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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Attorney General Sessions Attacks Asylum Seekers and Calls for More Fast-Track Deportations
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 individual to seek asylum and to increase fast-track deportations. In his speech, Sessions focused heavily on America’s long-standing… Read More
White House Immigration Principles Are Released as DACA Deal Looms
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 Congressional leadership with a cover letter demanding these reforms be included in any legislation that addresses protection for Deferred Action for Childhood… Read More
Supreme Court Likely to Decide Constitutionality of Immigration Detention Without Bond
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 noncitizens for more than six months without ever giving them an opportunity for a bond hearing. Although the case… Read More
Increasing Numbers of Pregnant Women Facing Harm in Detention
The American Immigration Council, in collaboration with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), and others filed this complaint on behalf of numerous women who are or were pregnant and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The complaint, filed with DHS’s… Read More
U.S. Immigration Officials Frequently Use Coercive Tactics to Deport Mexican Migrants
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. Allegations of abuse throughout the apprehension, detention, and deportation process are not new; immigrant rights organizations and media outlets have… Read More
Settlement Reached With Government Over Access to Mental Health Evaluations in Family Detention Centers
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 made the hurdles to enlisting legal help insurmountable. One such example came in March 2017, when Immigration and… Read More
ICE Settles Case Challenging Interference with Legal Representation at Dilley
The parties in Dilley Pro Bono Project v. ICE have reached a settlement that ensures access to mental health evaluations for certain detained mothers and children seeking asylum. Read More
Three-Year-Old Immigrant Child Released After Two Years of Detention
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 sympathetic cases for release he had encountered in his career. The child’s release marks what will hopefully be… Read More
Groups Sue U.S. Government for Turning Away Asylum Seekers
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 Protection (CBP) officers to seek asylum in the United States. The right to seek asylum is guaranteed under… Read More
Al Otro Lado v. Mullin
Asylum seekers are being illegally turned away by Customs and Border Protection officers. We're suing. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
