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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:53 am
Time: 11:53 am
Results for political refugees
3 results foundAuthor: Acer, Eleanor Title: U.S. Detention of Asylum Seekers Seeking Protection, Finding Prison Summary: In March 2003, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took over responsibility for asylum and immigration matters when the former INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service) was abolished. With this transfer, DHS was entrusted with the duty to ensure that the United States lives up to its commitments to those who seek asylum from persecution. These commitments stem from both U.S. law and international treaties with which the United States has pledged to abide. Yet, those who seek asylum—a form of protection extended to victims of political, religious and other forms of persecution—have been swept up in a wave of increased immigration detention, which has left many asylum seekers in jails and jail-like facilities for months or even years. Six years after DHS and its interior immigration enforcement component, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (known as “ICE”) took over responsibility for immigration detention, the U.S. system for detaining asylum seekers is more flawed than ever. As detailed in this report, thousands of asylum seekers have been detained during these years. In 2007 alone, more than 10,000 asylum seekers were newly detained in the United States. They are held in facilities that are actual jails or are operated like jails. They are often brought in handcuffs and sometimes shackles to these facilities, where they wear prison uniforms, are guarded by officers in prison attire, visit with family and friends only through glass barriers, and have essentially no freedom of movement within the facilities. The cost of detaining these asylum seekers over the past six years has exceeded $300 million. During that time, ICE parole policies have become more restrictive, and parole rates for asylum seekers dropped from 41.3 percent in 2004 to 4.2 percent in 2007. ICE has not provided Congressionally-mandated statistics—detailing the number of asylum seekers detained, the length of their detention, and the rates of their release—in a timely or complete manner. The U.S. detention system for asylum seekers, which lacks crucial safeguards, is inconsistent with international refugee protection and human rights standards. DHS and ICE have increased their use of prison-like facilities by at least 62 percent—with six new megafacilities added in just the last five years. Some of these facilities are located far from legal representation and the immigration courts. More than a third of detained asylum seekers are not represented by legal counsel, even though asylum seekers are much more likely to be granted asylum in immigration court when they are represented. At these remote facilities, detained asylum seekers often see U.S. immigration judges and asylum officers only on television sets, with immigration court asylum hearings and asylum office “credible fear” interviews (which determine whether an individual will even be allowed to apply for asylum or will instead be summarily deported) increasingly conducted by video. In fact, more than 60 percent of credible fear interviews were conducted by video in 2007. A recent study demonstrated that asylum seekers who have their immigration court asylum hearings conducted by video are about half as likely to be granted asylum. Through our pro bono representation work, and in conducting research for this report, we have learned of many refugees who were jailed for many months—and some for years—in these prison-like facilities before being granted asylum in this country. Many asylum seekers could have been released from detention while their cases were pending, either on parole or through an immigration court custody hearing. Providing asylum seekers with access to fair release procedures does not undermine security. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security’s regulations and guidelines on parole expressly prohibit the release of an individual who presents a risk to the community or a flight or security risk. The case law governing immigration court custody hearings also requires that the individual establish that he or she does not present a danger to others, a threat to national security, or a flight risk. In some cases, asylum seekers could have been released, at significant savings, to a supervised release program. In fact, while detention costs $95 each day on average, alternatives to detention cost $10 to $14 for each person each day. Individuals who have been released through these programs have continued to appear for their immigration court hearings at high rates—ranging from 93 to 99 percent. According to ICE, participants in the intensive supervision appearance program (ISAP) demonstrated a 91 percent compliance with removal orders as well. Details: New York: Human Rights First, 2009. 105p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2012 at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/090429-RP-hrf-asylum-detention-report.pdf Year: 2009 Country: United States URL: http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/090429-RP-hrf-asylum-detention-report.pdf Shelf Number: 124761 Keywords: Asylum, Right of (U.S.)Immigrant DetentionImmigrantsPolitical Refugees |
Author: Costello, Cathryn Title: Building Empirical Research into Alternatives to Detention: Perceptions of Asylum-Seekers and Refugees in Toronto and Geneva Summary: 5 Executive Summary This research study examines the workings of ‘alternatives to detention’ (ATDs) through empirical research in two contexts, Toronto, Canada, and Geneva, Switzerland. Relying on a detailed literature review, and qualitative research carried out in summer 2012 in Toronto and Geneva, the report attempts to capture the workings of ATDs in particular from the perspective of the asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants they most closely affect. The study identifies the cooperative predisposition of asylum-seekers, which seems to be rooted in four subjective factors, namely: (1) the refugee predicament and fear of return; (2) inclination towards lawabidingness and commitment to obey the law; (3) trust and perceptions of fairness of the host state, in particular in its Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process; and (4) the desire to avoid irregular residence, in particular the attendant hardship and vulnerability. The report crucially identifies the conditions that foster cooperation, by assessing the interviewees' experiences of the divergent reception conditions available in Toronto and Geneva. ATDs seem more likely to encourage this cooperative disposition if they entail and are perceived to entail suitable reception conditions; fair RSD and other legal processes; and holistic support to navigate legal processes and life in the host country. Perceptions of RSD fairness seemed to depend on (1) being afforded a proper hearing; (2) consistency of decision-making; and (3) taking decisions promptly. The single most important institutional feature that fostered trust was (4) access to early reliable legal advice and assistance. The report also addresses the processes for securing release from immigration detention in Toronto and Geneva, namely detention reviews, to the extent that these procedures determine access to some ATDs. In Toronto, the work of the Toronto Bail Program (TBP) in the context of conditional release is examined. While accepting that some limitations exist in the TBP system, it is concluded that the TBP provides a potential model for supervised release of some asylum-seekers from detention. Details: Geneva, SWIT: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 2013. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 9, 2013 at: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51a6fec84.pdf Year: 2013 Country: International URL: http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/51a6fec84.pdf Shelf Number: 129283 Keywords: Asylum, Right of (Canada, Switzerland)Immigrant DetentionPolitical Refugees |
Author: Girma, Marchu Title: Detained: Women Asylum Seekers Locked Up in the UK Summary: In 2012, 6,071 women came to the UK seeking asylum in their own right and 1,902 women who had sought asylum were detained. For this report, Women for Refugee Women talked to 46 women who had sought asylum and had been detained, mainly in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre, about their experiences. The report also includes new official statistics on women who have sought asylum and been detained, supplied by the Home Office to Women for Refugee Women. Persecution We found that 33 women, or 72%, said that they had been raped, 19 women, or 41%, said that they had been tortured. 40 women, over 85%, had been either raped or tortured. More than half of the women we spoke to said that they had been persecuted, 'Because I am a woman.' Eight women, or 18%, were persecuted because they are lesbians. 'When the big door closed it brought back everything that had happened to me back home when I was in prison. I thought that I was going to be raped. The fear overtook me. I felt that I was not strong enough to go through anything like that again.' Despair All of the women in our sample told us that detention made them unhappy, 93% felt depressed, 85% felt scared, and more than half thought about killing themselves. Ten women, more than one in five, had tried to kill themselves. One third had been on suicide watch in detention. 'Living is not worthwhile anymore. Being dead would be much better.' Time Within our sample, the shortest stay in detention was three days, the longest stay was 11 months and the average was nearly three months. Home Office statistics show that of the 1,867 women who had sought asylum and left detention in 2012, 735, or 40%, had been detained for more than a month. 'The most depressing thing is that you don't know how long you're going to be here or if you'll still be here tomorrow.' Staff 40 women said they had been guarded by male staff and 70% of these said this made them uncomfortable. 50% said a member of staff had verbally abused them. Three women said they had been physically assaulted and one said she was sexually assaulted. 'They are verbally abusive in here... They just see you like animals.' 'The way they treat you. They want to get rid of you. You feel neglected and unwanted.' Detained Fast Track 12 women in our sample were held in the Detained Fast Track, in which the whole asylum case is heard in detention at accelerated speed. All but one said they were victims of rape or torture. In 2012, 429 women who had sought asylum were taken into the Detained Fast Track, of whom 20, or fewer than 5%, were granted leave to remain at the initial decision. 'Fast track makes you feel nervous and unsafe. Constant worrying and heartache.' Outcomes Home Office statistics released for this report show that of the 1,867 women who had sought asylum and who left detention in 2012, only 674, or 36%, were removed from the UK. The others were released into the UK. Our research suggests that this unnecessary detention has an ongoing impact on the mental health of vulnerable women. 'When I left detention, Yarl's Wood followed me to Manchester. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a trance, I feel I hear the footsteps of the officers, I hear the banging of the doors and the sound of their keys. Even though I'm out of detention, I'm not really out - I still have those dreams.' Recommendations We believe that detention has no place in the asylum process and that women who seek sanctuary in the UK should not be detained while their cases are being considered. Their cases can be heard while they are living in the community at much less cost and with less trauma to the asylum seekers themselves. For more detailed recommendations see page 43. Details: London: Women for Refugee Women, 2014. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 12, 2014 at: http://refugeewomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/WRWDetained.pdf Year: 2014 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://refugeewomen.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/WRWDetained.pdf Shelf Number: 131860 Keywords: Asylum, Right ofFemale InmatesPolitical Refugees |