New NPG Forum Paper Exposes Many Flaws in Refugee and Asylee System

NPG
August 30, 2018
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New NPG Forum Paper Exposes Many Flaws in Refugee and Asylee System

Calls for Massive Overhaul to Prevent Fraud and Corruption

Alexandria, VA – NPG President Donald Mann is pleased to release a new NPG Forum paper titled America’s Insane Asylum Policy Threatens National Security by NPG researcher Edwin S. Rubenstein.

Mann offered his comments relating recent Congressional activity on immigration reform and NPG’s latest addition to its extensive library by stating: “Congress has debated multiple immigration bills since the 115th Congress began more than 18 months ago. We still have no true reform and the situation grows more desperate by the day. NPG’s most recent paper reveals yet another component of our nation’s failed immigration policy which needs serious overhaul.”

Author Edwin S. Rubenstein explains: “Asylum has become a mass movement, available to any alien claiming persecution on account of race, religion, sexual identity, nationality, or political opinion. More than 20,000 people were granted asylum status in 2016; a back log of 700,000 applications await action in Federal immigration courts.”

In addition, “nearly 180,000 individuals apply for asylum each year,” and those who receive asylum status are offered special privileges not available to other immigrants, including the ability to petition to bring in spouses, children, and parents as legal immigrants through the chain migration process in only two years. This right is only available to other legal immigrants after a five year waiting period.

The first step in the process of applying for asylum is to establish a “credible fear” – an explanation as to why they have fled their home country. Rubenstein states, however, that this “fear” is very difficult to prove and the entire process is based on the testimony of the asylum seeker. Add to this the fact that many of the interviews are conducted through an interpreter, “making it impossible to size up an interviewee’s demeanor or vocal inflection when making a credible fear judgement.” Sadly, but perhaps not surprisingly, three-quarters of those interviewed pass the credible fear test.

Credible fear reviews have soared in recent years, growing by a multiple of more than 18 from 2009 to 2016. Rubenstein describes the situation as follows: “In 2009, DHS conducted a little more than 5,000 credible fear reviews. By 2016 that number increased to 91,876. The increase has been especially pronounced at the border, where these claims went from approximately 3,000 cases in 2009 to more than 69,000 in 2016.”

President Mann offered: “How is it acceptable to go from 5,000 cases in 2009 to more than 91,000 cases in just seven years? Why is no one questioning this dramatic increase, and more importantly, why is no one working diligently to stop the abuse of this system and the incredibly broad definition of ‘credible fear?’ Asylum status should be reserved for those truly in danger, not as a free pass for those illegally entering our nation and demanding that we allow them to stay.”

NPG President Donald Mann praised Rubenstein and his new paper by stating: “Ed is truly a remarkable researcher and writer, and we are grateful to have him on our team. He presents a clear and authoritative argument on one of the most abused segments of current immigration law.”

Craig Lewis, NPG’s Executive Vice President, stated: “NPG has worked for more than 45 years to draw much-needed attention to the fact that immigration-driven population growth is leading to massive environmental, economic, and social destruction for our nation. Immigration is the driving force behind our population growth and in the near future will account for nearly all growth in this country. We must begin to turn this trend around if we expect to leave our children and grandchildren a decent quality of life. Rewriting the rules regarding who should qualify for asylum status must be a core element of these discussions.”

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