Refugees and Asylum

Who Are Refugees?  What Is Asylum?

A refugee is a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion. An asylum seeker is a person who meets the definition of refugee and is already present in the United States or is seeking admission at a port of entry. Both types of individuals can apply for permanent legal residence in the United States.

Of the more than 100 million people mentioned above, 35 million are refugees protected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the rest are internally displaced people. The countries that host the largest number of refugees and asylees are usually countries neighboring the refugees’ country of origin. For example, Turkey, Uganda, and Pakistan all have high refugee acceptance numbers. However, the United States and other developed nations are popular destinations for refugees who have decided against returning to their home country.

How Many Refugees and Asylum Seekers Are Admitted To the US Each Year?  

The President, with approval from Congress, establishes a ceiling for the number of refugees and asylum seekers who can be admitted to the United States each year. The figure below shows the year-to-year changes since 1990. Note also that the actual number of admissions can be lower than the quota – in 2022, with a ceiling of 125,000, the U.S. only admitted 25,465 individuals.

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Where Do Refugees And Asylum Seekers Come From?

The point of origin of asylum seekers coming to the U.S. has changed over time. Conflicts in the Middle East and Africa have driven many refugees to flee to neighboring countries in Europe as well as the United States. The chart below shows the distribution for refugee admission to the US in 2022. Of the total 25,465 admitted refugees, 11,358 originated from Africa, 2,215 from East Asia (including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia), 2,351 from Europe/Central Asia, 2,485 from Latin America/Caribbean, and 7,056 from Near East/South Asia (including Iraq, Iran, India, Syria, and Egypt).

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How Are Refugee and Asylum Claims Decided?

It is not easy to gain asylum status. This process has many hurdles and requires knowledge of the law and legal assistance. In order to be granted asylum, individuals must go through a set of bureaucratic steps and interviews where they must show that their country of origin is no longer safe for them to live in. About half of all asylum applications are ultimately rejected.

After completing a detailed application, an asylum seeker must schedule an interview with an officer from US Citizen and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). In this interview, they must provide original documents proving their identity. If the asylum seeker needs a translator, they are responsible for providing a person to fill this role. In the interview, the agent will ask the applicant an extensive list of questions to determine if their unique situation meets the criteria to be labeled as a refugee.

The U.S. courts have identified three types of oppressive behavior: harassment, discrimination, and persecution. Asylum is awarded only if an applicant has a well-founded fear of persecution, specifically a threat to life or freedom on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Serious physical harm is the most recognized form of persecution. The outcome of each judicial review depends on a refugee’s ability to provide a credible account of their persecution and to back their claims with evidence. In particular, economic insecurity is not a basis for establishing persecution.  

Asylum is sometimes applied for through a defense application when the applicant requests asylum as a way to prevent deportation from the United States. These applications usually occur after an initial asylum application is denied or because someone was apprehended by the U.S. Customs and Border Control as an unauthorized immigrant. These hearings are conducted by an immigration judge who then decides the applicant’s asylum status.

If granted asylum, the recipient is protected from being sent to their home country. Once granted asylum, asylees are granted work permits, can receive welfare benefits, and are eventually able to apply for a social security and a green card or US citizenship. A person’s asylum status will never expire, and can only be removed by USCIS under very particular circumstances. If a refugee or an asylee receive legal permanent resident status, they can apply for U.S. citizenship in five years.

The application process for refugees usually takes 18 months to 2 years. During this time, refugees are usually waiting in a neighboring country in which they escaped, in their home country, or in a refugee camp. Asylum seekers face a different process. All asylum applicants must be located in the United States or at a port of entry. Asylees must apply for asylum status within one year of arriving in the U.S. and they may not apply for a green card until one year after they are granted asylum. The entire process can take many years. Additionally, asylum seekers are not entitled to a work permit until after they receive asylum status.

Over the years Cuban refugees have had a special status in the U.S. Historically, Cuban refugees were automatically granted asylum if they made it to American soil. This policy ended in 2017. Recent years have seen significant increases of Cubans crossing the southern border through Mexico. Under current policy, up to 30,000 Cubans, Haitians, Venezualians, and Nicauraguans can be admitted to the U.S. with a U.S. sponsor; however, if people from these countries attempt to enter the country without humanitarian parole, they will face immediate expulsion.

Does the US Admit More or Fewer Refugees Than Other Countries?

Data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on the number of refugees admitted to different countries over the last 70 years is shown below. The countries that have admitted the largest number of refugees and asylees are usually near the refugees’ country of origin. For example, Turkey, Uganda, and Pakistan all have high refugee acceptance numbers – from, respectively, Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan. The US is a popular destination for refugees because of its economic prosperity, but it is not a leader in terms of total admissions. Germany’s refugee acceptance numbers are high due to a provision in the German Constitution that obligates the country to accept asylum-seekers.

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