Law that Protect Refugees in the United States - Essay Example

identification (all above optional – if you need them) History and Political Science Topic Laws that Protect Refugees in the United States of America Title The Protection and Service of Refugees and Asylum Seekers within the United States of America The world today is different to any time in history. The movement of people – migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, victims of trafficking – (Boyle, 2004) from one country to another is one area in which the laws and security of individual states face major challenges. Vast migration across the globe characterises the modern world. By 2000, 175 million people lived outside their place of birth: 158 million of these were urban migrants; 16 million were refugees and 900 000 were asylum seekers (Boyle, 2004). In 2005, the United Nations reported that there were more than 190 million international migrants, about 3% of the world’s population (UNHCR website, 2011). Since the current world population, 6 billion approximately, is too large to be compared to the population at any other time in history, unique problems exist. Countries no longer have complete control of their populations. Regional organizations, international non-governmental organizations or movements, multinational companies and even criminal organizations effectively are independent of state boundaries and often national laws (IR Theory Homepage, 2011). Religious, ethnic, cultural and even gender identities form international communities, not tied to single countries (Anderson, 2004). Refugees, fleeing their countries of birth due to war, famine, and oppression arrive in the USA, and in other mainly Western countries, every day, hoping to be protected by the democratic systems of these countries. International law clearly determines the rights and protection that must be given to refugees, who are forced to leave their country of birth (Akehurst, 1976). USA Federal law honors the right of asylum of people wanting to migrate to the USA, in line with the many international treaties and agreements which have been signed by the USA, following the rules of international law. About one-tenth of annual immigrants to the USA per year are refugees. Since 1980, more than two million refugees have settled in the USA (Human Rights USA website, 2011). According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, adopted as a Protocol by the United Nations in 1967, a refugee is a person outside his/her country of nationality, who fears persecution if he/she returns to their home state. This persecution must be due to one or more conditions called “protected grounds” by the United Nations Protocol. So, a refugee is someone who is likely to be persecuted in a home country due to race, nationality, religion, political opinion and membership of a social group, such as a religion. All countries that signed this agreement are required to give asylum to refugees, and the USA is a signatory of this agreement (The UNO, 1966). Within the USA, the Refugee Act of 1981 was passed by the USA Congress to expand the laws already agreed to in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Human Rights USA website, 2011). Currently, the handling of refugees in the USA is the responsibility of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Homeland Security. Once the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees has indicated that refugee status is necessary, as defined in the paragraph above, USA authorities will most likely accept that status, and begin to process the individuals or groups as refugees. In the USA, the criteria include someone who is “unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution” in their home country (CIS website, 2011). According to the UNHCR (website, 2011) about 8.4 million people worldwide could be classified as refugees. These refugees tend to originate in West Africa, Central Asia, South West Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. Within USA law, refugees must satisfy the same requirements as asylums seekers. And the USA is by far the largest receiver of refugees in the world: in 2004, 52,868 refugees were resettled in the USA out of a total of 83,700 recognized refugees worldwide in that year (UNHCR website, 2011). Asylum is given by the USA to about 25,000 to 30,000 people a year. Some general feeling exists, however, within the USA, after the events of 9/11/2001 that the USA Government should deal more harshly with people illegally in the USA, and with those attempting to get into the USA. The exception to this remains, however, the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, in line with trends across the globe. Laws related to refugees in any one country must be influenced by international laws, and in the USA, many laws exist to protect and serve refugees. Also, these laws are in line with international laws, in most areas, and in some areas offer even more protection to refugees than international laws require. In the USA, a distinction is made between refugees and asylum seekers. An individual must apply for refugee status while outside his/her home country; an individual can apply for asylum while he/she is already living in the USA (CIS website, 2011). An asylum seeker can thus apply even if he/she has entered the USA illegally. But this application must be made based on actual experience of persecution in the person’s home country. If someone has fled their home country because of political, religious, identity or race persecution he/she would be defined as a refugee, and could thus seek asylum. Since refugees apply for their status in the USA while outside the country, they tend to be viewed as migrants rather than asylum seekers. There is a limit on the number of asylum seekers in the USA who will get permanent residence status in the USA, but no limit on the number of people who could be granted asylum in the country. By being given asylum in the USA, the individual can get employment rights and residence rights immediately. After one year, an asylum seeker is able to apply for permanent residence in the USA (CIS website, 2011). According to international law, and also according to USA law, asylum seekers do not have to be handed over to their home countries even if extradition treaties exist between the USA and the home country (UNO, 1966). Refugees are, under USA law, located outside of the USA, and are threatened on a humanitarian level because