What is a frivolous asylum application and how can it harm immigrants?
Thousands of immigrants try to cross the US border illegally, while others try to do so by seeking political asylum, even if they know they don’t qualify.
The United States has long been a focus of immigration, with thousands of people trying to cross the border to escape poverty, war, famine, and for various other reasons. Some criminal organizations try to take advantage of and profit from the vulnerable position of immigrants by encouraging them to file so-called frivolous asylum applications. The federal government is trying to put in place measures to prevent these types of applications from occurring in the country.
What is a frivolous asylum application?
Before knowing what a frivolous asylum application is, we must first understand what political asylum entails. When a person requests asylum from the federal government, they try to ask for protection while on US soil to avoid persecution which would happen if they return to their country of origin. Unscrupulous groups take advantage of the concept of political asylum to try to bring people in illegally and obtain the Green Card faster.
A frivolous asylum application takes place when the person in question invents stories or lies to qualify for political asylum. Though they may do this on their own, some people are convinced by organized crime groups to circumvent the immigration system to be able to stay in the United States. The groups promise to deceive immigration agents to ensure that the application comes out in a shorter period of time and in a favorable way. The resolution of applications for political asylum may take years to come out, with the government saying that being inside the country lessens the risk to the person in question.
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Frivolous asylum applications are bad for immigrants, especially those who are going through the process in the right way. These false claims clog up the system, lengthening the process for legitimate asylum applications.
Frivolous applications also paint a bad picture of immigrants as liars who would say anything to be allowed to stay in the US, and this serves as fuel for anti-immigration sentiment.
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Requirements to request political asylum
According to the official website of the federal government, a person who tries to request political asylum in the country must meet the following requirements:
- Be inside the United States
- Be able to demonstrate that they were persecuted or have a fear of persecution in their home country due to their race, religion, nationality, association with a social group and/or political opinion.