Asylum

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

Recent Features

FACT SHEET
A Primer on Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can quickly deport certain noncitizens who are undocumented or have committed fraud or misrepresentation. 

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FACT SHEET
Asylum in the United States

Asylum seekers must navigate a difficult and complex process that can involve multiple government agencies. This fact sheet provides an overview of the asylum system in the United States, including how asylum is defined, eligibility requirements, and the application process.

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All Asylum Content

  • Blog

Attorney General Sessions Attacks Asylum Seekers and Calls for More Fast-Track Deportations

October 12, 2017

During a public appearance at the Department of Justice on Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called on Congress to curb due process for immigrants by making it more difficult for an...

  • Blog

White House Immigration Principles Are Released as DACA Deal Looms

October 10, 2017

The White House released its Immigration Principles and Policies late Sunday night, providing an outline of the Trump administration’s proposals on immigration. The principles were sent to...

  • Blog

Supreme Court Likely to Decide Constitutionality of Immigration Detention Without Bond

October 3, 2017

When the Supreme Court hears arguments in Jennings v. Rodriguez, the Justices will tackle a question eight of them considered in 2016: whether the Constitution allows the government to detain...

  • Blog

U.S. Immigration Officials Frequently Use Coercive Tactics to Deport Mexican Migrants

September 20, 2017

U.S. immigration officials have a long history of overstepping the boundaries of their legal authority and violating the constitutional and other legal rights of migrants at the Southwest border....

  • Blog

More Immigrants are Dying in Detention, and the Government Wants More Facilities

August 24, 2017

The Administration’s efforts to massively expand immigration detention in the United States are already evident in Texas, where a for-profit prison company is building the largest complex in the...

  • Blog

Settlement Reached With Government Over Access to Mental Health Evaluations in Family Detention Centers

August 21, 2017

Nothing is a better predictor of an immigrant’s success in their immigration case, than whether or not they have access to competent legal assistance. However, the U.S. Government has at times...

  • Blog

Three-Year-Old Immigrant Child Released After Two Years of Detention

August 9, 2017

An immigration judge ordered the immediate release of a three-year-old immigrant child and his mother from a detention center in rural Pennsylvania on Monday, stating that it was one of the most...

  • Blog

Groups Sue U.S. Government for Turning Away Asylum Seekers

July 12, 2017

Men, women, and children fleeing persecution, grave violence, and even death arrive daily at Ports of Entry (POE) all along the U.S.-Mexico border and present themselves to U.S. Customs and Border...

  • Blog

The Government Continues to Ignore the Rights of Children in Detention, Court Finds

June 28, 2017

Despite being among some of the most vulnerable, children seeking asylum in the United States often fare the worst. Upon entering the United States, children are often detained for extended...

  • Blog

As Global Refugee Crisis Grows, America Must Do Her Part

June 20, 2017

  Each year on June 20, people around the world recognize the plight, resilience, and courage of those who have been forced to flee their homes. This World Refugee Day comes at a time when record...

  • Press Release

Ruling on Migrant Protection Protocols Is a Step Forward in Restoring the Rule of Law at the Border

February 28, 2020
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. Nearly 60,000 people seeking asylum in the United States have been returned to Mexico to wait for their U.S. court hearings under MPP.
  • Press Release

Federal Court Finds Conditions in Customs and Border Protection Detention Facilities Unconstitutional

February 19, 2020
A federal court ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to overhaul the way the agency detains people in its custody in the Tucson Sector. The court found that the conditions in CBP holding cells, especially those that preclude sleep over several nights, are presumptively punitive and violate the U.S. Constitution.
  • Blog

Conditions in Border Facilities Deny Asylum Seekers Meaningful Screening Interviews

February 4, 2020

In U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody, asylum seekers are detained in horribly cold and overcrowded facilities, unable to sleep, without access to food, water, or adequate medical...

  • Amicus Briefs

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf

Publication Date: 
January 31, 2020

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association submitted an amicus brief in Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center v. Wolf, a case filed by the American...

  • Blog

A Humanitarian Catastrophe at the Border: One Year of the ‘Migrant Protection Protocols’

January 28, 2020

One year ago today, a confused Honduran man seeking asylum in the United States became the first person to be turned away from the border and sent back to Mexico to await a U.S. court hearing. He...

  • Advocacy

Comments on Proposed Restrictions to Asylum Procedures and Bars to Eligibility

January 23, 2020

The Trump administration has proposed amending regulations that affect asylum eligibility. If implemented, the regulations would shut America’s doors to many of those most in need of protection....

  • Blog

Tent Immigration Courts Are Still Not Fully Open to the Public

January 17, 2020

Asylum seekers subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols—or the “Remain in Mexico” program—in Laredo and Brownsville, Texas attend their court hearings in tents known as “port courts.” The...

  • Blog

Changes to Work Permit Eligibility Leave Asylum Seekers Without a Job

January 13, 2020

People who come to the United States in search of protection must be allowed to work during the often-lengthy asylum application process. They need to be able to support themselves and their...

  • Blog

What Are the Proposed New Bars to Asylum?

January 8, 2020

In yet another move to gut asylum protections in the United States, the Trump administration proposed a rule last month that would add severe new restrictions on asylum access. The restrictions...

  • FOIA

Demanding Records About the Migrant Protection Protocols Program

The Migrant Protection Protocols—also known as Remain in Mexico—raises alarming safety and due process questions. However, the government has kept information on how the program is being implemented.

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