Term
| 2 types of law that evolved after WWII (the Holocaust) |
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Definition
1) Human Rights Law
2) Refugee Law |
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Term
| how did refugee law evolve from WWII |
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Definition
allies liberate German concentration camps
many people didn't want to go back to the place that had tortured them they wanted a new place to live
many countries realized they had contributed to the death toll because they refused to take refugees |
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Term
| where was founded for displaced European Jews that survived the Holocaust? |
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Definition
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Term
| the voyage of the St. Louis |
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Definition
"voyage of the damned"
these people managed to get out of Germany before the Holocaust only to be sent back and ultimately die |
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Term
| the memory of the _____________ is still part of the consciousness with regards to refugees |
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Definition
St. Louis
now the US questions what our obligations are to refugees |
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Term
| who was involved in stopping the St. Louis from landing in florida and why? |
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Definition
FDR and US Coast Guard
they thought it would be a slippery slope and if they let these people in more people would come over from Germany for refuge |
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Term
| where did the St. Louis first head to and why couldn't they stop there? |
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Definition
Cuba
the government in Cuba had changed once they started the voyage and the new government said they didn’t want them |
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Term
| legal definition of a refugee |
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Definition
| a person outside of their home country who has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, particular social group |
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Term
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Definition
| race, religion, nationality, political opinion, particular social group |
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Term
| 5 things the refugee definition excludes |
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Definition
1) internationally displaced people
2) people who flee their homeland for economic reasons
3) people fleeing natural disasters (no persecution)
4) people fleeing generalized violence (such as a civil war)
5) people who had already been safely resettled in a 3rd country |
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Term
| what are internationally displaced people? |
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Definition
people who are displaced within their home country
they cannot be considered refugees
(ex: people in Darfur) |
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Term
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Definition
prohibition to expel
principle of international law which forbids the rendering of a true victim of persecution to their persecutor (their home country)
"not sending back not returning" in French |
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Term
| what is the cornerstone of asylum and refugee law |
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Definition
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Term
| UN Refugee Convention (1951) |
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Definition
addressed refugee problem for the first time
very much a result of the Holocaust
defined what a refugee is |
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Term
| when did the UN Refugee Convention become effective, when did the US finally ratify it, and when does US implement legislation for it |
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Definition
1951
US ratifies in 1967
US implements legislation in 1980 (when it becomes binding) |
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Term
| until 1980 refugee decisions in the US were entirely ________ |
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Definition
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Term
| before 1980 who did the US let in the country as refugees? |
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Definition
only let in people fleeing from communist countries (reflected cold war policies)
people fleeing from ally countries were never given refugee status |
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Term
| what horrible dictators and countries did the US back during the Cold War and what was the consequent for refugees? |
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Definition
Argentina, Guatemala, El Salvador, Saddam Hussein
US wouldn't let in refugees from these countries because they could not admit that our allies had committed human rights violations |
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Term
| one obligation countries promise to do if they ratify the Refugee Convention |
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Definition
| not send refuges back to a country where their life or liberty will be threatened (the cornerstone of refugee law) non-refoulment |
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Term
| definition of a convention |
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Definition
| a binding multilateral treaty |
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Term
| 4 things the Refugee Convention allows |
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Definition
1) refugee camps (even permanent ones)
2) repatriation
3) allowed to send refugees to a safe 3rd country
4) refugee resettlement (US policy) |
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Term
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Definition
great dilemma in a lot of places
people are forced to live in refugee camps and aren't allowed to resettle and join other countries normally
this is abiding by the minimal obligation of just not sending people back to their home country |
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Term
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Definition
people are sent back to their home country after the threat passes
country waits for a crisis to pass then send people back
ex: Rwanda - hundreds of thousands of refugees outside Rwanda were sent back once they were not in danger |
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Term
| describe refugee resettlement in the US |
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Definition
once someone proves they are a refugee they are given refugee status for one year
then they can automatically apply for citizenship
US is actually very generous |
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Term
| what 2 countries are located right next to each other but were treated entirely different by US government |
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Definition
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Term
| how are Cubans treated under refugee law? |
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Definition
are presumed to be fleeing communism (Castro)
wet foot, dry foot status |
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Term
| what is the best organized immigrant group in the country? |
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Definition
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Term
| how are Haitians treated under refugee law? |
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Definition
assumed to be fleeing poverty
they are deportable because they are seen as only coming to US to escape poverty
subject to interdiction on the high seas (Kennebunkport Order) |
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Term
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Definition
| President Bush Sr. said Haitians could be stopped on the high seas so we weren’t obligated to give them refugee status |
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Term
| what is a credible hearing? |
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Definition
anyone that that comes to the us without documentation or with false documents is given an immediate credible fear interview
during these interviews they have about 15 minutes to prove there is a chance they might qualify as a refugee
part of homeland Security, people are trained to find out if people can qualify |
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Term
| challenges for credible fear hearings? |
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Definition
| language barriers, trauma, low level immigration officers |
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Term
| 3 requirements in a parole (bond) hearing for prospective refugees? |
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Definition
1) they are not a threat to the public
2) they have relatives in the country (aren't a burden on US tax payers)
