Asylum and Its Discontents in the United States
One of my more memorable cases involved testimony from my client’s uncle, a well-known singer from Ethiopia who had been living in exile in Sweden and the U.S. since 1974. He was testifying about conditions in Ethiopia and whether it was safe for his nephew (my client) to return home. He mentioned that even after 40 … Read more
In most cases, to obtain asylum, an applicant must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or particular social group. But there are a couple of exceptions: “Humanitarian Asylum” and “Other Serious Harm.” Humanitarian asylum allows an applicant to receive asylum if she “demonstrate[s] compelling reasons for being unwilling … Read more