Refugees and Asylees Flashcards
Origins of the system lie in __
post WWII
what is non refoulement
promise not to send back to that country, no status, maybe send to third country
Under US law, asylees get ___ not ___
status, just non refoulement
Refugees are ____
outside US seeking entry
___ determines how many refugees to admit per year
President (in consultation with Congress)
Unlike the INA, the number of refugees __
can be changed yearly (subject to politicization)
Most refugees are referred through __ but __
UNHCR (higher priority), can apply without if meet certain criteria
Refugees can receive ___
work authorization
Refugees must __
apply to adjust status after 1 year
Under the Specter Amendment, Congress can ___
prioritize some people over others (Iranian minorities less evidence to prove refugees)
USCIS criteria to be refugee
- meet INA definition
- not firmly resettled elsewhere
- special humanitarian concern to US
- admissible to US (lower criteria than normal)
To gain asylum, applications must show ___ and __
eligibility + entitlement as matter of discretion
If denied discretion of asylum then may __
be eligible for withholding of removal
You can become asylee after admission to US if ___
circumstances change in home country or for you (sur place)
Asylum applicants must file __
within 1 year of arrival unless changed circumstances
Asylum law is especially dependent on ___
case law
BIA case law is totally subject to ___
AG/Exec
Affirmative asylum
physically present in US but not in removal proceedings
If not granted affirmative asylum then __
referred to removal (officers err on side of removal)
Defensive asylum is when __
at border seeking admission OR in removal proceedings
You can work while your asylum case is pending if ___
can’t adjudicate within 6 months
Asylees are not subject to __
normal inadmissibility/deportability bars
To establish persecution for asylum you must show either ___ or __
past persecution or well founded fear of future persecution
Past persecution allows ___
presumed fear of future
If past persecution, the govt must ___
show change in circumstances or that asylee could move to different part of home country
If past persecution and govt shifts burden the asylee can still show ___
compelling reasons out of severity of persecution OR other serious harm upon removal
Persecution is not defined by INA but has been held to include
- violations of bodily autonomy
- physical violence or threats of it
- death threats (if specific and will/capacity to carry out)
- emotional/pysch harm if fact specific (forced to practice religion in secret)
Not examples of persecution
- economic damage
- discrimination/harassment without other factors
- criminal prosecution back home unless motivated by protected ground and disproportionate punishment
Well founded fear claim requires ____
subjective (you are afraid) + objective (reasonable possibility of suffering this thing), because no past
Persecution need not be the only ___
reason you left
Well founded fear has ___% chance rule
10
For well founded fear must show ___
relocation to another part of country not possible or reasonable
For well founded fear don’t have to show __
individually targeted if show pattern/practice of targeting people similarly situated
Matter of Acosta held that persecution must be ___
on account of characteristic/belief not strife in general
Four part test from Acosta
- applicant characteristic
- persecutor awareness
- persecutor capability
- persecutor inclination
To show relocation to other part of country reasonable must ___
- not have well-founded fear there
- not living in hiding
- not strife, social/cultural constraints etc
Acosta did find that ___ but ___
established fear but not well founded
Reason Acosta said not well founded fear
could stop being taxi driver and those guerrillas no longer active
The asylee has the burden to show __
- treatment rises to persecution
- on account of one or more protected grounds
- committed by govt or person/group govt is unwilling or unable to control
Asylee applicant testimony is sufficient if __
- credible
- persuasive
- refers to specific facts sufficient to demonstrate
If IJ doesn’t find applicant testimony persuasive enough must ___
give notice of corroboration required AND opp to produce it or explain why not reasonably available
The identity of the persecutor must be ___
govt OR quasi official group OR persons unable or unwilling to control
Factors towards unwilling to control
- country’s laws
- resources
- lack of power
- lack of political will to enforce
- tried to report or reporting was futile
Unwilling to control standard if A-B controls again
condones or completely helpless
Five protected grounds
- race
-religion - nationality
- PSG
- political opinion
Race and nationality may refer to __
ethnic/linguistic groups
Religion may turn on __
credibility, ask questions about religion
Case law says that religious persecution doesn’t require ___
doctrinal knowledge of your religion
It can still be religious persecution if you deny ___
your belief/way of life is religion but persecuted because of it anyways
Political opinion requires ___
hold opinion + persecuted because of that opinion
____ political opinion counts
Imputed (persecutor believes they have it even if they don’t)
Examples of ways to establish political opinion
- status as govt employee
- membership/participation in group with political purposes
- forced to abort pregnancy
- forced sterilization
Elias-Zacarias says ______ as political opinion
absence of political opinion by itself doesn’t count as
Elias dissent says __
neutrality itself is an opinion
Requirements for PSG
- immutability
- particularity
- social distinction in society in question
what is immutability
cannot or should not have to change since so fundamental (Acosta)
Toboso-Alfonso says __ is immutable
sexual orientation
MEVG held you don’t need __ for social distinction
literal visibility
Particularity means ___
discrete definable boundaries of group (not size, MEVG)
PSG doesn’t require ___
voluntary association among members
You cannot define a PSG by ___
the persecution itself
____ are too amorphous to be PSG
poverty/wealth, youth, homelessness
What was PSG rejected in MEVG
Honduran youth actively recruited by gangs but refuse to join because they disagree
