..AS WELL AS EXPANDING NATO. A NEW REPORT OUT TODAY FINDS — THE OFFICE THAT REVIEWS POLITICAL ASYLUM APPLICATIONS FOR NEW ENGLAND HAS THE SECOND- LOWEST APPROVAL RATE IN THE U- S. WMTW NEWS 8’S NORAH HOGAN IS HERE TO BREAK DOWN THAT REPORT FOR US. <NORAH HOG> AN “THE BOSTON ASYLUM OFFICE APPROVED ONLY 15-PERCE NT OF ASYLUM APPLICATIONS BETWEEN 20 A15ND 2020. THAT APPROVAL RATE IS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER THAN THE AVERAGE APPROVAL RATE TINAONALLY – WHICH IS 28 PERCENT.” <ANNA WELCH/PROFESSOR MAINE LA W> “BEGINNING IN 2015 AND 2016 SOON AFTER THE BOSTON ASYLUM OFFICE OPENED, WE WITNESSED A TROUBLING TREND IN DECISIONS. WHEN THE APPLICATI ON APPROVAL RATE DROPPED, LAWYERS AND ADVOCATES IN MAINE NOTICED. <ANNA WELCH/PROFESSOR MAINE LAW> “WE WENT FROM WITNESSING OUT CLIENTS WIN NEARLY EVERY CASE, TO WATCHING NEARLY ALL OF THEM RECEIVE DENIALS OR REFERRALS TO IMMIGRATION COURT.” MANY OF THESE APPLICATIONS AREN’T DENIED OUTRIGHT – MOST CASES ARE REFEREDO T IMMIGRATION COURT, WHERE MANY ASYLUM SEEKERS ARE EVENTUALLY APPROVED. <JENNIFER BAILEY/IMMIGRANT LEGAL ADVOCACY> “BONAFEDE REFUGES ARE BEING SENT BEFORE A JUDGE TO PLEAD ANBED G FOR PROTECTION WHEN THEY COULD HAVE AND SHOULD HAVE BN EE GRANTED ASYLUM IN THE FIRST INSTANCE.” THE REPORT ALSO SHOWS A PREFERNCE FOR CERTAIN COUNTRIES. THE OFFICE GRANTED ASYLUM FOR ONL2 Y PERCENT OF APPLICANTS FROM ANGOLA AND 4 PERCENT OF APPLICANTS FROM DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO – TWO OF THE MOST COMMON PLACES OF ORIGIN FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS ARRIVING HERE IN MAIN E. <ANAHITA SOTOOHI/ACLU OF MAINE> “WE LEARNED THAT THE BOSTON ASYLUM OFFICE APPROVES APPLICANTS FROM CENTRAL AFRICA AND EL SALVADOR AT A MUCH MUCH LOWER RATE THAN IT APPROVES APPLICANTS FROM THE MIDDLE EASEVT EN THOUGH ALL THE COUNTIES INVOLVED HAVE COMMITTED WELL DOCUMENTED HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AGAINST THEIR CITIZENS” THE REPORT, WHICH WAS WRITTEN BY U- MAINE LAW SCHOOL, I-LIAP AND A-C-L-U MAINE CALLS FOR NEW TRAINING PROTOCOLS IN THE BOSTON OFFICE. THEY SAY UNCHECKED BIASES AND HEAVY CASELOADS ARE PROBABLY TO BLAME FOR THE DISCREPENCIES HIGHLIGHTED IN THIS REPORT. <ANAHITA SOTOOHI/ACLU OF MAIN E> “THEY HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR WORK IN A TIMELINE THAT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR E TH THOROUGH REVIEW DUE PROCESS REQUIRES.” <NORAH HOGAN> “WHEN ASKED FOR COMMENT, A SPOKESPERSON FROM U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES SD AI QUOTE — “U-S-C-I- S ADJUDICATORS EVA
Report critical of Boston office handling political asylum applications from Maine
Updated: 10:25 PM EDT Mar 23, 2022
A new report on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ designated office for handling political asylum applications from people living in Maine has found an asylum approval rate well below the national average.The report, ‘Lives in Limbo: How The Boston Asylum Office Fails Asylum Seekers,’ was assembled by the University of Maine Law School, the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP), and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.Reviewing data from the Boston Asylum Office, the report found between 2015 and 2020, the office approved 15% of asylum applications, compared to a 28% national approval rate.The Boston approval rate dipped to a low of 11% in 2021, while the national rate was 27%.Of ten regional asylum claim offices during this period, only New York’s had an approval rate lower than Boston’s, at 11%, the report found.The highest approval rate, 52%, was granted by the San Francisco office.The Boston Asylum Office processes claims for refugees in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine.Since 2019, Maine has welcomed an influx of hundreds of asylum seekers from Africa, particularly from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and their asylum applications have not fared well, the report found.The Boston Asylum Office has approved only 2% of the 253 applications from Angolan nationals and 4% of the 163 applications from DRC nationals, the report found.For comparison, the Newark Asylum Office, approved 17% of Angolan applications and 33% of DRC applications, according to the report.Citizens from other African nations had a higher approval rate in Boston – 48% for applicants from Cameroon, 26% of those from Burundi, 21% from Uganda, and 20% from Rwanda.The most successful applications in the Boston Asylum Office came from Iranian nationals – 69% were approved – followed by citizens from Turkey and Afghanistan, at 59% apiece. The office approved 34% of applications from Syrians.A majority of asylum applications are not denied but referred to immigration courts, according to Anna Welch, a University Maine School of Law professor who led the research project.