Each year, and increasingly, more and more refugees from Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala are seeking asylum in the United States.
The number has soared in recent years because of climate change, increased violence due to gangs and drug cartels, and severe inequalities. Every day, thousands of families are forced to flee their homes and the lives they once knew because of persecution and fear of violence. They do what they have to do to survive and take refuge in a safe place in order to rebuild their lives.
Today, with information provided by USA for UNHCR, let’s take a look at what the policies at the border are and how U.S. asylum actually works.
Why are people seeking asylum at the U.S. border?
“People from Central America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti and beyond – including Asia and Africa – are escaping situations where they fear for their lives. In Central America, hundreds of thousands of families have been victims of violence, extortion and persecution at the hands of local gangs, with no recourse from government institutions. The high levels of violence in the region are only comparable to those experienced in war zones. In Venezuela, 5.9 million people have left the country, many escaping generalized violence and lack of food and medicine.”
Is it legal to seek asylum at the U.S. border?
“The right to seek asylum is grounded in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 14) and the 1951 Refugee Convention (including its 1967 Protocol). Anyone who fears violence and persecution has the right to seek asylum and should not be returned to a territory where they fear threats to their lives or freedom (principle of non-refoulement, Art. 33, 1951 Refugee Convention). The U.S. Congress incorporated this definition into U.S. immigration law in the Refugee Act of 1980.
According to the 1967 Protocol, adopting countries including the United States should consider the individual claims of people requesting asylum in their territory or at a port of entry and have the obligation to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to those who need it. The U.S. Refugee Act establishes two paths to obtain refugee status -- either from abroad as a resettled refugee or in the United States as an asylum-seeker.”
What is Title 42?
“The United States has long had a legal framework to guarantee the right to seek asylum to individuals who arrive at our borders and ask for protection. But since March 20, 2020, that fundamental right has been largely suspended at U.S. land borders. Since that date, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of people seeking to apply for asylum have been turned away and “expelled” back to Mexico or their home countries under a provision of U.S. health law, section 265 of Title 42, without any consideration of the dangers they might be returned to.
UNHCR has maintained since the start of the pandemic that protecting public health and protecting access to asylum, a fundamental human right, are fully compatible. At the height of the public health emergency, many countries put in place protocols such as health screening, testing and quarantine measures for asylum-seeking populations, to simultaneously protect both public health and the right to seek asylum.
In September 2021, High Commissioner Filippo Grandi stated, ‘I reiterate UNHCR’s call for the U.S. government immediately and fully to lift its Title 42 restrictions in effect since March of 2020 which continue to deny most people arriving at the southwest U.S. land border any opportunity to request asylum.’”
What is UNHCR doing at the U.S.-Mexico border?
“Along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, UNHCR partners with civil society, governments, faith-based organizations, legal service providers and others to strengthen the humanitarian response to better protect asylum-seekers, especially the most vulnerable among them.
UNHCR’s response has focused on supporting non-governmental shelters providing immediate housing and humanitarian assistance to asylum-seekers, expanding access to legal assistance for asylum-seekers, preventing the separation of families, and providing technical advice to government authorities on how to develop fair and efficient asylum systems that respect international refugee law.”
How can I help?
You can donate (any little bit helps!) to support USA for UNHCR’s work in assisting asylum-seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as millions of other people in the world fleeing from violence and persecution.
This information was taken from USA for UNHCR’s blog titled U.S. Asylum and Border Policies Explained. Thank you for reading and doing what you can to help those who need it most.
(photo by Jeoffrey Guillemard via USA for UNHCR)
