House and Senate conferees have agreed to restrictive language from the Real ID Act that will impose onerous new burdens on refugees seeking asylum in the United States. These provisions are tacked onto a spending bill to support U.S. military operations in Iraq.
One provision will permit an immigration judge to deny a refugee asylum on the basis of an inconsistent statement even if it is completely irrelevant to the asylum claim itself. Similarly, judges will now be able to deny a refugee protection if he or she does not have documentation of persecution — difficult for many who flee quickly for their lives — or because of the applicant’s demeanor in court.
“These new restrictions will do terrible damage to the ability of refugees to gain the protection they deserve,” said Elisa Massimino, Washington Director of Human Rights First.
“The bill seriously erodes the basic rights of asylum applicants and flies in the face of America’s historic commitment to refugees,” said Massimino. “America was built on a promise to protect those who come here seeking safety from religious or political persecution. This bill betrays that promise. The doors to the shining city on the hill are closing.”
Although the White House had initially expressed concerns about the asylum provisions of the REAL ID Act, it ultimately supported attaching the bill to the emergency spending measure. “Whatever concern the White House had about the impact of the bill on refugees, it didn’t translate into a strong push to convince House Republicans to relent,” noted Cory Smith, Legislative Counsel at Human Rights First. “When the Real ID restrictions become law, Chinese democracy activists fleeing torture, or Sudanese families fleeing ethnic cleansing in Darfur, are much less likely to get the protection they deserve,” Smith added.
Opponents of the Real ID Act were successful in maintaining some judicial review in these cases, eliminating a House proposal which would have allowed the Department of Homeland Security to deport refugees even while their cases were pending before a federal court. “The House provision would have made a mockery of federal court review in refugee cases,” said Massimino. In addition, the bill will eliminate the arbitrary caps on the number of refugees who can get green cards every year and on the number of refugees who can be granted asylum based on having fled forced abortion or sterilization.
Human Rights First led a broad coalition of religious and human rights groups in opposing the restrictive asylum provisions of REAL ID. “The work of groups like the National Association of Evangelicals, the Southern Baptist Convention, and the Anti-Defamation League, and Congressional leaders like Senator Sam Brownback, resulted in some of the worst provisions being scaled back,” said Smith.
