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.

As Global Refugee Crisis Grows, America Must Do Her Part

As Global Refugee Crisis Grows, America Must Do Her Part

Each year on June 20, people around the world recognize the plight, resilience, and courage of those who have been forced to flee their homes. This World Refugee Day comes at a time when record numbers of refugees and other vulnerable populations are fleeing violence and persecution. As they… Read More

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Continues to Inhibit Asylum Seekers’ Legal Access and Invite Litigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Continues to Inhibit Asylum Seekers’ Legal Access and Invite Litigation

Since the reintroduction of family detention under the Obama administration, abuse of the mothers and children held in these facilities has run rampant. The family detention scheme has grown increasingly controversial not only because it has failed to provide safe and humane conditions for mothers and children, but also… Read More

Lawsuit Challenges Government’s Interference with Legal Representation of Mothers and Children Detained in Dilley, Texas

Lawsuit Challenges Government’s Interference with Legal Representation of Mothers and Children Detained in Dilley, Texas

Access to legal counsel is a core American value and is the cornerstone of our justice system. Yet, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has severely limited access to legal assistance for asylum-seeking women and children held in family detention facilities. Read More

America’s Treatment of Asylum Seekers Reviewed by Regional Human Rights Body

America’s Treatment of Asylum Seekers Reviewed by Regional Human Rights Body

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) heard testimony today about policies that prevent access to the U.S. asylum process for those fleeing grave danger in their home countries. U.S. law guarantees the right to seek asylum to all who flee persecution and arrive at our border looking for protection. Read More

Asylum Seekers Illegally Turned Away by Customs and Border Protection

Asylum Seekers Illegally Turned Away by Customs and Border Protection

For many months, lawyers and advocates have received damning reports from asylum-seeking families, adults, and even unaccompanied minors fleeing Mexico and Central America who have been systematically turned away by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents along the U.S.-Mexico border, from San Ysidro, CA to Brownsville, TX. The Washington… Read More

Complaint Filed as Customs and Border Protection Turns Away Asylum Seekers

Complaint Filed as Customs and Border Protection Turns Away Asylum Seekers

A coalition of immigrant and civil rights groups filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, last Friday and the Office of Inspector General, on behalf of numerous adult men and women, families and unaccompanied children who, over the past several months, were denied entry to the United States at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border. Read More

Federal Court Grants Nationwide Class Status in Suit to Protect Asylum Seekers

Federal Court Grants Nationwide Class Status in Suit to Protect Asylum Seekers

A federal court in Seattle has granted nationwide class action status to a case seeking to protect the rights of thousands of asylum seekers pursuing protection from persecution in their home countries. Read More

Asylum Free Zones in the U.S. Examined by Inter-American Commission

Asylum Free Zones in the U.S. Examined by Inter-American Commission

Entire jurisdictions in the United States have become so hostile to asylum seekers and their representatives that the U.S. government, and its immigration court system, is failing to deliver on its international and national obligation to protect them. The asylum-seekers who end up in one of these hostile jurisdictions, which… Read More

Developments with Respect to the One-Year Deadline for Filing Asylum Applications

Developments with Respect to the One-Year Deadline for Filing Asylum Applications

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), Dobrin & Han, PC, American Immigration Council, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild commend the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for reversing course and now allowing asylum applicants to file their applications by mail or in person at an immigration court window. Read More

Why the Department of Homeland Security Should Also End Private Prison Contracts

Why the Department of Homeland Security Should Also End Private Prison Contracts

For two years, women and children from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have been fleeing to the United States to escape the extreme violence of gangs which control large swaths of territory within their home countries. And for two years the Obama Administration has responded to this humanitarian crisis… Read More

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