of their location. In order to be given refugee status in the USA, certain criteria have to be met. They should not be permanently resettled in another country (other than their home country). Also, they have to be admissible to the USA (CIS website, 2011). They may not have been involved in any way in the persecution of other people on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. People approved as refugees are given medical examinations, cultural orientation, help with travel plans, and a loan for travel to the USA. In the USA, they are given medical and cash assistance, and other benefits (Campbell, 2011). A refugee can immediately apply for employment and should apply for a Green Card one year after arrival. No costs are payable for this application. Later in this essay, the social and community protections and assistance available to refugees will be discussed more fully. Three priority levels are applied to people who apply for asylum in the USA. The level of priority depends on the conditions leading to the individual’s application for asylum. First priority is given to people who are in danger in the country in which they find themselves; to people who have experienced recent persecution; women who are at risk; victims of torture or violence; physical or mentally disabled people; people who need urgent medical attention not available in their current location; and people for whom their current location would not be a long-term solution (The UNO, 1966). People classified as second priority groups are defined specifically according to conditions in the world at the time. They are of “special concern” according to USA authorities. For example, certain Sudanese religious groups would be classified in this way, as would Burmese in the refugee camps in Thailand. The third group is defined when people want to be reunited with their families, already in the USA with refugee status. An annual list of countries is published in the USA, and people from these countries are then eligible to be reunited with their families in the USA (Campbell, 2011). In 1996, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act was passed. According to this Act, anyone who has entered the USA trying to escape persecution of negative conditions in their country of origin must apply for asylum within one year of entry otherwise he/she has to show that “exceptional circumstances” caused the delay in application or that conditions have changed enough to make him/her eligible for asylum (Campbell, 2011). In such cases, the Attorney General is able to decide whether asylum will be given. If the person applying can prove that life or freedom will be taken away if he/she were to return to their country, it is certain that they would not be forced to leave the USA (Human Rights USA website, 2011). Always, however, the person has to show that their fear of persecution if they return to their home country is based in reality. Thus a claim for asylum would be more acceptable if the person has been persecuted in the past, for example. Changing circumstances in the home country would be established, though, and if it can be proven that no threat exists anymore, asylum may not be granted. Also the discretion given to the adjudicators who decide on granting asylum allows that an applicant, who has been persecuted in the past to a great degree, will most likely mean that the person will be given asylum, even if the threat of future danger no longer exists (McBride, 1999). History has shown that there are circumstances under which a person will not be given asylum in the USA, even if he/she does show that future persecution is likely to happen. If the person applying for asylum has himself/herself been involved in persecuting someone else due to their race, religion, national origin, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, he/she is not likely to be given refugee status. Similarly, people who have been convicted of serious crimes in the USA, or who have committed serious non-political crimes in their home country, and who are considered to be a danger to the community will not be given asylum. Any danger to the USA presented by an applicant for asylum will be considered and the applicant not given asylum. Therefore, an application may be refused on terrorism-related grounds. Also, if someone left their home country as a refugee, settled in another country, and stayed there for some time, in fair conditions, before coming to the USA, they could be refused asylum. Similarly, if a person has broken USA law by not applying for asylum in the USA through the correct legal procedures, it is unlikely that the application will be granted (CIS website, 2011). There are exceptional circumstances, however, in which organizations such as Human Rights USA have led the way to protect the rights of refugees even further by changing laws, and enabling more people to qualify as refugees. A particular area in which this has happened is in the protection of women, where in 2002, the US Supreme Court recognized that female genital mutilation was “a form of torture” (Human Rights USA website, 2011) and that a mother therefore has a right to asylum if her daughter is in danger of this mutilation if she has to go back to her home country. In 2005, women who were subject to severe sexual abuse, and refugees, or asylum seekers were exempted from having to apply for asylum within the first year of their arrival in the USA. Thus women fleeing violence, forced marriage or sex trafficking are more protected by USA law. Human Rights USA is aiming to ensure that women and men subject to trafficking are protected in the same way as all refugees under USA law (Human Rights USA website, 2011). Another consideration to protect vulnerable refugees can be seen in the treatment of Unaccompanied Refugee Minors in the USA. Certainly child victims of trafficking are able to receive the same treatment as refugees under these processes. These people are under 18 years old, and are not coming to the USA to reconnect with a parent, or a close relative willing to act as a parent, or to an adult who has a verifiable claim to the custody of the child. In addition, no parent is living in the USA. Further protection is provided to these minors: they are protected by international laws concerning cross-nationality adoptions, and child-trafficking laws. The aim of programs dealing with Unaccompanied Minor Refugees is to ensure that such children are able to become integrated