A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) analyzes statistics from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to show how asylum petitions have increased since 2004. According to the report, credible fear asylum cases began to dramatically increase after the Obama administration’s catch-and-release policy was enacted in 2009.
Jessica Vaughan, CIS’ director of policy studies and author of the report, said, "Contrary to the impression given by the Obama administration and advocacy groups, we are not obliged to accept this flood of illegal arrivals and offer them entry to our country. This influx is not a force of nature, nor a consequence of events abroad; it is the result of the Obama administration's catch-and-release policy."
Current immigration law says that asylum applicants are supposed to be held in custody until their asylum claim is fully reviewed. Pres. Obama’s catch-and-release executive action, however, allows illegal aliens to be released once their initial credible fear claim is approved.
Around 90% of asylum cases are initially approved for credible fear even though evidence showed that only around 30% of these cases were fraud-free. Out of the initially approved cases around 90% will not qualify for asylum but are not considered a priority for deportation so many will continue to stay in the country.
Once the asylum application has been initially approved for credible fear the applicant is allowed to apply for a work permit once their asylum case has been pending for 150 days. Most of the applicants have to wait several years for a hearing in front of an immigration judge and many never show up for the hearing.
In her report Vaughan asks, “If applicants from these countries are not very likely to be approved, then why are they being allowed into the country to make a claim?”
You can read the full CIS report here.
