Refugees and Asylum Seekers
The United States has a longstanding tradition of welcoming individuals from around the world who are seeking protection and refuge. But recent U.S. policy has grown increasingly hostile toward asylum seekers and refugees. Instead of turning vulnerable individuals away, the United States should maintain its global reputation as a leader in refugee resettlement and humanitarian protection. Doing so not only upholds American values but sustains and strengthens our communities. Data from the Council shows that refugees and asylees make tremendous contributions to our economy as earners, taxpayers, and consumers. Learn more about the contributions and challenges of asylum seekers and refugees below.
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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U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Systemic Denial of Entry to Asylum Seekers at Ports of Entry on U.S.-Mexico Border
A coalition of immigrant and civil rights groups filed a complaint with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on behalf of numerous adult men and women, families and unaccompanied children who, over the past several months, were denied entry to the United States at ports of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border despite having asserted a fear of returning to their home countries or an intention to seek asylum under U.S. law. Read More
Federal Court Grants Nationwide Class Status in Suit to Protect Asylum Seekers
A federal court in Seattle has granted nationwide class action status to a case seeking to protect the rights of thousands of asylum seekers pursuing protection from persecution in their home countries. Read More
A Young Syrian Helps Shine Light on the Immigrant Experience
For Doha Salah and her family, arriving in the United States as refugees was a lesson in blind trust. “We had no one in this country, no friends or family,” says Salah, who was 9 years old when she was admitted to the country in 2008. When they landed at… Read More
Asylum Free Zones in the U.S. Examined by Inter-American Commission
Entire jurisdictions in the United States have become so hostile to asylum seekers and their representatives that the U.S. government, and its immigration court system, is failing to deliver on its international and national obligation to protect them. The asylum-seekers who end up in one of these hostile jurisdictions, which… Read More
Challenging Obstacles to Meeting The One Year Filing Deadline for Filing An Asylum Application
This lawsuit challenged obstacles faced by asylum-seekers in satisfying the statutory requirement that they apply for asylum within one year of entering the United States. Read More
El Salvador’s Gang Violence is Forcing Thousands to Flee
In the event that there was any doubt, women and children from Central America’s Northern Triangle—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—are fleeing the same horrific conditions that were driving them out of their countries in large numbers two years ago. That is why apprehensions of Northern Triangle refugees have gone… Read More
Using Job and Educational Opportunities to Resettle Refugees
The UNHCR estimates that worldwide there were over 65 million refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people who fled conflict, violence, and human rights violations in 2015. On average 24 people were displaced from their homes every minute of every day during 2015. Although there are now a record number… Read More
Conservative Governors Defy Tradition and Abdicate Responsibility for Resettling Refugees
The United States plays an important role in protecting thousands of the world’s most vulnerable people and is one of 33 countries that resettles refugees. Our long-held legal and moral obligations to shelter those fleeing insecurity and persecution demand nothing less than a robust refugee resettlement by the United… Read More
Developments with Respect to the One-Year Deadline for Filing Asylum Applications
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), Dobrin & Han, PC, American Immigration Council, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild commend the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for reversing course and now allowing asylum applicants to file their applications by mail or in person at an immigration court window. Read More
Inspired by his Refugee Parents, Cuban Entrepreneur Builds a Successful Liquor Business
When Rick Martinez’s parents sought to leave Cuba in the 1970s, the government punished Martinez’s family. Later, the regime relented and allowed them to leave with only the clothes on their backs. “I look back at everything they did, and I can’t fathom leaving my country like that,” says Martinez,… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
