Asylum

The U.S. immigration system is complex and can be difficult to understand. These resources provide key data points, historical information, and background on hot topics in immigration. Learn the basics about immigration.

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FACT SHEET
A Primer on Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can quickly deport certain noncitizens who are undocumented or have committed fraud or misrepresentation. 

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All Asylum Content

  • Blog

Why Biden Must Dismantle the Migrant Protection Protocols Now

January 25, 2021

January 29, 2021 marks the two-year anniversary of the Trump administration’s so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), informally known as “Remain in Mexico.” Asylum seekers and advocates...

  • Blog

‘Death to Asylum’ Rule Halted in the Last Days of the Trump Administration

January 14, 2021

A federal judge in California blocked a sweeping “death to asylum” rule on January 8, just three days before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The asylum rule is just one of many regulations...

  • Blog

Trump’s Presidency Begins and Ends With Demonizing Immigrants

January 11, 2021

Five years ago, Donald Trump descended an elevator and declared that Mexico was sending rapists and “bringing crime” across the border. Now, while America still reels from the deadly...

  • Blog

How Biden Can Restore Humanitarian Protection at the Border

January 5, 2021

This article is part of the Moving Forward on Immigration series that explores the future of immigration in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.  The United States has long been a...

  • Blog

Asylum Is In Danger After Court Upholds Rushed Screening Process at the Border

December 14, 2020

The Trump administration secretly implemented one of its most horrific attacks on America’s long tradition of asylum—holding asylum seekers in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody...

  • Blog

Trump’s ‘Death to Asylum’ Rule Will Go Into Effect Days Before He Leaves Office

December 10, 2020

The Trump administration has finalized a sweeping regulation that will effectively end asylum protection in the United States. The regulation, which was proposed in June, is set to go into effect...

  • Blog

The Trump Administration Will Inflict More Damage to the Immigration System Before Leaving Office

December 2, 2020

As the Biden-Harris administration prepares to take office, many anxiously await what immigration policies the Trump administration will finalize in the lead up to Inauguration Day in the form of...

  • Blog

Who Is Alejandro Mayorkas? The New DHS Secretary Will Spearhead Biden’s Immigration Agenda

December 1, 2020

The incoming Biden-Harris administration has announced its choice for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas. If confirmed, Mayorkas will represent several historic...

  • Blog

Discriminatory Treatment of Haitians Throughout History Informs Current Policy at the US-Mexico Border

November 19, 2020

For years, the Trump administration has argued that limited capacity at ports of entry led to its policy of turning back asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border (the “turnback policy”). But a...

  • Blog

The Government Wants Immigrants to Show Up for Court—But Neglects to Tell Them How to Attend Their Hearings

October 29, 2020

Over 60,000 people at the southern border have been forced to return to Mexico under the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), also known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. As...

  • Practice Advisories

Delay Actions In The Asylum Context: Avoiding Dismissal And Proving The Case

Publication Date: 
November 24, 2022
This Practice Advisory provides information for filing a delay action in federal district court under the Mandamus Act and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) for an asylum applicant who is awaiting an interview or a final decision on their affirmative asylum claim. It discusses the required elements of a successful APA and mandamus actions and jurisdictional hurdles. The advisory also addresses asylum-specific case law and arguments, including USCIS’s use of the “Last-In, First-Out” processing and statistics showing the growing asylum backlog.
  • Press Release

Judge Strikes Down Title 42 Policy: A Long Overdue Step Toward Rebuilding the US Asylum System

November 15, 2022
Judge Emmet G. Sullivan issued a decision vacating and ending Title 42, more than two and a half years after the purported public health policy went into effect.
  • Press Release

Biden Administration Pairs Humanitarian Aid and H-2B Visa Expansion with Trump-Style Border Enforcement in Venezuelan Response Plan

October 24, 2022
The American Immigration Council alongside responded to the Biden Administration’s announcement of a parole program to protect some Venezuelan nationals with ties to the U.S., expansion of Title 42 to expel Venezuelans who cross the border without prior authorization, and nearly 65,000 added visas under the H-2B program.
  • FOIA

Seeking Records About Possible Due Process Violations of Detainees at the Torrance Detention Facility

These Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seek records from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) about treatment of Haitian immigrants.
  • Blog

Asylum Seekers Become Political Pawns in Governors’ Transportation Stunts

September 23, 2022

The Republican governors of Texas, Arizona, and now Florida are playing a cynical political game with the lives of migrants—including many asylum seekers fleeing persecution. Officials in these...

  • Blog

Recent Supreme Court Ruling Limits Advocates’ Relief on Asylum Seekers’ Case

August 17, 2022

A federal court decision this month confirmed what advocates feared: that a recent move by the Supreme Court would undermine the fight against illegal government practices, like turning back...

  • Letters

Coalition Urges House Appropriators to Reject Title 42 Poison Pill Amendment

Publication Date: 
July 15, 2022
The American Immigration Council opposed the inclusion of a legislative provision that would codify into law an indefinite extension of the controversial and harmful Title 42 policy.
  • Blog

Supreme Court Permits Biden to Terminate ‘Remain in Mexico’ Program

June 30, 2022

Almost a year after the Supreme Court allowed a federal judge in Texas to order the Biden administration to restart the so-called “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP), the Supreme Court ruled in...

  • Letters

Letter to Secretary Mayorkas Urging Protections for Victims of San Antonio Tragedy

Publication Date: 
June 30, 2022
The American Immigration Council and 102 other organizations urge the Department of Homeland Security paroled into the United States and give assistance in applying for protection to survivors of the...
  • Press Release

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Biden Administration to End MPP

June 30, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court allows the Biden administration’s efforts to terminate the Migrant Protection Protocols—an illegal Trump-era policy that sent thousands of people seeking humanitarian protection to dangerous areas of Mexico to await their asylum hearings.

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