Despite a Generous Spirit: Denying Asylum in the United States
- ISBN-10
- 0317580426
- ISBN-13
- 9780317580426
- Pages
- 48
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1986
- Publisher
- U.S. Committee for Refugees
- Author
- James Silk
Description
The United States has a long tradition of offering a haven to those who flee persecution. While there is much in the US treatment of refugees which is commendable, this paper examines what the author considers to be the restrictive and at times inhumane policies of the government towards asylum seekers. It is within the context of an international system of refugee protection based on nations' acceptance of national obligation that this paper considers the ramifications of the government's interpretation of US laws which govern asylum. The report also analyses US asylum policies as they threaten to undermine the carefully established international system of refugee protection. The author examines the policy of long-term detention of asylum applicants; of stopping Haitians on the high seas and returning them to their country; and of the arrest and return to their country of thousands of Central Americans who have reached the United States, particularly Salvadorians and Guatemalans. In the light of growing restrictiveness of US asylum policies and a narrow interpretation of asylum laws, concern is expressed for what the author sees as being a denial of protection to the refugees. This denial of due process is of grave concern and the report urges Congress to monitor the administration of asylum laws closely and to take measures to establish sound refugee policies. The paper's specific recommendations include ending the Haitian interdiction programme and long-term detention of asylum seekers; changing the US asylum procedure to ensure fair and unbiased consideration of all asylum claims; enacting legislation to provide temporary safe haven for people fleeing war, civil disturbance or political upheaval in their homelands; and paying close attention to the link between foreign assistance and the conditions that produce refugees.
