Millions of people around the world leave their homes to find safety and build a new life in another country. They do so because they have been persecuted for their beliefs, religion, sexuality, political opinions or other reasons, or because they are fleeing violence and human rights violations. Some of them are asylum seekers and need to go through the legal process to be recognized as refugees.
Asylum is a form of protection and an immigration status that allows people to stay in the United States if they can’t return home for fear of persecution, torture or other serious harm. It is a long-standing principle of international law and the U.S. Constitution, established through the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its subsequent amendments.
The defensive asylum application process takes place before an immigration judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review, part of the Department of Justice. It is typically based on a full personal statement, including details about your protected category, how you were persecuted and why you cannot safely return to your home country. You have a right to access free legal representation and can choose who represents you.
Asylum seekers must wait for their case to be heard, and they face challenges along the way. The Biden administration’s Migration Protection Protocol (MPP) required many of them to spend months or years waiting in Mexico while they prepared for a U.S. court trial that was often conducted in English, while they struggled to keep themselves and their families safe.