USA citizens in adulthood. Thus they are entered into the USA childcare system and treated similarly to how any USA citizen child would be treated, if orphaned or abandoned by parents. Further important social support for refugees can also be found in the USA. These mechanisms are governed by Federal and State law, and indicate that refugees and asylum seekers are provided for on numerous levels within the society. Within the food stamps program, USA citizens receive subsidized access to nutrition through this process, whereby low-income families receive monthly coupons with which to buy food (Campbell, (Ed.), 2011). Provision is made in law for elderly refugees, refugee children, and disabled refugees to be eligible for Federal food stamps under the same rules as citizens. Some States provide further food assistance to certain refugees and immigrants, under certain conditions. Refugees qualify for other nutritional assistance programs too, in exactly the same way as citizens do: “emergency food assistance; school breakfasts and lunches; summer food service and child care food programs; the Women, Infants and Children Program; homeless Children Nutrition, and Special Milk programs; and the Nutrition Program for the Elderly” (Campbell, (Ed.), 2011). The Federal Supplemental Security Income program (SSI) is also accessible to refugees. This program gives cash benefits to low income people who are aged, blind or disabled. Similarly, refugees qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). If the refugees have limited income and assets, equivalent to the limits imposed on citizens, they could receive TANF benefits. The children of refugees may also qualify for these benefits. The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), established in 1997, offers health insurance to uninsured children who are members of low income families, and who are not eligible for Medicaid. In the SCHIP program, States may expand their Medicaid programs, or establish new medical assistance programs, and use up to 10% of their Federal funding on educational and outreach programs for children. Some States have funded refugee service agencies by this means to conduct outreach activities in refugee communities (Campbell, (Ed.), 2011). Almost all refugee children who meet the same requirements as citizen children are able to receive SCHIP assistance. On March 16, 2010, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees praised US refugee and asylum policies (Irwin, 2010). More than 500,000 people had been granted asylum in the USA since 1980, and more than 2 million refugees had been resettled in the USA in the same period. The High Commissioner emphasized that the “core concept of the legislation was to provide protection to the persecuted”. His opinion was that the Department of Homeland Security was, through reforms, able to “better balance security interests with the needs of people fleeing persecution who should not be detained” (Irwin, 2010). In contrast to such positive praise, an article in the New York Times of May 6, 2011 outlines resistance to President Obama’s strategy to strengthen the enforcement of immigration laws contained in the Secure Communities Program. Resistance to the Secure Communities Program is growing among State governments and police officials. The Secure Communities Program has, among its other results, led to record numbers of deportations: in two years, almost 800,000 people have been deported (Preston, 2011). The Program is causing the deportation of people who are not criminals, merely illegal aliens. The challenges to the Secure Communities Program from the legal fraternity can be exemplified in a statement released on behalf of the Kasen Law Firm, an immigration legal practice. It proposes that the DHS “has continued its assault on the civil rights of immigrants using a new potential piece of legislation” (Preston, 2011). The concern is that the Program punishes immigrants without a criminal background, and damages trust in law enforcement. It is a concern that such security laws may affect the policies regarding refugees and asylum seekers. Nonetheless, the current approach of the USA Government to refugees is one which tries to guarantee protection to the vulnerable citizens of the world, and fair treatment of refugees and asylum seekers within the country’s borders. It is further clear that the current challenges of population migration across the globe are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. The USA will have to continue in its striving to manage this phenomenon as effectively as it does currently. References Anderson, L. (2008) “Antiquated before they can ossify: States that fail before they form” in Journal of International Affairs, Fall 2008, vol. 58, no. 1 (copyrighted to The Trustees of Columbia University in the City if New York) Akehurst, M. (1976) “Custom as a Source of International Law” British Yearbook of International Law Oxford, Oxford University Press: 1976 Campbell, B.F. (Ed.) (2011) Refugees eligible for federal public benefits from website of the Immigration Law Center, L.L.C. available at www.visaus.com and accessed September 10, 2011 Boyle, M.W. (2004) “The Challenge of Worldwide Migration” in Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 57 No. 2 New York: Columbia University Irwin, T. (2010) “UNHRC chief praises achievements of US refugee program, calls for continued reform” from UNHRC website available at www.UNHRC.org accessed September 13, 2011 Human Rights USA website (2011) Refugee Rights available at http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=34 accessed September 4, 2011 IR Theory Homepage at http://irtheory.com/know.htm McBride, M.J. (1999) “The evolution of US immigration and refugee policy: public opinion, domestic politics and the UNHCR” in New Issues in Refugee Research, May 1999 Preston, Julia (2011) “States Resisting Program Central to Obama’s Immigration Strategy” in The New York Times, May 6, 2011 The United Nations High Commission for Refugees website available at www.UNHRC.org accessed September 13, 2011 The United Nations Organization: The UN Refugee Agency (1966) Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees and The UNHRC Handbook Geneva: UNHCR Communications and Public Information Service United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) website (2011) Asylum and Refugee Law available at http://www.usavisa.tv/asylum_and_refugee.asp accessed September 9, 2011 Read More