“The vast majority of our clients do win in court, but immigration courts in Boston and nationwide face multi-year backlogs,” Welch said in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday. “Delays have led to family members abroad getting murdered and/or tortured and have led to the years-long separation of children from parents, spouses from one another, among a number of dire impacts.”Welch cited high caseloads, time constraints, burnout, and compassion fatigue among Boston asylum officers as likely causes for low approval rates.The Boston Asylum Office is twice as likely to approve applications from English-speaking asylum seekers compared to non-English speakers, the report found.Anahita Sotoohi, an ACLU legal fellow, said, “Instead of an open, non-adversarial process that acknowledges the trauma refugees have been through, asylum applicants often get a combative interview that is more focused on identifying fraud than finding the truth.”Nationwide, the immigration court backlog reached nearly 1.6 million pending cases by the end of 2021, the highest level ever, according to a January report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at the Syracuse University School of Law.In a written response to the report, a USCIS spokesperson said: “USCIS adjudicators evaluate every petition and application fairly, humanely, and efficiently on a case-by-case basis before issuing a determination, and agency employees welcome people from all parts of the world to add their unique skills and talents to our American fabric. To accomplish our mission, our agency’s workforce must carry themselves as professional stewards with all those we serve, and ensure they reflect high ethical standards in the workplace. USCIS remains committed to increasing access to eligible immigration benefits, breaking down barriers in the immigration system, and restoring faith and trust with our immigrant communities.”
A new report on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ designated office for handling political asylum applications from people living in Maine has found an asylum approval rate well below the national average.
The report, ‘Lives in Limbo: How The Boston Asylum Office Fails Asylum Seekers,’ was assembled by the University of Maine Law School, the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP), and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine.
Reviewing data from the Boston Asylum Office, the report found between 2015 and 2020, the office approved 15% of asylum applications, compared to a 28% national approval rate.
The Boston approval rate dipped to a low of 11% in 2021, while the national rate was 27%.
Of ten regional asylum claim offices during this period, only New York’s had an approval rate lower than Boston’s, at 11%, the report found.
The highest approval rate, 52%, was granted by the San Francisco office.
The Boston Asylum Office processes claims for refugees in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Since 2019, Maine has welcomed an influx of hundreds of asylum seekers from Africa, particularly from Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and their asylum applications have not fared well, the report found.
The Boston Asylum Office has approved only 2% of the 253 applications from Angolan nationals and 4% of the 163 applications from DRC nationals, the report found.
For comparison, the Newark Asylum Office, approved 17% of Angolan applications and 33% of DRC applications, according to the report.
Citizens from other African nations had a higher approval rate in Boston – 48% for applicants from Cameroon, 26% of those from Burundi, 21% from Uganda, and 20% from Rwanda.
The most successful applications in the Boston Asylum Office came from Iranian nationals – 69% were approved – followed by citizens from Turkey and Afghanistan, at 59% apiece. The office approved 34% of applications from Syrians.
A majority of asylum applications are not denied but referred to immigration courts, according to Anna Welch, a University Maine School of Law professor who led the research project.
“The vast majority of our clients do win in court, but immigration courts in Boston and nationwide face multi-year backlogs,” Welch said in a virtual press briefing on Wednesday. “Delays have led to family members abroad getting murdered and/or tortured and have led to the years-long separation of children from parents, spouses from one another, among a number of dire impacts.”
Welch cited high caseloads, time constraints, burnout, and compassion fatigue among Boston asylum officers as likely causes for low approval rates.
The Boston Asylum Office is twice as likely to approve applications from English-speaking asylum seekers compared to non-English speakers, the report found.
Anahita Sotoohi, an ACLU legal fellow, said, “Instead of an open, non-adversarial process that acknowledges the trauma refugees have been through, asylum applicants often get a combative interview that is more focused on identifying fraud than finding the truth.”
Nationwide, the immigration court backlog reached nearly 1.6 million pending cases by the end of 2021, the highest level ever, according to a January report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at the Syracuse University School of Law.
In a written response to the report, a USCIS spokesperson said: “USCIS adjudicators evaluate every petition and application fairly, humanely, and efficiently on a case-by-case basis before issuing a determination, and agency employees welcome people from all parts of the world to add their unique skills and talents to our American fabric. To accomplish our mission, our agency’s workforce must carry themselves as professional stewards with all those we serve, and ensure they reflect high ethical standards in the workplace. USCIS remains committed to increasing access to eligible immigration benefits, breaking down barriers in the immigration system, and restoring faith and trust with our immigrant communities.”
