Asylum in the United States

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History
Colonial nationality law Naturalization Act of 1790 Civil Rights Act of 1866 United States v. Wong Kim Ark Indian Citizenship Act Nationality Act of 1940
Relevant legislation
Citizenship Clause Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 / 1965 Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 Immigration Act of 1990 Child Citizenship Act of 2000
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The United States recognizes the right of asylum for individuals seeking protections from persecution, as specified by international and federal law. People who seek protection while outside the U.S. are termed refugees, while people who seek protection from inside the U.S. are termed asylum seekers. Those who are granted asylum are termed asylees.

A specified number of legally defined refugees who are granted refugee status outside the United States are annually admitted under 8 U.S.C. § 1157 for firm resettlement.^[1][2] Other people enter the United States with or without inspection, and apply for asylum under section 1158.^[3]

Asylum in the United States has two specific requirements. First, asylum applicants must be physically present in the United States, or at a designated port of arrival.^[4] Second, they must show that they suffered persecution in the past, or have a well-founded fear of future persecution in their country of nationality and permanent residency^[5] on account of at least one of the five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.^[3][6]

Even if an individual meets the criteria for asylum, INA § 208, bars some asylum seekers from asylum. These restrictions fall into two categories: (1) limitations on the ability to apply for asylum and (2) limitations on the ability to be granted asylum.^[7][8]

The majority of asylum claims in the United States fail or are rejected.^[9] While asylum denial rates had grown ever higher during the Trump years to a peak of 71 percent in FY 2020, they fell to 63 percent in FY 2021.^[10] One third of asylum seekers go to courts unrepresented although those with legal representation have higher chances of winning.^[11]

More than three million refugees from various countries around the world have been admitted to the United States since 1980.^[12][2] In recent years, the number of refugees admitted by the U.S. has fluctuated due to changes in government policies. For example, under the Obama administration, the U.S. resettled 84,995 refugees in the fiscal year 2016.^[13] However, during the Trump administration, the number of refugees admitted declined significantly, with only 11,814 admitted in the fiscal year 2020.^[14] The Biden administration aims to increase the number of refugees accepted by setting higher caps for admissions.^[15]