The Asylum System and How its Being Used to Impact Immigration in the US Today

After WWII, in 1951, the United States adopted international standards set by the United Nations Refugee Convention. Then, in 1980, the Refugee Act established the modern U.S. refugee and asylum system, which defines a refugee as someone with a “well-founded fear of persecution” based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. It gave the president the authority to set annual refugee admissions - in consultation with Congress. It also created the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which helps refugees integrate. Humanitarian parole programs and asylum procedures all operate under the authority of the 1980 Refugee Act, which remains the legal foundation for protecting those fleeing persecution and frames asylum as a legal right. https://archivesfoundation.org/documents/refugee-act-1980/

Over the last decade, humanitarian groups reported armed conflicts and other violence in many countries affecting civilian populations, causing internal displacement, migration, disappearances, and prison overcrowding. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic added to these burdens. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/latin-america-armed-violence-conflict-internal-displacement-migration-disappearances “While the Biden Administration used humanitarian parole to admit individuals from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Ukraine, the Trump administration has sought to tighten asylum access and increase its detentions and restrictions on humanitarian parole. Furthermore, reinforcement measures and legislative proposals aim to limit access, particularly for migrants from Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

In January 2025, the president issued an executive order: “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats” expanding the travel ban. The order creates new directives wholly designed to make it more difficult for foreign nationals seeking to enter, as well as those already in the United States since January 20, 2021, to retain their status.

On January 29, 2025, the Laken Riley Act was signed into law. It is named after a nursing student who was murdered by an undocumented immigrant. It mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants accused or charged with theft-related crimes and those accused of assaulting a police officer.

In February 2025, under the president’s order, the Department of Homeland Security, signaled intent to revoke parole status for hundreds of thousands of people who were lawfully admitted under the Cuban-Haitian-Nicaraguan-Venezuelan (CHNV) program, putting them at risk of deportation. Additionally, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans was terminated, stripping deportation protections and work permits from 300,000 individuals. The suspension of the federal refugee parole program jeopardizes many Afghans who helped U.S. forces during the war to face retaliation or death if sent back to their home country. Citizens from countries like Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen face full entry bans under the expanded travel ban. Asian Nationals from countries such as Myanmar, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan face partial restrictions, including bans on certain visa categories, and enhanced security screenings. These policies reflect a departure from the humanitarian intent of the 1980 Refugee Act, and are aimed instead, toward criminalization and deterrence.

On March 15th, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, marking the first use of the Act since World War II. This made it possible to deport Venezuelan migrants accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang. Aggressive deportation efforts have led to the separation of families, particularly affecting U.S. citizen children with undocumented parents. Reports of poor detention conditions and the use of facilities like Guantanamo Bay for housing migrants have drawn condemnation from human rights organizations. Despite legal challenges and a federal judge's ruling that the statute could not be used in this context, the administration proceeded with deportations.

The Administration continues to violate the Constitution and court rulings, even as high as the Supreme Court. Removal from the United States to another country and denying individuals their right to Due Process - allowing them the right to defend themselves against accusations - are all violations of the Constitution.