Refugees and Asylum seekers in the U.S - Essay Example

Refugees and Asylum seekers in the U.S Immigration has been a common practice within the human culture and has been evidenced by the frameworks that have been crafted within government structures of different countries to deal with the feature. Governments acknowledge that there exists immigration into or out of these countries either legally or even illegally and thus the need for regulatory frameworks. However, there are international human rights that influence government decisions surrounding immigration and which are generally accepted within the international context. Nevertheless, every nation has her foreign policies as decisions that point to the future on accounts of other nations as against her internal decisions. This paper therefore intends to evaluate the issue of immigrations and inclusion within the context of the United States of America since traditional periods. By taking interest in the theme of refugees and asylum seekers in the U.S, the analysis revolves around understanding the legal frameworks that attend to the issues of these persons. The influence of international legislations that govern the rights of the refugees and asylum seekers as well as the internal concerns about the security of the country due to the influx of refugees and asylum seekers, and the glob al terror threats will be put to perspective. Moreover, the paper will address the rising concerns of the infringement of the personal rights of the immigrants as they are subjected into the compulsory detentions against the provisions of the UNHCRF frameworks for refugees. The U.S has people from almost every part of the globe with the general population characterized of different races. The US operates under a motto “e pluribus unum” (Martin, 3) insinuating that from many nations to one nation and as such it is a well framed structure. Therefore, since traditional periods, immigration has been acknowledged in the U.S through providing the immigrants with opportunities to better themselves as well as the United States as a nation. The dominant immigration patterns have been noted since early periods of 1820 with statistics revealing a great influx of about 66 million legal immigrants from all over the world. Germany and Mexico has been in the lead for having high populations of immigrants to the U.S ever since. However, the country has also harbored hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, which has in the past triggered quite heated debates of the fate of such persons. The search for employment and education has equally been associated with the influx of the immigrants into the United States of America over years. People move from one country to another for different reasons: voluntary on basis of work and employment, political reasons, family re-unification, natural happenings like disasters, need for one to voluntary change natural surroundings, poverty or for general economic reasons. Involuntary reasons may stem up from running away from natural disasters such as earthquakes, political or civil wars, involuntary deportation as well as seeking asylum as refugees. Asylum seekers are persons who get to foreign countries looking for protection against mistreatment or persecution within their homeland and who may not necessarily be refugees. On the other hand, refugees are persons who would be persecuted within their own countries of nationality on basis of their religion, race, nationality, political stand or opinion or better still membership to a social group. The U.S has been credited over years to work by a principle that restricts her to deport foreign nationals to their countries of origin where it is proved that their lives or freedom is at a threat (Wasem, 1). Immigration is a common feature within the U.S, though there are guidelines and frameworks that are responsible for regulating the issue. Moreover, apart from internal regulatory frameworks that govern migration of persons as refugees or even asylum seekers in the U.S, there are international frameworks that work together for the good of the immigrants. The UNHCR among other UN bodies regulate the issue of migration to other countries of people who pose as refugees or asylum seekers; and thus ensure the proper handling of the persons within international frameworks, which are accented to by international community. Under the framework of Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the U.S determines the eligibility and the reasons for accepting foreigners within her boarders as refugees or even as asylums. The INA gives the discretion to granting asylum to the Attorney general who under certain provisions would out rightly deny applicants of asylum, rights. There are various reasons under which the U.S law is clear to deny asylum to applicants which include being dangerous to a community or being convicted to have committed serious crime(s) in the country of origin. Moreover, when a person is found to have been firmly resettled from the country of origin and under the specific accounts that an applicant is found beyond doubts to be a threat to national security. Nevertheless, refugees from the communist countries as well as the socialist countries freeing persecution have been in the tradition accorded asylum rights and refugees status in the U.S. However, despite the efforts that the government of the United States have been putting into position in handling the cases of refugees and the asylums, growing fear in the nationals concerning the rising terror cases have been seen to necessitate much of the legislation in place. This is because, concerned complainants argue that terror suspects would easily get a rightful asylum right, through which the likelihood to commit terror attacks would be increased (Wasem, 1-3). Emerging trends within the global terror threats and increased influx of persons seeking asylum and refugee status within the U.S has led to the U.S complicated the processes involved in application for asylum. Most notably is the increase in detention facilities where immigrants are usually detained as they await the determination of their cases (Anon, 1-7). Nevertheless, concerns from human rights activist are that the detentions are instruments that are used against the human rights through which psychological torture and physical pain in inflicted on these persons. The UNHCR has frameworks that describe the universal human rights, which all persons regardless of their status within the society must be accorded; among which the right to dignity and freedom forms the basis. The asylum seekers suffer denial of freedom of association, freedom for employment, no education for their children as well as good living conditions while still unsafe for them to return to their native countries. Article 9(1) of the ICCPR restricts the United States from making the compulsory detention that she practices to immigrants immediately the report to the states. This is because there exists no properly defined provisions within the U.S of the period under which the detainees are to be under custody as their cases are being determined. Moreover, according to a 2007 report by the ‘human rights first organization’, the U.S have been seen to exercise discriminatory detentions to national of specific countries who come legally for refugees status or even for seeking asylum here. In 1996, an immigration law was enacted in the U.S to empower the boarder officials to effect deportation to persons arriving within the country without proper documentation. However, critics of this law reason that arriving without proper documents is well explainable for the fact that asylum seekers or even refugees normally free their native countries in haste and hence lack that time for prior proper plans for documents necessary (Anon, 1-4). In conclusion, the U.S has been in the forefront in harboring refugees as well as the asylum seekers ever since the traditional times. However, there has been rising concerns that the U.S has been infringing the rights to the persons who migrate to the country in search for asylum or refugees status. She has seen a rising concern in matters relating to her legal frameworks which regulate the influx of immigrants within her boarders. The recent past has seen her adopt more fierce regulations which necessitate immediate detention of persons who migrate on the basis of asylum seeking as well as refugees. Works cited Anonymous, “U.S. Detention of Asylum Seekers Seeking Protection, Finding Prison” Human rights first. June 2009. Web. 20 June 2013. Anonymous, “The Detention of Asylum Seekers in the United States: Arbitrary under the Iccpr” Background Briefing Note. Human rights first. January 2007. Web. 20 June 2013. Martin Philip L. “Immigration in the United States” Working Paper CIIP-2. April 30, 2002. Web. 20 June 2013. Wasem Ruth Ellen, “U.S. Immigration Policy on Asylum Seekers” CRS Report for Congress. February, 2005. Print. Read More