The Law of Asylum in the United States

Book excerpt: This book provides a detailed guide to the substantive and procedural law of asylum and refugee protection in the United States. In approaching this task it combines detailed discussions of actual doctrine and case law with explanations of the important details of this law's administrative practice. After defining what is meant by the term 'asylum', the author examines the legal framework which exists for the protection of refugees or asylum seekers. Given that this framework is derived from sources of both international and domestic law, the author devotes separate sections to international law, international refugee law and domestic law. The author then clarifies which individuals are entitled to apply for asylum and the withholding of deportation, before attempting a 'when, where and how' appraisal of the application procedure itself. The book presents a comprehensive assessment of the applicant's rights and examines the criteria which must be fulfilled, in theory, for an application to be successful (i.e. for a persecution claim to be proved). Finally, the book has some interesting features in its lengthy appendices: a list of lawyers who have had experience in representing asylum claimants from different countries (contact addresses testify to the book's function as a practical guide); a human rights documentation resource list; and the reproduction, in detail, of both case summaries and the full texts of several decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals.