Asylum
Asylum grants legal protection to foreign nationals already in the U.S. or arriving at the border who can’t go back to their home country because of persecution. Learn more about the asylum system in the United States, including how asylum is defined, eligibility requirements, and the difficult and complex application process.
Asylum in the United States
- Asylum
- May 9, 2025
Asylum seekers must navigate a difficult and complex process that can involve multiple government agencies. This fact sheet provides an overview of…
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How the Biden Administration Should Respond to the Arrival of Unaccompanied Children
Since 2013, the government has struggled to respond to increasing numbers of unaccompanied children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. After disastrous Trump administration policies left unaccompanied children detained at the border for weeks at a time, the Biden administration is facing its own challenges to accommodate an increasingly large number… Read More
Metering and Asylum Turnbacks
This fact sheet provides an overview of a practice known as “metering” that has been used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to turn away thousands of people who come to ports of entry seeking protection and asylum in the United States. Read More
ICE’s Changes to Family Detention Are an Improvement but Don’t Go Far Enough
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last week that it would make changes to two family detention centers in Texas that would result in families spending less time in detention. The agency states that the facilities will be turned into “reception centers,” where families receive COVID-19 tests, arrange… Read More
Survey of Hundreds of Organizations Shows Extent of Community-Based Support for People Navigating the U.S. Immigration System
A new publication provides a snapshot of the extent of available services that help migrants navigate the complexities of the U.S. immigration system. Read More
Community Support for Migrants Navigating the U.S. Immigration System
This fact sheet draws from original data gathered from hundreds of community-organizations around the country and provides a snapshot of the extent of available services that help migrants navigate the complexities of the U.S. immigration system. Read More
Coalition Letter to President Biden on Immigration Executive Orders
The American Immigration Council urged President Biden to end the illegal and inhumane asylum and border policies implemented by the Trump administration. Read More
Letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas Opposes Use of Expedited Removal Process for Asylum Seekers at the Border
The American Immigration Council urged DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to reject the use of expedited removal and immigration detention of asylum seekers. Read More
Biden Administration Unveils Plan to Process Asylum Seekers Subject to the Migrant Protection Protocols
The Trump administration sent over 70,000 people who came to the U.S border seeking asylum back to Mexico to wait for court hearings. This so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (“MPP”) program placed people in serious danger and made it nearly impossible for anyone to win protection. Court hearings under MPP… Read More
Biden Administration Ends ‘Safe Third Country’ Agreements
For more than 40 years, the law has guaranteed any person who is physically present in the United States a right to seek asylum. In 2019 the Trump administration attempted to effectively eliminate that law by signing so-called “Asylum Cooperative Agreements” (ACAs) with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. On… Read More
Biden Took 3 More Executive Actions on Immigration. Did He Go Far Enough?
On February 2, 2021, following the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas as secretary of Homeland Security, President Biden signed three executive orders that take steps to further unwind the Trump administration’s restrictions on immigration. The actions build on Biden’s first round of immigration changes, which he signed… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
