Asylum

Asylum is a powerful tool that allows an individual(s) who has been prosecuted or has a well founded fear of future prosecution to remain in the United States. Asylum is actually a difficult form of relief to get, but once received it is a very effective and powerful tool. An individual can apply for asylum relief at a port of entry or when they are already within the United States.

Generally, there needs to be a credible threat towards the individual based on one of five enumerated categories; 1) nationality, 2) race, 3) religion, 4) political opinion and 5) membership in a particular group. It is also important to note identity can be based upon a self-perceived identity or on how others view you (this is particularly true in regards to number 5, membership in a particular group).

1) Nationality - this is based upon your country of origin, are you Mexican? Chinese? Taiwanese? Indian? English? etc.

2) Race -are you African? European? Asian? Hispanic? Native American? This group is often confused with nationality but they are two distinct groups.

3) Religion - are you Catholic? Muslim? Orthodox? Hindu? Buddhist? You can be the same overarching religion and still be prosecuted. For example you could be Christian but of a denomination that is the minority in your country and subject to attacks.

4) Political Opinion - are you a libertarian? Socialist? Communist? Nationalist? Liberal? Conservative? Member of the opposition party?

5) Membership in a particular group - this is possibly the largest group and the courts have had difficulty in determining what constitutes a particular group. Some have held that being a child qualifies, but others say that being a child is not a permanent group status as one grows up and is no longer a child. Others have said that being a woman is being part of a particular group, the critics to this say it is too broad. However, a few things have been determined to generally apply; 1) the group must be sufficiently small to be defined, 2) the characteristics of the group are generally permanent, 3) either you or the persecutors identify you within the group, and 4) the government is unable or unwilling to prevent the attacks upon this group.

A few other notes need to be mentioned regarding asylum. The individual seeking asylum must show that the fear is genuine and that a normal person in their position would also be afraid. The individual must show that there is a threat of future harm, for example if the violence against the person happened 20 years ago when there was a civil war going on it would be difficult to show to the court that you have a credible fear of persecution upon returning. There are many other factors that go into determining the viability of a petition for asylum. The above mentioned factors are just some of the largest.