Asylum

The term “asylum” refers to the protection a person may receive from a country from being deported to a country where the individual fears persecution. Persecution refers to harm or threat of harm to the individual or their family, or harm to a group the individual belongs to, such as a race, religious group, nationality, or political party, that may be experienced in the individual’s country of origin. Asylum-seekers, or asylees, are those who seek international protection, but have not yet had their request processed. Once their request has been processed, they are known within the country that provided asylum as a refugee. Often when one seeks asylum, it is because they have already suffered some form of harm or abuse in their country of origin. Some common reasons that a person may seek asylum in another country include war, socio-economic status, discrimination, or as a result of a natural disaster or the disproportionate effects of climate change.The practice of seeking and granting asylum was originally linked to religious institutions, which provided sanctuary to those who sought it. As the state-centric political system solidified, the authority to grant asylum shifted primarily to states, rather than religious institutions. Today, religious institutions in the United States still act as sanctuaries to those seeking certain forms of asylum, such as undocumented Americans who hope to avoid being deported.The right to seek asylum was first officially recognized and incorporated into international law in 1948, when the United Nations drafted Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that, “everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution” (UN Declaration of Human Rights). In the last few decades, the United States government has adopted various policies to protect the right to seek asylum and define the process in which the United States receives and assists asylum-seekers and conditions for granting asylum. One of the most foundational policies enacted is the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of 1952, which restructured American immigration law and paved the way for future advancements and adjustments to immigration policies.While many laws have been enacted to protect the right to seek asylum and assist asylum-seekers upon their entrance to the United States, there have been obstacles to ensuring the continued protection of the right to seek asylum. Asylum is a complex term that is often confused with immigration and illegal immigration. Through its association with immigration, asylum is a heavily politicized and commonly controversial topic in social and political atmospheres in the United States. In the United States, asylum-seekers are often the targets of xenophobia and government policies which aim to deny individuals their right to seek asylum. Negative stereotypes, discrimination, and disinformation can lead to aggression and violence towards refugees, and extreme rhetoric fueling this aggression has been perpetuated and escalated in recent years.An example of large-scale asylum-seeking in the United States was during the 1960s and 1970s, when the United States established a program known as the Cuban Refugee Program. This program allowed Cuban refugees fleeing Fidel Castro’s rule following the Cuban Revolution to come to the United States and seek asylum. As a result of the program, the population of Cuban Americans in the United States grew nearly six-fold. Today, Cuban-Americans are the second largest population to seek asylum in the United States.In 2023, roughly three-quarters of all refugees, over 27 million people, originated from five countries: Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, and South Sudan. However, this is just a fraction of the 117.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, most of which are internally displaced as a result of conflict or violence. In 2023, roughly 2.6 million people worldwide sought asylum in the United States. The largest population of asylum-seekers originated from Venezuela. The largest population of refugees under the United Nations Human Rights Council mandate originated from China (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder).