The American Civil Liberties Union sued the U.S. government Tuesday over its efforts to prevent immigrants from seeking asylum due to domestic and gang violence in their home countries. The ACLU's lawsuit asks a judge to invalidate Attorney General Jeff Sessions' June 11 decision to restrict the kinds of cases that qualify for asylum. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 12 parents and children who the ACLU says were wrongly found not to have a credible fear of return. If Sessions' memo stands, the lawsuit argues, people "desperately seeking safety will be unlawfully deported to places where they fear they will be raped, kidnapped, beaten, and killed." Asylum can be granted to someone who was persecuted in their home country or could be persecuted if forced to return. Thousands of people seek asylum each month at U.S. Customs and Border Protection stations along the southwest border. Most are from Central American countries torn apart by violence, gangs, and corruption. Scenes From … [Read more...] about ACLU Lawsuit Accuses Sessions’ Justice Department of Wrongfully Denying Asylum-Seekers
Definition asylum seekers
Trump is winning his fight against asylum seekers
Here’s the cold, hard, disheartening reality about the Trump administration’s policies toward those arriving at America’s borders seeking asylum: Many more people with legitimate claims are likely being sent home to perilous conditions despite federal and international laws recognising the right of the persecuted to seek sanctuary in other countries. That is unconscionable.The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, which collects and aggregates a wide range of federal data, reports that immigration judges – who work for the Justice Department, not the federal courts – are granting asylum seekers’ appeals half as often as they did a year ago. Through June, courts revived less than 15% of the asylum claims that had been rejected by immigration agents, who make the initial determination whether an asylum seeker had a credible fear of persecution if returned home.What changed from the first half of 2017? The … [Read more...] about Trump is winning his fight against asylum seekers
Trump is winning his crusade against asylum seekers
Their Views Friday, August 3, 2018, 12:05 a.m. Share this story Here’s the cold, hard, disheartening reality about the Trump administration’s policies toward those arriving at the nation’s borders seeking asylum: Many more people with legitimate claims are likely being sent home to perilous conditions despite federal and international laws recognizing the right of the persecuted to seek sanctuary in other countries. That is unconscionable. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University, which collects and aggregates a wide range of federal data, reports that immigration judges — who work for the Justice Department, not the federal courts — are granting asylum seekers’ appeals half as often as they did a year ago. Through June, courts revived less than 15 percent of the asylum claims that had been rejected by immigration agents, who make the initial determination whether an asylum seeker had a credible fear … [Read more...] about Trump is winning his crusade against asylum seekers
“Come Back Later”: Challenges for Asylum Seekers at U.S. Ports of Entry
At the height of the Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, Trump administration officials have justified the US’s disgraceful detention and deportation policies under the pretext that these families and individuals are passing the border ‘illegally,’ that is, between ports of entry. Rightly so, the media has focused primarily on the consequences of detention, namely family-separation and the inhumane conditions in detention centers. Less scrutiny has been given to the inefficient and technically illegal practices occurring at ports of entry across the border. Officials at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been on the offensive in delaying and preventing the processing of families seeking to petition for asylum. Ranging from leaving families out in the sun and heat for days as they wait to enter the U.S. to misinforming migrants on their rights to come onto US land and request asylum, CBP actions at ports of … [Read more...] about “Come Back Later”: Challenges for Asylum Seekers at U.S. Ports of Entry
California Clinic Screens Asylum Seekers For Honesty
OAKLAND, Calif. — Dr. Nick Nelson walks through busy Highland Hospital to a sixth-floor exam room, where he sees patients from around the world who say they have fled torture and violence. Nelson, who practices internal medicine, is the medical director of the Highland Human Rights Clinic, part of the Alameda Health System. A few times each week, he and his team conduct medical evaluations of people who are seeking asylum in the United States. The doctors listen to the patients’ stories. They search for signs of trauma. They scrutinize injuries, including electrocution scars, bullet wounds and unset broken bones. As the Trump administration looks to reduce the number of asylum applicants, citing loopholes and fraudulent claims, this clinic — and others like it in San Diego, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago — seeks evidence that can help determine whether someone should gain asylum in the U.S. The Highland clinic opened in 2001 as a place for asylum seekers and … [Read more...] about California Clinic Screens Asylum Seekers For Honesty