Asylum in the United States
Updated: Wikipedia source
A specified number of legally defined refugees who are granted refugee status outside the United States are annually admitted under 8 U.S.C. § 1157 for firm resettlement. Other people enter the United States with or without inspection, and apply for asylum under section 1158. Asylum in the United States has two specific requirements. First, asylum applicants must be physically present in the United States, or at a designated port of arrival. Second, they must show that they suffered persecution in the past, or have a well-founded fear of future persecution in their country of nationality and permanent residency on account of at least one of the five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Even if an individual meets the criteria for asylum, INA § 208, bars some asylum seekers from asylum. These restrictions fall into two categories: (1) limitations on the ability to apply for asylum and (2) limitations on the ability to be granted asylum. The majority of asylum claims in the United States fail or are rejected. While asylum denial rates had grown to a peak of 71 percent in FY 2020, they fell to 63 percent in FY 2021. One third of asylum seekers go to courts unrepresented although those with legal representation have higher chances of winning. More than three million refugees from various countries around the world have been admitted to the United States since 1980. In recent years, the number of refugees admitted by the U.S. has fluctuated due to changes in government policies. For example, the U.S. resettled 84,995 refugees in the fiscal year 2016. The number of refugees admitted declined significantly, with only 11,814 admitted in the fiscal year 2020. The Biden administration aimed to increase the number of refugees accepted by setting higher caps for admissions. In 2024 the Biden Administration maintained the 125,000 person cap on refugee admissions.