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

A Caravan of Migrants Makes Its Way to the US, as Trump Threatens to Close the Border

October 18, 2018

Thousands of migrants—many of whom are mothers, fathers, and children fleeing their homes in violence-stricken areas of Central America—are traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border as part of an...

  • Blog

New Court Filing Highlights the Government’s Official “Turnback Policy” for Asylum Seekers

October 16, 2018

Eight new asylum seekers joined a lawsuit last week that challenges U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials’ widespread and well-documented practice of turning back asylum seekers at U....

  • Blog

Human Rights Groups Finds More Families Separated Than Originally Reported

October 15, 2018

A new report alleges that the Trump administration (and partially Obama administration) may have separated thousands more families than previously reported and also details how thousands of asylum...

  • Blog

A Record 13,300 Migrant Children Are Being Detained by the Trump Administration

September 25, 2018

The Trump administration is holding a record level of 13,300 migrant children in its custody, forcing the government to shift hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure there is enough money and...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Justifies Lowest Refugee Admission Target Ever, Arguing That America’s Generosity Remains Boundless

September 18, 2018

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday evening that the Trump administration intends to limit refugee admissions to no more than 30,000 people in Fiscal Year 2019. In an effort to soften...

  • Blog

Government Agrees to Give Some Separated Families A Second Chance to Seek Asylum

September 13, 2018

In a tentative partial settlement agreement reached with lawyers representing parents and children who were separated as a result of the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, the...

  • Blog

Trump Administration Proposes Regulations in ‘Flores’ to Detain Migrant Children Longer in Unsafe Conditions

September 6, 2018

The Trump administration is proposing new regulations to indefinitely detain immigrant children at the border and keep them in unsafe conditions, creating a false choice between separating...

  • Blog

Court Allows Lawsuit Challenging CBP’s Practice of Turning Away Asylum Seekers to Proceed

August 31, 2018

In a blow to the Trump administration, a federal court in California recently allowed a class action lawsuit to move forward challenging U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) practice of...

  • Blog

Asylum Seekers Challenge Spending Months Locked Up Without Interviews or Bond Hearings

August 24, 2018

Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy, aimed at punishing immigrants, including asylum seekers, who enter the United States without authorization. Among...

  • Blog

Government Coerced Parents into Signing Their Rights Away Before Being Reunited with Their Children

August 23, 2018

In all the chaos of family separation, another disturbing detail has come to light: immigration officials may have coerced vulnerable parents into signing away their right to be reunified with...

  • Press Release

New Rule Spells Death for the Asylum System—AILA and the Council Urge the Biden Administration to Prioritize its Undoing

December 10, 2020
The American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Council urge the Biden administration to prioritize undoing of new rule that spells death for the asylum system
  • Blog

The Trump Administration Will Inflict More Damage to the Immigration System Before Leaving Office

December 2, 2020

As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to take office, many anxiously await what immigration policies the Trump administration will finalize in the lead up to Inauguration Day in the form of...

  • Blog

Who Is Alejandro Mayorkas? The New DHS Secretary Will Spearhead Biden’s Immigration Agenda

December 1, 2020

The incoming Biden-Harris administration has announced its choice for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. If confirmed, Mayorkas will represent several historic...

  • Blog

Discriminatory Treatment of Haitians Throughout History Informs Current Policy at the US-Mexico Border

November 19, 2020

For years, the Trump administration has argued that limited capacity at ports of entry led to its policy of turning back asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border (the “turnback policy”). But a...

  • Amicus Briefs

Council Files Amicus Brief on Opportunity for Detained Migrants with Prior Removal Orders Seeking Humanitarian Protection to be Released on Bond

Publication Date: 
November 12, 2020
The amicus brief in Pham v. Guzman Chavez urges the Supreme Court to find that the pre-final order detention statute applies to detained noncitizens with prior removal orders who have meritorious claims for a form of humanitarian protection known as withholding of removal.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Demands Records on the Treatment of Migrant Children at the Border During COVID-19 Pandemic

October 30, 2020
Children and immigration advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois against CBP requesting information about the agency’s implementation of the CDC rule suspending people from entering the United States due to the COVID 19 pandemic and its specific impact on unaccompanied migrant children fleeing harm and seeking protection in the United States.
  • Blog

The Government Wants Immigrants to Show Up for Court—But Neglects to Tell Them How to Attend Their Hearings

October 29, 2020

Over 60,000 people at the southern border have been forced to return to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. As...

  • Amicus Briefs

Council Submits Amicus Brief on Insufficiency of Notice in Migrant Protection Protocols Proceedings

Publication Date: 
October 22, 2020
The brief argues that DHS’ service practices for MPP tear sheets deny respondents their statutory right to notice of the time and place of their removal proceedings, their statutory right to a full and fair hearing, and, consequently, due process of law.
  • Blog

Department of Justice Eliminates Diversity and Inclusion Training for All Immigration Judges

October 13, 2020

At a time when tensions over race in the United States are high, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in an October 8 memo that it will cancel all diversity and inclusion trainings for...

  • Advocacy

Comment on DHS Proposed Rule to Drastically Expand the Definition and Collection of Biometrics

October 13, 2020
The American Immigration Council, the Immigration Defense Clinic at Colorado Law, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, submitted a comment in opposition to the Department of Homeland Security proposed rule on the "Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services."

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