Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
Delays in the U.S. affirmative asylum system have just about reached a breaking point. In our office, the longest-waiting applicant recently passed the three-year anniversary of his asylum interview, with no decision in sight. And of course, it’s not just post-interview delays (usually due to security background checks) that are the problem. Anyone interested in asylum … Read more
Carlos Gutierrez was a successful businessman in Chihuahua, Mexico when cartel members demanded extortion payments from him. After he could no longer afford to pay, the cartel members cut off his feet as an example to others. Mr. Gutierrez somehow survived and fled to the United States where he requested asylum. Ultimately, his case was administratively … Read more
Last time, I wrote about the Dream 9–nine Dream Act activists who were detained at the border when they tried to enter the U.S. without permission. They were released from detention after DHS determined that they had a credible fear of persecution in their country of nationality, Mexico. The burden of proof for determining whether … Read more
A recent report from the Fronteras Project states that the number of Mexican asylum seekers has doubled due to the ongoing violence in that country. The report states that in FY 2010, about 3,200 Mexicans asked for asylum in the United States. Only 49 received asylum. In FY 2011, the report continues, 6,100 Mexicans filed … Read more
Last week, the U.S. government granted asylum to Cipriana Jurado, a Mexican human rights activist who feared persecution by the Mexican army. According to the Associated Press, Ms. Jurado’s “friend and long-time human rights colleague Josefina Reyes was gunned down in Juarez in January.” Like Ms. Jurado, Ms. Reyes had campaigned against government and gang violence. … Read more
David North recently wrote on the Center for Immigration Studies website that a surge in Mexican asylum seekers might overwhelm the immigration court system in the United States. In making his point, Mr. North referred to one of my blog entries: At the moment the approval rate for Mexicans applying for asylum, despite the ferocious … Read more
I’ve written before about the escalating violence in Mexico and the corresponding increase in people seeking asylum in the United States. The chances of a Mexican person gaining asylum in the U.S. are very low – only about 2% of Mexican asylum cases are granted. Now, apparently, Mexican asylum seekers and their advocates have formed a coalition to … Read more
In October 2010, Marisol Valles became the police chief of Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, a small town near Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Her predecessor had been beheaded by a drug gang, and the whole area has been plagued by horrific drug violence. No one else wanted the job, so Ms. Valles, a criminal justice major at a local college, stepped in. … Read more
Mexican President Felipe Calderon last week signed into law a new provision meant to bring Mexican asylum law in line with international standards. Fox News Latino reports that the law was drafted taking into account the model legislation from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “From now on,” President Calderon said, “Mexico will consider applications … Read more
The New York Times reports that an Immigration Judge in California has granted asylum to a Mexican woman–referred to as L.R.–who was the victim of severe domestic violence. Her common-law husband repeatedly raped her, threatened her with a gun and a machete, and tried to burn her to death. In April 2009, the Department of Homeland Security filed … Read more