Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
The Amerasian Homecoming Act, which passed into law in December 1987 and went into effect a few months later, began with a photojournalist, a homeless boy in Vietnam, and four high school students in Long Island, New York. Twenty five years later, almost 100,000 people have immigrated from Vietnam to the U.S. as a result … Read more
The Migration Policy Institute, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) and Georgetown University Law Center will be hosting the 8th Annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference on April 26, 2011 in Washington, DC. The topics include the following: Devolution of Immigration Authority: The Role of States in Immigration Enforcement and Policymaking The Final Arbiters: When … Read more
I am pleased to let you know about a new book, Legal Briefs on Immigration Reform from 25 of the Top Legal Minds in the Country. For the book, editors Deborah Robinson and Mona Parsa asked 25 of The Top Legal Minds in the Country this question: If you were called upon by the President of … Read more
A recent article in the Baptist Press illustrates just how diverse the refugee advocacy community really is–and now, some pro-immigrant organizations have joined forces with an anti-Moslem, anti-gay hate group. The issue that has brought together this “coalition of religious, conservative, and human rights leaders” is the material support bar and the Obama Administration’s failure to adopt reforms to prevent … Read more
On June 17, the House Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law held an oversight hearing on the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The hearing was called by Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) as part of a long-running effort to understand why the Immigration Courts and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) are … Read more
Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) is the latest politician to exploit President Obama’s Aunt Onyango for political gain. Zeituni Onyango is the Kenyan half sister of President Obama’s father. She filed for asylum in 2002 and lost, but after Obama came onto the national scene, she re-applied and her application was granted. Applications for asylum are … Read more
The RPA provides important new protections to asylum seekers, particularly the most vulnerable asylum seekers such as people who are pro se or detained. However, I can think of a couple important issues that are not addressed. Below are some problems that my clients have faced over and over again, and some suggested solutions. The … Read more
The Senate Judiciary committee held a hearing yesterday on the Refugee Protection Act. I wasn’t able to attend, but the Senate conveniently records such hearings, and you can view it here. My friend who attended thought it did not go very well for supporters of the bill. I can’t say I agree, though the last … Read more
Under INA § 235(b), an alien who appears at the border and claims asylum or expresses a fear of persecution must be interviewed. The Refugee Protection Act would require DHS to record these interviews. Currently, asylum interviews at the border (or the airport) are generally not recorded. As a result, there are often disputes about what … Read more
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing on “Renewing America’s Commitment to the Refugee Convention: The Refugee Protection Act of 2010” for Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The scheduled witnesses are: (1) The Honorable Dan Glickman, President, Refugees International; (2) Patrick … Read more