The U.S asylum law has been an important part of the changes during the presidency of Donald Trump.
By: Valentina Osorio
Tags: Immigrants, Venezuela, Justice, Trump, Immigration

During his last year in office, he has decided to make drastic regulatory changes — leaving new applicants almost without the possibility of acquiring it.

According to the Migration Data Portal, until 2019 the immigrant population was 50.7 million, becoming part of 15% of the population of the United States.

Photo by Katie Moum on Unsplash

Political asylum includes all foreigners who have been in the United States for less than one year.

In addition to being part of an eligible class, such as political party, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social group, etc.

Last measure of Trump administration was the obligation to make applicants wait a year to receive their work permit and consequently their social security number after entering their application to the system.

Waiting for a year without being able to work legally in the United States requires almost perfect economic stability.

Counting on a savings plan that allows them to live in a country where they are sheltering for more than eleven months.

Most of the cases of applicants for political asylum are cases of emergency.

Some applicants flee their native country because their lives and that of their family are in danger.

With the measure suggested by Trump, the possibility for many foreigners is reduced.

Latin American countries are unfortunately a large part of the applicants.

According to Human Rights Watches, more than 4.9 million Venezuelans have fled their country in recent years and there are 108,000 Venezuelan asylum seekers in the United States.

The most common asylum cases of Venezuelans are based on the dictatorial government that Venezuela has suffered for almost 22 years.

One of the cases of persecution by the current Venezuelan government is that of JO, a young man of 21 years of age.

He immigrated to the United States in 2017, when he was only 19 years old.

He decided to seek refuge since his life and that of his family were at risk because persecutors from the government of Nicolas Maduro threatened to hurt and even kill him, for not agreeing with his political party.

During the years that JO has lived in the country, he has been trying to be informed about all the antecedents that the U.S has had on asylum applications.

“They should look for a more feasible solution for people who come seeking refuge. Because not all people have the possibility of paying their expenses for a whole year,” said JO.

“Trump’s new suggestion has been the consequence of the massive movement of immigrants in recent years,” said JO. Even though he considers it incorrect.

While many applicants have doubts about the new measures that Joe Biden’s future term may suggest, there are for-profit organizations that help immigrants.

Social service organizations such as Americans For Justice and Florida Immigrant Coalition have been created to uphold immigrant rights and maintain the commitment to work for the fair treatment of all immigrants.

Americans for Immigrant Justice (AI Justice) is a non-profit law firm that protects protecting cases such as human rights violations such as slavery, the denial of a legitimate asylum application.

“Over the last few years, the biggest problem has been changing rules and policies implemented by the administration which make it more difficult for asylum-seekers and individuals seeking to adjust status and obtain family-based green cards,” said Adonia Simpson, Director of Family Defense Program at AI Justice.

A large part of the political asylums that AI Justice supports are individuals from Venezuela and Cuba.

They are seeking asylum based on political opinion, some based on sexual orientation, and Central Americans fleeing gang-based persecution.

Applicants’ anguish is not only due to the changes that different governments can make.

Each application has a different filled and anxious process.

“The policy and rule changes also have the intended effect of sparking fear in the community. The fear created is often unfounded due to misinformation, but the damage has been done,” said Simpson.

Mrs. Simpson stated that AI Justice works to provide information to the community on the various changes and pronouncements on the rights of immigrants.

“We also provide legal screenings, so individuals know exactly what their options are given the current climate,” said Simpson.

Another service that AI Justice offers to immigrants is that it provides direct representation to ensure clients receive a fair day in court.

Changes happen frequently about political asylums in the United States.

“These changes raise a lot of concerns about due process rights and having a fair opportunity to seek an immigration benefit,” said Simpson.

According to the Joe Biden Agenda, the next president of the United States, will ensure that everyone is treated with dignity, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or disability.