Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
According to a column in the Minnesota Daily, the number of asylum seekers who are detained by the U.S. government has increased dramatically in the last 10 years. I have some questions about the statistics cited in the article, which states: Ten years ago, the number of detained asylum seekers in the United States was … Read more
From the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center: Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center and 30 other national and international immigrant and human rights organizations, think tanks, and academics have petitioned the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) to issue regulations allowing the release of detained asylum seekers who pose no danger to … Read more
When asylum seekers arrive in the United States, they are often unfamiliar with how to file for asylum and how to find help with their cases. Such people commonly hire “consultants” (or “notarios” in the Spanish-speaking community) to assist them. The consultants prepare the case and sometimes attend the asylum interview as an interpreter. They charge a … Read more
Asylum in the United States is meant to be a confidential process. However, it is not uncommon for the BIA and the federal circuit courts to identify asylum seekers by name in their decisions, and to describe the applicants’ claims of persecution. We lawyers sometimes wonder whether anyone in the home country ever learns about … Read more
Mesfin (not his real name) fled Ethiopia to escape political persecution. Once he reached the United States, he filed for political asylum. Four years, four attorneys, and thousands of dollars later, Mesfin’s journey finally came to an end when an Immigration Judge granted his application for asylum earlier this week. “When [my claim] was denied … Read more