B
Barry Schier
Guest
To begin with, different nationalities receive different treatment.
Toward the top of the pyramid are Cubans. If they set foot on US soil,
they
circumvent the asylum process altogether, thanks to the Cuban
Adjustment Act
first passed in 1966. Instead, Cubans are automatically designated
refugees
and, thus, are eligible to apply for legal permanent resident - or
"green
card" - status. By contrast, most others already in the US without
authorization or at a port of entry must go the asylum route.)
=========================================================================
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CUBAN ADJUSTMENT ACT:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/migration.html
DOES THE U.S. HAVE A GENERAOUS REFUGEE POLICY?
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1358.html
=========================================================================
from the July 03, 2007 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0703/p03s03-ussc.html
For asylum seekers, a fickle system
Amid the national debate over immigration reform, asylum has been
largely
overlooked.
By Bill Frogameni | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Three grueling weeks after they cast off from Haiti - subsisting on
toothpaste and saltwater, they said, once the food ran out - just over
100
men, women, and children ran their rickety boat aground off Hallandale
Beach, Fla., just north of Miami.
As the weakened Haitians waded or tried to swim toward land - one man
died
just yards from shore - they were helped by local firemen and others
then
taken to a county detention facility.
That was March 28. Three months later, they're still in detention,
seeking
asylum in the United States, prompting community demonstrations, the
involvement of a local US congressman, and even a hunger strike.
Amid the contentious national debate over immigration reform, asylum
has
been largely overlooked. But like the immigration system overall,
critics
say, the asylum process is difficult, broken, and unfair.
"The Haitian community is very frustrated and angry," says Marleine
Bastien
of the Miami-based Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition. "There's
such
discrepancy.... People feel even if they make a good-faith effort,
their
chances are minimal in getting asylum."
The statistics explain some of the frustration.
Unlike refugee status, a designation generally pursued by people who
want to
come to the United States, asylum is for individuals without
authorization
already in the US or at a port of entry. And their numbers are
dropping -
despite the recent surge in immigrants.
Since 2001, the annual number of asylum applicants has dropped by a
third to
a half, depending on the category. The number of people granted asylum
has
also fallen by a third: from a record 38,641 in 2001 to 25,257 in
2005, the
last year for which complete data are available.
The drop may be due to immigrants' perceptions that the system has
become
more adversarial since 9/11, says Ms. Bastien, whose coalition
represents
some of the Hallandale Beach detainees: "People feel the burden placed
on
them is very heavy, very high."
To begin with, different nationalities receive different treatment.
Toward
the top of the pyramid are Cubans. If they set foot on US soil, they
circumvent the asylum process altogether, thanks to the Cuban
Adjustment Act
first passed in 1966. Instead, Cubans are automatically designated
refugees
and, thus, are eligible to apply for legal permanent resident - or
"green
card" - status. By contrast, most others already in the US without
authorization or at a port of entry must go the asylum route.
For those who do, it helps to be Russian. Russians won asylum 64
percent of
the time, according to a recent study of high-volume immigration
courts
between 2000 and 2004. At the other end of the scale were Colombians
(36
percent), Venezuelans (26 percent), and Haitians, the lowest of all,
at 16
percent.
Nor are courts consistent from city to city. Haitians got asylum 27
percent
of the time from a federal immigration court in New York, whereas a
court in
Miami granted Haitians asylum only 15 percent of the time, according
to the
study. Albanians got asylum 65 percent of the time in San Francisco;
in
Detroit, only 17 percent. The study also found that female judges
granted
asylum at a higher rate than did male judges.
"There's a great deal of randomness and disparity in the system that
seems
at odds with the rule of law," says Philip Schrag, of the Center for
Applied
Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Center and an author of the
study.
Asylum seekers who present themselves voluntarily to immigration
officials
usually fare better than those who, like the Haitians apprehended on
Hallandale Beach, get caught. Voluntary seekers make their case to US
Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of
Homeland
Security. If they're denied there, they can go through the immigration
courts. In 2005, Haitian applicants made up 17 percent of all
voluntary
seekers granted asylum, more than any other ethnic group.
Those who get caught - and thus go directly to immigration court -
don't win
asylum so easily. The US typically grants asylum to those who fear
persecution because of their politics, race, nationality, or religion.
But
certain observers caution that some applicants, especially from
impoverished
nations like Haiti, are fleeing economic problems, not political ones.
Asylum "can be pretty valuable," says James Carafano, who studies
homeland
security at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in
Washington. "Getting into the US ... is an incredibly marketable
commodity."
Unlike Cubans, who are well-organized politically, Haitians have
little
clout in the US, which compounds their immigration problems, says
Cheryl
Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in
Miami. She says US officials have determined that most of the Haitian
detainees in Pompano Beach have a credible fear of persecution if
they're
returned to Haiti - an early step in the approval process. But
immigration
officials won't confirm this, saying they can's discuss specific
cases.
US Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat whose district includes part of
Hallandale
Beach, has asked US immigration officials to release those who have
demonstrated "credible fear" so they can better prepare for trial. But
detention is usually mandatory in such cases, says a spokesperson for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Toward the top of the pyramid are Cubans. If they set foot on US soil,
they
circumvent the asylum process altogether, thanks to the Cuban
Adjustment Act
first passed in 1966. Instead, Cubans are automatically designated
refugees
and, thus, are eligible to apply for legal permanent resident - or
"green
card" - status. By contrast, most others already in the US without
authorization or at a port of entry must go the asylum route.)
=========================================================================
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CUBAN ADJUSTMENT ACT:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/migration.html
DOES THE U.S. HAVE A GENERAOUS REFUGEE POLICY?
http://www.walterlippmann.com/docs1358.html
=========================================================================
from the July 03, 2007 edition -
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0703/p03s03-ussc.html
For asylum seekers, a fickle system
Amid the national debate over immigration reform, asylum has been
largely
overlooked.
By Bill Frogameni | Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Three grueling weeks after they cast off from Haiti - subsisting on
toothpaste and saltwater, they said, once the food ran out - just over
100
men, women, and children ran their rickety boat aground off Hallandale
Beach, Fla., just north of Miami.
As the weakened Haitians waded or tried to swim toward land - one man
died
just yards from shore - they were helped by local firemen and others
then
taken to a county detention facility.
That was March 28. Three months later, they're still in detention,
seeking
asylum in the United States, prompting community demonstrations, the
involvement of a local US congressman, and even a hunger strike.
Amid the contentious national debate over immigration reform, asylum
has
been largely overlooked. But like the immigration system overall,
critics
say, the asylum process is difficult, broken, and unfair.
"The Haitian community is very frustrated and angry," says Marleine
Bastien
of the Miami-based Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition. "There's
such
discrepancy.... People feel even if they make a good-faith effort,
their
chances are minimal in getting asylum."
The statistics explain some of the frustration.
Unlike refugee status, a designation generally pursued by people who
want to
come to the United States, asylum is for individuals without
authorization
already in the US or at a port of entry. And their numbers are
dropping -
despite the recent surge in immigrants.
Since 2001, the annual number of asylum applicants has dropped by a
third to
a half, depending on the category. The number of people granted asylum
has
also fallen by a third: from a record 38,641 in 2001 to 25,257 in
2005, the
last year for which complete data are available.
The drop may be due to immigrants' perceptions that the system has
become
more adversarial since 9/11, says Ms. Bastien, whose coalition
represents
some of the Hallandale Beach detainees: "People feel the burden placed
on
them is very heavy, very high."
To begin with, different nationalities receive different treatment.
Toward
the top of the pyramid are Cubans. If they set foot on US soil, they
circumvent the asylum process altogether, thanks to the Cuban
Adjustment Act
first passed in 1966. Instead, Cubans are automatically designated
refugees
and, thus, are eligible to apply for legal permanent resident - or
"green
card" - status. By contrast, most others already in the US without
authorization or at a port of entry must go the asylum route.
For those who do, it helps to be Russian. Russians won asylum 64
percent of
the time, according to a recent study of high-volume immigration
courts
between 2000 and 2004. At the other end of the scale were Colombians
(36
percent), Venezuelans (26 percent), and Haitians, the lowest of all,
at 16
percent.
Nor are courts consistent from city to city. Haitians got asylum 27
percent
of the time from a federal immigration court in New York, whereas a
court in
Miami granted Haitians asylum only 15 percent of the time, according
to the
study. Albanians got asylum 65 percent of the time in San Francisco;
in
Detroit, only 17 percent. The study also found that female judges
granted
asylum at a higher rate than did male judges.
"There's a great deal of randomness and disparity in the system that
seems
at odds with the rule of law," says Philip Schrag, of the Center for
Applied
Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Center and an author of the
study.
Asylum seekers who present themselves voluntarily to immigration
officials
usually fare better than those who, like the Haitians apprehended on
Hallandale Beach, get caught. Voluntary seekers make their case to US
Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of
Homeland
Security. If they're denied there, they can go through the immigration
courts. In 2005, Haitian applicants made up 17 percent of all
voluntary
seekers granted asylum, more than any other ethnic group.
Those who get caught - and thus go directly to immigration court -
don't win
asylum so easily. The US typically grants asylum to those who fear
persecution because of their politics, race, nationality, or religion.
But
certain observers caution that some applicants, especially from
impoverished
nations like Haiti, are fleeing economic problems, not political ones.
Asylum "can be pretty valuable," says James Carafano, who studies
homeland
security at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in
Washington. "Getting into the US ... is an incredibly marketable
commodity."
Unlike Cubans, who are well-organized politically, Haitians have
little
clout in the US, which compounds their immigration problems, says
Cheryl
Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center in
Miami. She says US officials have determined that most of the Haitian
detainees in Pompano Beach have a credible fear of persecution if
they're
returned to Haiti - an early step in the approval process. But
immigration
officials won't confirm this, saying they can's discuss specific
cases.
US Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat whose district includes part of
Hallandale
Beach, has asked US immigration officials to release those who have
demonstrated "credible fear" so they can better prepare for trial. But
detention is usually mandatory in such cases, says a spokesperson for
Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
