asylum

Asylum Seekers Forced to Work for $1/ Day while Waiting for Immigration Courts

Many readers here are likely familiar with the troubling use of prison labor in the United States. Somewhat less known is that not only people serving time in American prisons for crimes are forced to work for miniscule wages- this exploitation extends to asylum seekers as well.                Approximately 48,000 people are currently held in …

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Trump Can’t Blame Asylum Seekers for Their Own Mistreatment

“Tell people not to come to our country illegally,” Trump told reporters. “That’s the solution. Don’t come to our country illegally. Come like other people do. Come legally.”   This is Donald Trump’s solution to the problem of separated families, given a few days ago when his administration missed the court imposed deadline for reuniting …

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Sessions’ Decision on Solid Legal Ground, But Asylum Is a Moral Question Also

Attorney General Jeff Sessions made a significant change this week to how immigration courts will evaluate requests for asylum. His legal logic is reasonable, but that logic shouldn’t be the basis for making asylum decisions. You can read news coverage from CNN here, and the New York Times here.   First, let’s clarify what Sessions …

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In Interviewing Asylum Seekers, Moral Difficulties the Hardest

In April, the Atlantic magazine ran an informative article by Graeme Wood about the techniques German immigration authorities use to try to sort legitimate asylum seekers from those who aren’t entitled to that status. In addition to outlining the cultural, political, and economic difficulties connected with absorbing refugees, Wood focuses on the methods used to …

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Just Because Asylum Seekers Enter U.S. Illegally That Doesn’t Mean They Are Committing A Crime

What do you call someone who takes another person, straps him down to a table, then cuts open his stomach with a knife and starts removing internal organs? Is it a torturer? Crazed mad scientist? How about a surgeon? Context and motivation make all the difference. Yesterday Brandon Judd, President of the National Border Patrol …

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