Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Today, the American Immigration Council released, Mexican and Central American Asylum and Credible Fear Claims: Background and Context by Sara Campos, Esq. and Joan Friedland, Esq. Recently, the credible fear process has become the target of political attacks. Detractors argue that it is too easy to obtain favorable credible fear determinations and avoid deportation. They point to rising credible fear claims as evidence that people are abusing the system.
Yet, while the numbers are rising, political attacks are made without reference to how the credible fear and asylum processes actually work, to escalated violence in Mexico and Central America, and to the barriers to obtaining asylum in the United States. This paper addresses these issues, summarizes the concerns and experiences of numerous advocates in the field, and concludes that the credible fear and asylum process poses obstacles for applicants that far surpass the supposed abuses claimed by its detractors.