Crs Report for Congress Received through the Crs Web U. S. Immigration Policy on Asylum Seekers Updated March 30, 2005

By Wasem, Ruth Ellen

Book Id: WPLBN0000017535
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 0.1 MB
Reproduction Date: 2008

Title:	Crs Report for Congress Received through the Crs Web U. S. Immigration Policy on Asylum Seekers Updated March 30, 2005
Author:	Wasem, Ruth Ellen
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Government publications, Legislation., Government Printing Office (U.S.)
Collections:	Government Library Collection
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Government Printing Office


Citation APA MLA Chicago Ellen Wasem, B. R. (n.d.). Crs Report for Congress Received through the Crs Web U. S. Immigration Policy on Asylum Seekers Updated March 30, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.us/

Excerpt
Summary: The United States has long held to the principle that it will not return a foreign national to a country where his life or freedom would be threatened. This principle is embodied in several provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), most notably in provisions defining refugees and asylees. Aliens seeking asylum must demonstrate a well-founded fear that if returned home, they will be persecuted based upon one of five characteristics: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

Table of Contents
Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Current Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Legislative History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Refugee Act of 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Immigration Act of 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1996 Revisions to Asylum Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Expedited Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Mandatory Detention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Deadlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Safe Third Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Other Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Employment Authorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Coercive Family Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Overview of Current Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Standards for Asylum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Credible Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Well-Founded Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Mixed Motives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Process of Requesting Asylum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Affirmative Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Defensive Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Expedited Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Aliens Arriving by Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Background Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Victims of Torture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Statistical Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Asylum Requests and Approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Asylum Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Immigration Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Source Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Coercive Population Control Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 LPR Adjustment Cases Pending . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Issues of Debate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Terrorist Infiltration and Screening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Coordination with Border and Transportation Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Mandatory Detention . . . . . . . . . . . . . .