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The Truth about Approval Rates of Asylum Petition in The United States
May 28, 2019
By: Stanley Lemorin
The United States receives on average over 20,000 Asylum petitions a year, of those Asylum petitions received the vast majority are denied every year due to petitioners inability to prove they meet the United States requirements. Transnational Record Access Clearinghouse, Asylum Decisions and Denials Jump in 2018
The Immigration and Nationality Act states that an alien that is present within the United States legally or Illegally can apply for Asylum if they are able to prove that deportation to their country of national origin would result in persecution or loss of freedom due to: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. 8 U.S.C. §1158(a)(1).
Congress has given the Attorney General broad discretion in determining if an alien has met their burden of proof demonstrating they have or will be persecuted because they fall within one of the five Asylum categories. A vast number of Asylum petitions are denied because petitioners are unable to prove a connection between the persecution they suffered and the persecution they suffered is the result of their affiliation in one of the five Asylum categories. Sharma v. Holder, 729 F.3d 407,412 (5th Cir., 2013). The petitioner affiliation in one of the five Asylum categories must be one that is non-changeable or no reasonable person should have to deny their inclusion.
For example, a petitioner that joins a political group that opposes the government of their country from polluting rivers is kidnaped by state police, held against their will until they renounce their membership in a political group, and beaten and tortured to abandon their affiliation. In the example stated above, that petitioner would be able to present a case that they suffered harm by their government and the harm is the result of their membership in a particular group. The petitioner can prove that if they were deported to their country of national origin, they fear further persecution and they have no other reasonable means to avail their self of the protection of their government.
However, harm suffered and a connection to the harm suffered as a result of affiliation in one of the five Asylum groups is not sufficient to grant an Asylum by itself. The petitioner must further demonstrate some evidence direct or circumstantial, that the persecutor is aware of their affiliation and has specifically persecute them because of their affiliation. Id. Thus, an Asylum petition rest heavily on their ability to demonstrate some evidence the persecutor harmed the petitioner because of their affiliation in one of the five Asylum groups.
If you have any question about Asylum petitions please feel free to contact The Legal Advocate to further discuss.