3) they pay a cash bond of $3500 |
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Term
| what happens if people are unable to prove one of the three requirements during a parole (bond) hearing for prospective refugees? |
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Definition
| they are detained until their hearing |
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Term
| 5 rights not given to foreign nations in immigration hearings? |
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Definition
1) no Miranda warnings at the time of arrest
2) no 5th amendment right to remain silent
3) no 4th amendment protection for search and seizures
4) no 6h amendment right to counsel
5) no 8th amendment protection |
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Term
| 5th amendment (how does it effect foreign nations during immigrant hearings?) |
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Definition
right to remain silent
you can not refuse to answer a question if you're asking for asylum, your silence would be used against you |
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Term
| 4th amendment (how does it effect foreign nations during immigrant hearings?) |
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Definition
protection from "fruit of the poisonous tree" (illegal evidence)
asylum seekers are not protected from unlawful searches and seizures |
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Term
| 6th amendment (how does it effect foreign nations during immigrant hearings?) |
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Definition
right to counsel if you're accused of a felony
asylum seekers are not entitled to counsel |
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Term
| 8th amendment (how does it effect foreign nations during immigrant hearings?) |
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Definition
protection against cruel and unusual punishment
deportation is not considered cruel and unusual punishment |
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Term
| many characters in an asylum hearing |
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Definition
US immigration judge
Department of homeland Security Attorney
refugee attorney (often pro bono) |
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Term
| 3 parts of the structure of asylum hearings |
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Definition
1) direct examination - series of questions and answers to tell their story (lawyer cannot give leading questions)
2) cross examination - department of homeland attorney tries to discredit the person to show they aren't eligible
3) adversarial hearing - the adversarial process: answers come out through questioning |
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Term
| immigration judge in asylum hearings must decide what 3 things? |
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Definition
1) is the refugee believable? (credibility decision)
2) is there evidence for their claim?
3) would a reasonable person in their situation fear returning to their homeland? |
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Term
| what standard is used to assess the validity of immigrants claims in asylum hearings? |
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Definition
| "the reasonable person standard" |
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Term
| asylum hearing burden of proof |
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Definition
speaker must prove either:
1) severe past persecution or
2) a well founded real of future persecution |
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Term
| definition of persecution |
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Definition
| 1) when a government or 2) group the government is unable or unwilling (death squads or rebel groups, or someone working under the government like the police in Brazil) to control, 3) inflicts harm upon a person 4) in order to overcome some characteristic of that person |
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Term
| 5 types of harm that do not rise to the level of persecution |
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Definition
1) economic discrimination is not persecution
2) harassment is not persecution
3) valid criminal prosecution is not persecution
4) being a victim of common crime is not persecution
5) being a victim of generalized violence is not persecution |
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Term
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Definition
in asylum cases
ones fear of persecution must be on account of 1 of the 5 enumerated grounds |
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Term
| challenge for an asylum seeker regarding the nexus requirement? |
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Definition
| how do you get inside the head of your persecutor and prove why harm may be inflicted upon you? |
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Term
| race as one of the 5 enumerated grounds and examples |
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Definition
slavery based on race
persecution of ethnic groups
ex: Armenians in Turkey and indigenous Mayans in Guatemala |
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Term
| religion as one of the 5 enumerated grounds and examples |
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Definition
prohibiting membership in a certain religion
(ex: muslims in India, Christians in ISIS controlled areas, Hindus and Christians in Pakistan
pushing converts to a religion |
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Term
| nationality as one of the 5 enumerated grounds and examples |
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Definition
can overlap with ethnicity
ex: persecution of Vietnamese in Cambodia, Kurds in Iraq |
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Term
| political opinion as one of the 5 enumerated grounds and examples |
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Definition
opposition to a government or government policy
being a whistleblower (Edward Snowden)
includes imputed political opinions |
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Term
| particular social group as one of the 5 enumerated grounds and examples |
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Definition
asylum applicant must identify their political social group
cannot be too general (not just women)
cannot be too specific (lesbians with green eyes who smoke and speak ancient Greek) |
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Term
| imputed political opinions |
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Definition
you don’t actually have that opinion but people think that you do
you are mistakenly believed to hold a political opinion
someone thought to belong to a subversive group… or to be a government supporter |
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Term
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Definition
under particular social group (enumerated grounds)
harms inflicted upon women
now constitute a large body of asylum claims
ex: wartime rape, domestic violence, FGM, honor killings |
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Term
| what is often the only category available to women who have suffered gender based violence and want asylum |
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Definition
| particular political group |
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Term
| UN drafted the Refugee Convention in 1951 and this category meant to include cases that did not fit in other categories |
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Definition
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Term
| what are examples of gender based asylum claims |
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Definition
| wartime rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, honor killings |
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Term
| The particular social group identified by Fauziya Kassindja in her asylum claim |
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Definition
1) young women from a tribe that practices FGM
2) who have not undergone FGM
3) and who oppose the practice |
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Term
| The legal significance of the Kassindja case |
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Definition
1st person to receive political asylum from the US based on the threat of FGM
case broke new grounds with gender based asylum claim
case continues to serve as the foundation for the still evolving US and international movements to recognize gender violence as a basis for asylum |
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Term
| who threatened Meena's life in "Chasing Freedom" |
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Definition
| the Taliban because she was a teacher |
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Term
| how did Meena ultimately get granted asylum? |
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Definition
| it was finally reported that her brother had died in prison and since there was no one to verify for her she was given asylum |
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