Seeking Asylum: How It Works

Seeking asylum in the United States is one of the many ways people can come into this country legally. Although people have the right to seek asylum, the term is not a free entry pass into the United States. 

So, how does seeking asylum actually work? 

According to 8 USC 1158, asylum seekers must apply for asylum upon arriving at a port of entry or within one year of their arrival within the states.

Applicants must present a ‘credible fears claim’. This means the applicant must prove that they fear they will suffer persecution for any one or more of the following reasons in their native country: race, religion, nationality, membership to a particular social group or political opinion. 

This means that the often-repeated claim that ‘they’re coming here to make their lives better since their economies are crumbling’ isn’t justified under actual law. 

In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security conducted more than 5,000 credible fear reviews; and by 2016, that number had risen to 91,000. These numbers show a system that in less than ten years has become overwhelmed. 

According to the AP Press, in 2009, 35,811 people applied for asylum, with less than 9,000 applicants being granted same. In 2018, out of 162,000 applicants, only 13,000 were granted asylum. The country, our borders, and our immigration system is overwhelmed. 

At a time of exceptional fragility across the nation, now is not the time to be pointing fingers at an administration who is quite literally enforcing existing laws. When liberal politicians and mouthpieces for the so called ‘progressive’ party condemn politicians and citizens who want better border security, they’re simply pointing fingers and blaming anyone as a means of political posturing. This is the same party that, under President Obama, deported a record number of illegal aliens. Where was the outcry? Where was the media scrutiny when it was the Obama administration that began ‘putting kids in cages’? They were nowhere to be found because it didn’t fit into their narrative. 

We do have a crisis on the border, and we can solve it. However, leftists need to first understand the law before they try to make their interpretation of it fact.