Asylum Defense Attorney In Boulder

There are many ways to lawfully enter the United States. Immigration is often sponsored by a family member or employer. The law also creates many different humanitarian grounds for issuing visas. Victims of human trafficking and other specified crimes can apply for humanitarian visas. The broadest humanitarian category is for refugees. If eligible, refugees may claim asylum and petition for a visa or green card on that basis. An asylum defense attorney in Boulder can help you prove this difficult case. 

What Is Asylum?

Asylum is legal protection granted to foreign citizens who arrive at the border (or are already in the country) who qualify as refugees. Asylum allows the refugee to remain in the country with lawful immigration status. But who qualifies as a refugee? The United States Code defines a refugee as someone who is:

•  Unwilling or unable to return to his or her home country
•  Because of persecution (or a well-founded fear of persecution)
•  Based upon race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or a political opinion.

Anyone who participated in such persecution (or ordered, incited, or assisted in it) does not qualify as a refugee. While many types of persecution can qualify, one specific example listed in the Code is population control measures. Forced abortion, involuntary sterilization, and other population control measures are specifically named as qualifying persecution. A person can qualify as a refugee if they were either subjected to these procedures or persecuted for failing to submit to them.    

Why Asylum Cases Have Become So Much More Difficult To Prove

Historically, there has been no separation of politics and immigration. Recent years have been no exception. Donald Trump ran his campaign and presidential administration on a platform of being tough on immigration. This resulted in far fewer humanitarian visas and green cards being issued under his administration. 

Asylum seekers were turned away at the border. If they were able to enter the country, they were often detained by Border Patrol agents for much longer, and in harsher conditions. It was much harder to appear in court to make a case for asylum. If a refugee was able to get a court date, judges scrutinized asylum cases far more carefully and were less likely to grant refugee status. All of this made it far more difficult – and for many refugees, impossible – to obtain the legal protection of asylum.

The Biden Administration has taken a much different approach toward immigration. Wait times are shorter, detention conditions are reported to be better, and the path to asylum has generally been considered less onerous under his tenure. But this has not erased the difficulties created within the immigration system over the previous four years. There is still a significant backlog of asylum cases to process. Many judges appointed by Trump will continue to implement his policies in the courtroom, and his appointees throughout the Department of Homeland Security are also likely to continue implementing his policies. So what does this mean for asylum seekers? On the whole, U.S. immigration is opening up for refugees, but it is still difficult to achieve a legal grant of asylum.  

The Right Boulder Immigration Attorneys For Boulder Asylum Defense Cases

The experienced immigration attorneys at Joseph & Hall have handled all types of asylum cases. The sooner you have an experienced asylum attorney fighting on your side, the better protected your legal right to immigrate will be. Visit our website to schedule a consultation or to find the office closest to you. We help clients with cases in Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, Frisco, and other surrounding areas.