Paso, Texas. It’s provided shelter, food and services to countless people who have just arrived in the United States—many of whom have been released directly from government custody after being apprehended and processed by… Read More
Refugees and Asylum Seekers Generate Billions of Dollars More Than They Cost the U.S. Government
A report released this month by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that refugees and asylees have generated tens of billions of dollars more in local, state, and federal tax revenues over the last 15 years than they have cost in direct government services—ultimately representing… Read More
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