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.
GOP’s Extreme Border Bill Rejects Solutions and Embraces Ending Asylum
On Monday, April 17, the House GOP introduced its first comprehensive border bill of the 118th Congress. The bill comes after months of disagreement within the caucus surrounding legislative responses to the border, with moderate Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) having branded a proposal by Rep. Chip Roy… Read More
New Menendez Plan Proposes Humane and Effective Solutions for Managing Migration at the Border
The American Immigration Council responds to the new Menendez Plan which proposes humane and effective solutions for managing migration at the border. Read More
Biden’s Reviving Phone-Booth Asylum. Here’s Why It Was a Disaster
The Biden administration is yet again turning to the Trump playbook as it tries to slap together a border crackdown to succeed the end of the Title 42 “public health” order next month. The latest revived Trump-era idea: keeping asylum seekers in Border Patrol custody for longer, and conducting asylum… Read More
Opposition to Proposed Asylum Transit Ban Rule Across U.S.
Members of Congress, Faith Leaders, and Pediatricians Join Tens of Thousands of People Demanding Rescission of Biden Asylum Transit Ban. Read More
A Groundswell of Opposition to Biden’s Asylum Transit Ban
The public has spoken: an asylum transit ban was bad policy during the Trump era, and it’s bad policy now. On February 21, the Biden administration released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking laying out the details of a planned asylum transit ban. The proposed rule, a new version of a… Read More
Deadly Detention Center Fire Is a Reminder: Both the US and Mexico Are Failing Migrants
On Monday night, 39 migrants died, and another 27 were seriously injured, in a fire in a Mexican detention center in Ciudad Juarez. The migrants—most of them from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Venezuela—were being held for deportation by the Mexican immigration enforcement agency INM, after a sweep to pick… Read More
US and Canada Expand Safe Third Country Agreement in Another Move to Limit Asylum
The United States and Canada announced the expansion of their Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) last week during President Biden’s visit to Canada. Under U.S. law, a so-called “Safe Third Country” agreement allows the United States to deport asylum seekers to a third country without allowing them to apply… Read More
Advocates Release FOIA Data, Seek Transparency for Thousands of Afghans Seeking Humanitarian Parole and the Extensive Delays They Are Facing
The American Immigration Council and International Refugee Assistance Project released government records documenting the extensive delays experienced by thousands of Afghans who filed for humanitarian parole since the United States’ chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Read More
Agency Failures Make Obtaining Humanitarian Parole Almost Impossible for Afghans
The facts on immigration—right in your inbox. Sign up with the American Immigration Council to receive the latest in immigration law and policy as well as opportunities and resources to educate the public about the value of immigration to American society. In July 2021, the Biden administration… Read More
Ukrainians Get a Temporary Reprieve Instead of a Permanent Fix
The Biden administration announced on Monday that it would grant another year of temporary legal status for some Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion for the United States before April 25, when the Biden administration rolled out the Uniting for Ukraine program. The extension fixes an obvious injustice between… Read More
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