There are currently more than 1.3 million cases pending at our nation’s Asylum Offices. One reason for this massive backlog is that the number of asylum applicants far exceeds the ability of the Asylum Office to process cases. Another reason is the U.S.-Mexico border, where Asylum Officers (AOs) interview each new arrival to determine whether they meet the initial eligibility requirements for asylum. These interviews sap significant resources from the Asylum Office, though lately, the situation at the border has been easing. A third big reason for the backlog–and the subject of today’s rant–is the way AOs conduct asylum interviews, which routinely take four or five hours, and which waste considerable time on irrelevancies.
Asylum Office
Damning New Report About the New York City Asylum Office
We’ve long known that the New York Asylum Office (in Bethpage, NY) has the lowest approval rate of any Asylum Office in the United States. According to data from 2021, the asylum approval rate in NY was 7.4%. That’s nearly half the approval rate of the second worst Asylum Office (Boston), and seven times worse than the best Asylum Office (New Orleans).
While the problem is not new, there has always been a question of why the NY office has such a low approval rate. A scathing new report from Safe Harbor Clinic at Brooklyn Law School sheds light on this important question.
Updates from the Asylum Office–or–How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Backlog
In a meeting held earlier this month, we received some updates from the Asylum Division. Although Acting Director Sue Raufer could point to some positive developments in asylum world, the news is generally pretty bleak. In a development that will shock no one, the worst news relates to the backlog, which is growing at an unprecedented rate.
More Unsolicited Advice for the Asylum Office
Dear Asylum Office – Did you ever have an annoying friend who keeps wanting to tell you what’s what? Who couldn’t accept that you’re not interested in his advice about how to improve your life? Who blathers on about this-and-that without noticing that you’ve nodded off? I get it. But here I am anyway. The … Read more