Republicans Question Immigration Officials on Rise in Asylum Seekers
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
December 13, 2013 9:48 am
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House Republicans held a hearing on Thursday to question immigration officials about a spike in asylum seekers that are being allowed to stay in the country after crossing the border illegally.
The number of immigrants being allowed to stay in 2013 is nearly triple the number in 2012 and six times the number allowed to stay each year during the Bush administration, according to the Wall Street Journal.
U.S. immigration officials in fiscal 2013 recorded a total of 36,026 “credible-fear” declarations, where migrants state their fear of being harmed on return to their homelands, and are allowed to remain in the U.S. while pursuing asylum. That total was nearly triple the number recorded during fiscal 2012 and about six times annual totals during the Bush administration.
“The world is not twice as dangerous as it was in 2012, so what explains the spike?” said Rep. Trey Gowdy (R., S.C.).
The House Judiciary Committee hearings were the latest by Republicans challenging the Obama administration’s performance on border security, which many in Congress have said is crucial to their support for a comprehensive immigration law overhaul.
http://freebeacon.com/republicans-qu...sylum-seekers/
Are Asylum Seekers Abusing The System?
Friday, December 13, 2013
Monica Ortiz Uribe / Fronteras Desk
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Congressional Research Service
This graph shows the rise in credible fear claims.
The number of people seeking asylum in the United States more than doubled this year, raising suspicion among some members of Congress. The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Thursday to question whether some asylum seekers are abusing the system.
According to data compiled by the Congressional Research Service, in 2012 nearly 14,000 immigrants set for deportation said their lives would be endangered if they returned home. This year that number shot up to 36,000. Immigration officials call this a 'credible fear' claim. This claim can begin an application for asylum.
The sudden surge of these claims concerns members of the House Judiciary Committee, including Republican Trey Gowdy.
"It is impossible to explain to the people we work for anything other than someone has found a way to game the system," Gowdy said during Thursday's hearing.
Republican members cited a leaked government memo detailing a case where a women was granted asylum and later arrested at a checkpoint with $1 million worth of cocaine.
Government witnesses, however, said they didn't know why credible fear claims increased so sharply in the last year. Ruth Wasem, with the Congressional Research Service, said more evidence is needed.
"An increase in asylum or credible fear claims in and of itself, does not signify an increase in abuse of the asylum process," she said.
Under a 2009 directive by former Immigration and Customs Enforcement director John Morton, asylum seekers who meet certain requirements can be released from detention and given a work permit while their case is pending in court. Those eligible for release must not be a threat to national security, have proof of their nationality and not pose a flight risk.
http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/dec/13...busing-system/
