Asylum applicants from Mexico and Central America have an especially hard time meeting the requirements for asylum because asylum law requires each applicant to establish a connection for his or her persecution to one of the protected grounds. The protected grounds are race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. Most applicants from Mexico or Central America cannot establish a connection to race, religion, nationality or political opinion. So that leaves only one choice – membership in a particular social group.
The National Catholic Reporter found while visiting the border that certain Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) agents were outright skeptical if not downright hostile toward asylum claims. Many of the officers believe that asylum seekers are really economic migrants.
How we treat people coming to our borders when they are fleeing persecution in their home country says a lot about who we are as a nation. When people come to the border and ask for asylum they are supposed to be referred to an asylum officer for a credible fear interview. However, the Commission found that all too often the Border Patrol will write in the file that they are coming to work. This allows them to be expeditiously removed without a hearing in front of an immigration judge.
You may wonder, “What if my asylum case is denied? Are there other options?” There may be other forms of relief, or defenses to being removed, which an applicant can make that are not discretionary.
In our previous article How We Prepare Asylum Claims, we touched upon arguments that the government attorney may present to disqualify a person from meeting the requirements for asylum. In this article we explore other disqualifying factors that will be a bar to asylum.
Our previous article What Are the Requirements for Asylum explained what is required to have an asylum claim. In that article, we stressed the importance of contacting an attorney early and having the attorney present during the interview with the asylum officer.
