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.
Lawyer Says Asylum Seekers Can Wait Years Just To See a Judge
The worst part of representing asylum-seekers in the U.S. legal system is the wait. “It’s awful,” says Jenny Rizzo, who provided pro bono legal representation to refugees in Buffalo, New York, and now serves as executive director of The Pro Bono Project in New Orleans. The system is so overburdened… Read More
Undocumented Children Face These Challenges in Accessing Public Education
Unaccompanied children arriving from Central America face many challenges – post-traumatic stress, facing a judge without an attorney, separation from their families, and the fear of being returned to their home countries, among others. Receiving the public education to which they are entitled should not be one of those challenges. Read More
Serial Entrepreneur and Ethiopian Refugee Reminds Everyone: Immigrants ‘Work Hard and Play by the Rules’
When Fasil Muche was in high school, he received a letter telling him he was about to be deported back to his native Ethiopia. It turned out the letter was a mistake, but the emotional upheaval shaped Muche’s views on undocumented immigrants. He wishes no one had to live with… Read More
From Political Asylee to Employer — Colombian Immigrant Believes ‘You Have To Do Things in the Right Way’
Diva Herazo knows the value of good medical care. Originally from Colombia, she and her family were in the United States, in the process of applying for political asylum, when her daughter became ill. “She was born with just one kidney, and she got an infection and needed surgery while… Read More
Ramirez v. Dougherty – Ninth Circuit
The Council, with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, filed this amicus brief arguing that a grant of TPS satisfies the “admission” requirement for adjustment of status under INA § 245(a) and that, as a result, an individual who entered without inspection and later received a grant of TPS has been “admitted” and may adjust to lawful permanent resident status if otherwise eligible. Read More
Human Rights Commission Holds Hearing on Refugee Children and Families Seeking Protection
Earlier this week the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held a thematic hearing on the “Human Rights Situation of Migrant and Refugee Children and Families in the United States.” A broad national coalition of advocacy groups and legal service providers, led by the University of Pennsylvania’s Transnational Law Clinic,… Read More
After Surviving Brutal Kidnapping, Colombian Immigrant Becomes Successful Miami Entrepreneur
Cristhian Mancera loved his native Colombia and had planned to stay there forever. But when he was kidnapped at age 28, he lost faith in his country. “I was held for 10 hours and thought I was going to die. I was hit in the head multiple times,” he… Read More
New Studies Show Refugees are Integrating
At a time when politicians and others are expressing concern about the U.S.’s refugee resettlement process, two new studies show that refugees want to integrate and are indeed integrating into the fabric of our country. However, there is much variation depending on the refugees’ country of origin, and there remains… Read More
Judge Who Believes Toddlers Can Represent Themselves, Only Part of the Problem in the Battle over Representation for Kids
Over the past week, several media outlets reported that Assistant Chief Immigration Judge (ACIJ) Jack Weil claimed that he could teach immigration law to three- and four-year-old children such that the children could represent themselves in immigration court. Now, Attorney General Loretta Lynch claims that the… Read More
Breaking Down the Central American Refugee Crisis and the U.S. Response
When tens of thousands of women and unaccompanied children from Central America journeyed to the United States seeking asylum in 2014, President Obama’s administration concentrated its efforts and poured resources into an aggressive strategy of deterrence that is still in place today. The multi-prong approach, including a media campaign… Read More
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