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No. 299

March 24, 1998

Policy Analysis

NEW ASYLUM LAWS

Undermining an American Ideal

by Michele R. Pistone

Executive Summary

Human lives are being put in danger by the 1996 Immigra-

tion Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.  The new law

contradicts America's tradition of offering a safe haven to

people fleeing persecution by failing to accommodate the

unique and often tragic circumstances that confront those

seeking asylum.

The most damaging portion of the 1996 law is the one-

year filing deadline.  Many genuine asylum seekers will not

be able to meet the deadline because of the circumstances

they face, including the trauma of torture, the threat of

death, and fear for family members who remain in their home

country.

The 1996 changes were based on a sensationalized and

misleading portrayal of U.S. asylum law.  Only about 17,000

people are granted asylum in the United States each year.

Administrative reforms by the Immigration and Naturalization

Service in 1995 closed the major loopholes that existed at

the time, making the 1996 legislative changes at best unnec-

essary.

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Michele Pistone is an advocacy fellow (1997-99) at the Center

for Applied Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Cen-

ter.  During 1996 she served as the acting legal director of

the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in Washington, D.C.