New Report: “Lives in Limbo: How the Boston Asylum Office Fails Asylum Seekers”

A new report authored by immprof Anna R. Welch of the University of Main School of Law, the Refugee and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Maine School of Law, in collaboration with the ACLU of Maine, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) and Dr. Basileus Zeno, uncovers concerning practices at the Boston Asylum Office. A full copy of the just-released report is available here.

From 2015 to 2020, the Boston Asylum Office approved a mere 15 percent of asylum applications, a rate much lower than the national approval rate of 28 percent. In 2021, the approval rate in Boston plummeted even further, to just 11 percent. To date, there has been no adequate explanation of why this approval rate is so low. The new report includes investigation based on a FOIA request and lawsuit to obtain documents and data about asylum adjudication in Boston. The report also relies on interviews with dozens of individuals, including asylees, asylum seekers, former asylum officers and immigration attorneys as part of our investigation.

At a press conference on the release of the report, Professor Welch had this to say: “The failures documented in the report are not unique to the Boston Asylum Office. The discriminatory procedures in Boston are a small window into the larger systemic issues within U.S. immigration policy. As the global refugee crisis continues to grow with the crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, it is imperative that refugees are rightfully protected pursuant to U.S. law and policy as they seek asylum in the United States.”

IE