People from around the world leave their homes and embark on a difficult journey to build new lives in other countries. They may seek to escape violence or persecution, or simply believe that life in their homeland is no longer sustainable. They are called refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. The qualifications for refugee status and asylum differ, and refugees and asylum seekers follow different processes. Asylum is a discretionary status that protects individuals who fear persecution in their country of origin for reasons such as race, religion, nationality, political opinions or membership in a social group.
Millions of migrants have fled their homes to escape war, poverty, political instability, natural disasters and gang violence. They often face grueling conditions on their journey and are exposed to many dangers, including physical abuse and psychological trauma. Many are exploited by criminal human smugglers who threaten, rob and traffic them. Some are victimized by sexual exploitation and modern slavery.
President Biden has sought to end many of the Trump administration’s restrictive asylum policies, including reversing a metering policy that restricts access to ports of entry, restoring asylum protections for victims of domestic and gang violence, expanding TPS protections to several more countries, raising the annual cap on refugee admissions, and establishing a family reunification task force. Despite these efforts, the number of asylum seekers and migrants in deportation proceedings remains high, and the backlog of cases in immigration courts reached 1.5 million at the end of fiscal year 2024.
