National Security

# Asylum Seekers# Immigration# National Security

An Asylum Lawyer Responds to Alexis Nungaray, Mother of a Child Killed by Illegal Migrants

In a Fox News interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, host Bret Baier played a clip of Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter Jocelyn was murdered this past June. Charged with the crime are two Venezuelan migrants who illegally entered the United States shortly before the murder. Both men were apprehended near the border and released with notices to appear in Immigration Court.

In the clip, Ms. Nungaray blames the “Biden-Harris Administration’s open border policies” for the death of her child. This same idea has long been promoted by Donald Trump, who accuses migrants of bringing crime and drugs into our country.

In reality, crime is down in the United States and migrants consistently commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. Of course, statistics are cold comfort to anyone who has been victimized by “migrant crime.” But using Jocelyn’s death to justify further restrictions on asylum seekers would only compound the tragedy. That’s because our asylum system saves many lives each year. It also serves our national interests.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# National Security

President Biden’s New Border Policy: Sound and Fury at the Border, Signifying Nothing for Those Who Wait

In response to record numbers of migrants arriving at our Southern border–2.2 million in FY2022–President Biden has announced some new rules designed to deter people from coming to our country to seek asylum. At the same time, these rules also open a new pathway for “up to 30,000 migrants from Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti… to enter the United States on ‘parole’ each month if they have financial sponsors here and pass background checks.”

Today, we’ll discuss the import of these new rules. We’ll also look at how the rules might affect asylum seekers who currently have cases before the Asylum Office or Immigration Court.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# Human Rights# National Security

The Message Behind Red State Governors’ Migrant Transports

The governors of Texas, Arizona, and Florida have been transporting asylum seekers from the border to “sanctuary” jurisdictions, such as Washington, DC, New York City, Chicago, and Martha’s Vineyard. Many of these migrants have suffered persecution in their home countries and have undergone difficult and dangerous journeys to reach the United States. The governors have enticed them to travel from the border to other parts of the country by falsely promising them jobs, work permits, and other benefits. In most cases, the receiving localities have not been forewarned about the new arrivals, and so have had difficulty coordinating a humanitarian response.

Immigration advocates have referred to these transfers as a “cynical political game,” a “publicity stunt” and a “political ploy.” Others have called it an effort to “own the libs.” While I agree that lying to vulnerable people and manipulating them is cruel and immoral, I think we on the Left are not being honest or wise when we dismiss the migrant transports as mere political theater. The issues underlying the governors’ efforts are serious and we ignore those issues at our peril.

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum Seekers# Human Rights# National Security

President Biden Must Protect Russian Refugees

This article is by Stanislav Stanskikh, a Visiting Scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Research Fellow at UNC-Chapel Hill, and founder of The New England Institute for Country Conditions Expertise. He may be reached here: stanskikh [at] countryconditions.expert

There is an ongoing debate about whether Russians fleeing political repressions and the military draft should be granted refuge in the United States and the West, or whether protection should be refused so that these potential refugees rebel against the Kremlin instead. Opponents also draw a line between “real” refugees and those who left Russia merely to save themselves despite their prior loyalty to the regime. While the Baltic countries and Poland are turning away new arrivals, Germany and some other EU members have extended their welcome by generously granting refugee status. The President of the European Council Charles Michel favors opening the EU to fleeing Russians.

What about the United States?

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By Jason Dzubow
# Asylum# Asylum Seekers# National Security

Asylum in a Time of War

With the escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran, DHS has been detaining Iranian Americans and Iranian nationals at the border and questioning them about their ties to Iran, their background, their family members, and their opinion about the Iranian government. On the one hand, it’s perfectly reasonable to question people entering our country, particularly … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Immigration# National Security

The Trump Administration and the Rhetoric of Genocide

If you go to the White House’s official website, you will see this article: “What You Need To Know About The Violent Animals Of MS-13.” The article claims that the “violent animals of MS-13 have committed heinous, violent attacks in communities across America.” Indeed, the two-page article uses the term “animal” in reference to MS-13 … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# Immigration# National Security

The Self-Fulling Prophecy of Demonizing Immigrants

In his book, American Homicide, Professor Randolph Roth of Ohio State University argues that homicide rates correlate closely with four distinct phenomena: political instability; a loss of government legitimacy; a loss of fellow-feeling among members of society caused by racial, religious, or political antagonism; and a loss of faith in the social hierarchy. He examines 400 years … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# National Security

The New Travel Ban, Asylum Seekers, and I-730 Petitions

As you might have heard, the White House recently issued a new travel ban (official known as the Presidential Proclamation Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats), and this one looks more likely to survive a court challenge than previous bans. This time around, the “banned” … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Asylees and Refugees# Asylum Seekers# Immigration# National Security

The “New” Travel Ban and How It Affects Asylees and Refugees

Late last month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision allowing the Trump Administration to begin enforcing its travel ban against all refugees and against individuals from six “banned” countries–Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Since the Court’s decision is (to put it kindly) a little vague, it was initially unclear how exactly the Administration would enforce its … Read more

By Jason Dzubow
# Federal Courts# Human Rights# Immigration# National Security

Fred Korematsu and the Forgotten Legacy of Lies

Seventy-five years ago this week, Fred Korematsu was arrested on a street corner in San Leandro, California. His crime: Failing to report to an internment center for Japanese immigrants and Americans of Japanese decent who were detained en masse once the United States entered World War II. After three months in pre-trial detention (he wasn’t released even … Read more

By Jason Dzubow