Asylum

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

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

Government’s Treatment of Asylum Seekers Falling Short

Government’s Treatment of Asylum Seekers Falling Short

Human Rights First (HRF) and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) each released reports this month detailing the flawed treatment of asylum seekers in the United States. The USCIRF report, Barriers to Protection: The Treatment of Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal, looks at the Department of Homeland… Read More

DHS and Immigration Courts Sued Over One-Year Asylum Deadline

DHS and Immigration Courts Sued Over One-Year Asylum Deadline

Immigration law imposes a one-year deadline, beginning upon arrival in the United States, within which an asylum seeker must apply for asylum. With very limited exceptions, an individual who misses this deadline becomes ineligible for asylum. Even though the clock is ticking for these asylum seekers, DHS agents and officers… Read More

Number of Refugees and Internally Displaced Now at an All-Time High

Number of Refugees and Internally Displaced Now at an All-Time High

This year, World Refugee Day marks a grim historical milestone: The number of people fleeing their homes to escape war and persecution is now higher than it has ever been since the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began keeping records in the 1950s. In the 2015… Read More

Public Radio Report Mischaracterizes U.S. Asylum Process

Public Radio Report Mischaracterizes U.S. Asylum Process

Media outlets are reporting on the uptick in the number of individuals crossing the southern border into the U.S. This trend is not surprising given the ongoing violence in Central America. The conditions in the region are not significantly improving by any measure, and as a result people continue to flee while the Administration’s refugee “deterrence policy” fails to deter many. Read More

How the Asylum and Immigration Court Backlogs Reached an All-Time High

How the Asylum and Immigration Court Backlogs Reached an All-Time High

The current backlogs in the immigration court and asylum systems have long been a problem and the government offices tasked with bringing the backlog down still have much to do. As detailed in the Human Rights First report In the Balance: Backlogs Delay Protection in the U.S. Asylum… Read More

Deterrence Strategy Targeting Central American Asylum Seekers Comes at a High Human Cost

Deterrence Strategy Targeting Central American Asylum Seekers Comes at a High Human Cost

The Obama Administration has recently announced plans to double down on its strategy of rounding up and deporting Central American asylum seekers to some of the most dangerous countries in the world. This is part of the Administration’s deterrence strategy, which is specifically designed to curtail the flow of… Read More

Despite Obstacles, A Majority of Child Migrants Appear in Immigration Court

Despite Obstacles, A Majority of Child Migrants Appear in Immigration Court

Reuters reported last week that the Obama Administration would begin to round up Central American women and children, including “minors who have entered the country without a guardian and since turned 18 years of age” and begin deporting them. The news report goes on to say that “many of… Read More

Judge Who Believes Toddlers Can Represent Themselves, Only Part of the Problem in the Battle over Representation for Kids

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

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