Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The United States has a longstanding tradition of welcoming individuals from around the world who are seeking protection and refuge. But recent U.S. policy has grown increasingly hostile toward asylum seekers and refugees. Instead of turning vulnerable individuals away, the United States should maintain its global reputation as a leader in refugee resettlement and humanitarian protection. Doing so not only upholds American values but sustains and strengthens our communities. Data from the Council shows that refugees and asylees make tremendous contributions to our economy as earners, taxpayers, and consumers. Learn more about the contributions and challenges of asylum seekers and refugees below.
Proposed 15-Day Filing Rule for Asylum Seekers Is Designed to Be Impossible
The Trump administration has spent most of the year trying to destroy asylum law—and the blows keep coming. On Sept. 23, the Department of Justice proposed yet another regulation aimed at certain asylum seekers that would stop all but the lucky few from receiving protections. How the Rule Would… Read More
TPS Termination Will Disrupt Communities Across America and Upend the Lives of Thousands of U.S. Citizen Children
A federal court has ruled that the Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for more than 300,000 people living in the United States can continue. Read More
Immigrant Rights Advocates Ask Court to Permanently Block Trump Policy Turning Back Asylum Seekers
Asylum seekers who have been turned back by U.S. Customs and Border Protection from ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border asked a federal court to permanently stop the Trump administration’s Turnback Policy and declare it unlawful. Read More
Judge Says “Poppycock!” to Trump Program That Let Border Patrol Screen Asylum Applicants
A federal court on Monday halted a secretive program started under the Trump administration that allowed Border Patrol agents to be harsh gatekeepers to the asylum process. The court rejected the government’s defense of the program as “poppycock.” In spring 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) quietly began… Read More
Detained Immigrants Ask Court to Stop ICE Interference to Phone Access in Immigration Detention Centers
Individuals in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Otero County Processing Center filed a motion for preliminary injunction to stop ICE from denying detained individuals the ability to contact their lawyers and the outside world by phone. Read More
Cuccinelli and Wolf Were Found Ineligible to Serve at DHS. What Happens Next?
The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) top two officials are under scrutiny once again after a congressional oversight office found they were unlawfully appointed to their positions. The independent nonpartisan agency, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), released a report that determined that Chad Wolf and Ken… Read More
Asylum Seekers Face a Dangerous Journey—and United States Interference
For many people planning to seek asylum in the United States, enforcement starts in Panama, over 3,000 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border. U.S. immigration agencies collaborate with Panama’s National Border Service, also known as SENAFRONT, to register and track people as they pass through Central America. The United States… Read More
Legal Victory Brings Hope to Asylum Seekers Turned Away at the Border
Asylum seekers got a major win in a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) illegal policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry. In Al Otro Lado v. Wolf, a federal judge decided that the case may proceed as a class action. This decision means… Read More
Lawsuit Now Covers Thousands of Asylum Seekers Unlawfully Turned Back at Ports of Entry
A federal judge has granted class certification in Al Otro Lado v. Wolf, a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s policy of turning back asylum seekers at ports of entry. The ruling provides that the challenge to the Turnback Policy will continue on behalf of all asylum seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border who were or will be prevented from accessing the asylum process at ports of entry as a result of the government’s Turnback Policy. Read More
Comment on Security Bars and Processing Regulation
The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted a comment opposing the regulation “Security Bars and Processing.” The regulation would ban asylum and end withholding of removal (an alternative form of relief for an individual fearing persecution in their country of origin) for anyone who passed through a… Read More
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