People around the world seek asylum because they cannot safely return to their homes. They may flee from violence or threats of harm, war, extreme poverty, gang activity, sexual orientation, gender identity or political opinions. Millions of children, women and men risk their lives to build a new life abroad. They are seeking the protection that international law and human rights standards call for governments to provide.
The number of affirmative asylum requests jumped to record levels in fiscal year (FY) 2022 and continued to increase in FY 2023. In addition, the defensive asylum backlog has grown dramatically. This is in part due to a global rise in forced migration and the Trump administration’s policies that limit access to the U.S. refugee resettlement program and immigration court asylum cases for people who seek protection at U.S. ports of entry or who are already in the country and apply for asylum.
Asylum applicants are required to demonstrate that they have a well-founded fear of persecution for their race, religion, nationality or membership in a particular social group. They must also establish that their country does not have effective government institutions or mechanisms to protect them or stop the harm they are facing.
Some people are ineligible for asylum, including those who fail to apply within one year of their most recent arrival in the United States and those who pose a threat to the country or have persecuted others. In addition, courts have found that DHS is obligated to provide those seeking asylum with adequate notice of this one-year deadline and a uniform process for filing applications.
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