A qualifying asylum seeker is “unable or unwilling to return to his/her country of origin due to persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution.” The processing of asylum requests takes time and involves some subjective judgment on the part of asylum officers or immigration judges.1 Beyond the many abusers of our asylum system, asylum applicants are a potential weakness of our present immigration system since we can only be the home for a small percentage of all people living under harsh regimes who can legitimately claim some form of persecution.
Only a small fraction of all asylum applicants end up being granted asylum.2 The asylum plea may help them avoid immediate deportation on arrival in the United States3 as well as deportation up to the point of time that a final ruling is made on their case for asylum which may be years later, especially if appeals are filed. Nearly all who are denied asylum cannot be located at the time of denial and officially become illegal immigrants at that point in time.4
Two examples of newly considered areas of persecution which foreign women can use as a basis for successful asylum claims relate to 1) being victims or potential victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) and 2) being victims of domestic violence.
Amnesty International estimates 130 million woman worldwide have had some form of FGM, with more than 2 million new cases occurring per year primarily in Africa.5 For the purpose of asylum claims, FGM is now classified as a form of persecution. Recent U.S. court decisions are pointing toward allowing women who have been victims of FGM as well as women who fear becoming victims of FGM to use FGM as a key part of a successful asylum claim.6
The Obama administration recently took steps to make it easier for battered women to gain asylum in the United States. The qualifying conditions include 1) treatment as inferiors, little better than property 2) living in a country where domestic abuse is common and tolerated 3) must be able to show that protection could not be obtained through resort to existing institutions in their country or by moving to another place in their country.7 There are many countries in the world where women are routinely treated poorly and abused. How many of such women will be able to reach the United States and make a plea for asylum remains to be seen.
1 Julia Preston, “Wide Disparities Found in Judging of Asylum Cases,” New York Times, May 31, 2007.
2 From Julia Preston, “Wide Disparities Found in Judging of Asylum Cases”: In 2005, 13 percent of those who appealed with lawyers won their cases. From Vernon M. Briggs, Jr., Mass Immigration and the National Interest, 3rd ed. (Armonk: M.E. Sharpe, 2003), 170: “The vast preponderance of the individuals who file asylee applications never show up for their scheduled interviews with INS officials. They simply fade into the local communities and become illegal immigrants.”
3 From Don Barnett, “The Coming Conflict Over Asylum,” Center for Immigration Studies, March 2002: “About a quarter of asylum petitions are made by those who arrive at a U.S. port of entry without valid documents.”
4 A 2003 study found that only 3 percent of those denied asylum were removed: “The Immigration and Naturalization Service’s Removal of Aliens Issued Final Orders,” Report Number I-2003-004, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice, February 2003.
5 Wikipedia.
6 “A Victory for Women,” (editorial) New York Times, June 22, 2008.
7 Julia Preston, “New Policy Permits Asylum for Battered Women,” New York Times, July 15, 2009.
