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.

New Legal Filing Links High-level Trump Officials to Asylum “Turnback Policy”
In a new court filing, asylum seekers and an immigrant rights group are challenging the Trump administration’s policy and practice of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border Read More

Human Rights Groups Finds More Families Separated Than Originally Reported
A new report alleges that the Trump administration (and partially Obama administration) may have separated thousands more families than previously reported and also details how thousands of asylum seekers have been illegally turned away at the U.S.-Mexico border. Read More

A Record 13,300 Migrant Children Are Being Detained by the Trump Administration
The Trump administration is holding a record level of 13,300 migrant children in its custody, forcing the government to shift hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure there is enough money and bed space in Health and Human Services (HHS) facilities. This increase is largely due to the administration’s new… Read More

Immigrant Rights Groups Demand Timely Bond Hearings and Legal Protections for Asylum Seekers
Yesterday, plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the U.S. government’s targeted efforts to obstruct asylum seekers filed a motion for preliminary injunction demanding timely bond hearings that comport with due process. Read More

Trump Administration Justifies Lowest Refugee Admission Target Ever, Arguing That America’s Generosity Remains Boundless
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday evening that the Trump administration intends to limit refugee admissions to no more than 30,000 people in Fiscal Year 2019. In an effort to soften the blow, Pompeo noted the United States also intends to process 280,000 asylum cases,… Read More

Statement for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Hearing on “The Implications of Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement for Border Security and Illegal Immigration Incentives”
The American Immigration Council and American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted a written statement to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for a September 18, 2018 hearing on “The Implications of Reinterpretation of the Flores Settlement for Border Security and Illegal Immigration Incentives.” The statement covers… Read More

Government Agrees to Give Some Separated Families A Second Chance to Seek Asylum
In a tentative partial settlement agreement reached with lawyers representing parents and children who were separated as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, the government has agreed to give thousands of parents and children a second chance to seek… Read More

Trump Administration Proposes Regulations in ‘Flores’ to Detain Migrant Children Longer in Unsafe Conditions
The Trump administration is proposing new regulations to indefinitely detain immigrant children at the border and keep them in unsafe conditions, creating a false choice between separating families or detaining children indefinitely. This misguided effort would continue the administration’s pattern of inflicting needless suffering on asylum-seeking children. The Flores… Read More

Court Allows Lawsuit Challenging CBP’s Practice of Turning Away Asylum Seekers to Proceed
In a blow to the Trump administration, a federal court in California recently allowed a class action lawsuit to move forward challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) practice of turning away asylum seekers at the border. The lawsuit, Al Otro Lado v. Nielsen, was brought in 2017 by… Read More
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