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proceedings are begun immediately after their arrival or
apprehension. Those individuals can apply for asylum only
as a defense against removal during proceedings to deport
them to their country of nationality.
Asylum in Perspective
Contrary to popular belief, it is not easy to get
political asylum. Approximately four of five affirmative
asylum applications are rejected by the U.S. government.15
That fortunate one does not swell the population; only
18,556 people were granted asylum in FY96 by INS and immi-
gration judges combined,16 a small number compared with a
U.S. population of more than 260 million.
However, taking a sober look at statistics is not often
on policymakers' minds, given some sensationalistic news
accounts. A 1993 portrayal of U.S. asylum law broadcast on
60 Minutes typifies such accounts. That report created the
impression that few, if any, claims of asylum in the United
States are legitimate.
The 60 Minutes story emphasized the fact that Sheik
Omar Abdel-Rahman, who was suspected of being connected to
the World Trade Center bombing, had applied for political
asylum in the United States. The story spotlighted the
asylum system. Such stories are what many lawmakers think
of first when they think about political asylum.
But the tone of the story was inaccurate and mislead-
ing. That tone was set at the beginning of the program,
when the preview quoted a representative from the Federation
for American Immigration Reform (FAIR): "Every single person
on the planet Earth, if he gets into this country, can stay
indefinitely by saying two magic words: political asylum."17
That preview made it seem that asylum seekers can effort-
lessly create a new life: whether they are persecuted or
not, all they need to do is say the two magic words and--
abracadabra--they get political asylum. That impression was
reinforced throughout the program by continual references to
the "two magic words" even though the program ultimately
recognized that asylum seekers can stay in the United States
only until the INS gets around to hearing their claims.
That tone is not surprising because the only indepen-
dent organization quoted is FAIR, an organization widely