A Historic Opportunity to Update Asylum Law's Outdated Assumptions About Trauma and Memory
Authors: Erin Shortell, Aldis H. Petriceks, Francis X. Shen, Judith G. Edersheim
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2021)

Ideas and OpinionsAugust 2021A Historic Opportunity to Update Asylum Law's Outdated Assumptions About Trauma and MemoryErin Shortell, JD, MPH*, Aldis H. Petriceks, BA*, Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD†, and Judith G. Edersheim, JD, MD†Erin Shortell, JD, MPH*Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (E.S.)Search for more papers by this author, Aldis H. Petriceks, BA*Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (A.H.P., J.G.E.)Search for more papers by this author, Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD†University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (F.X.S.)Search for more papers by this author, and Judith G. Edersheim, JD, MD†Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (A.H.P., J.G.E.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M21-0489 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail As Congress debates a significant overhaul of the country's immigration laws, the urgency of asylum reform is increasing as migrants flock to the U.S. southern border and the Biden administration faces a backlog of 1.3 million immigration cases (1). When asylum seekers finally have their asylum interview or court hearing, the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that they convince the adjudicator that they cannot return to their home country because of past persecution or “a well-founded fear of persecution.”An asylum seeker's memories about persecution are central to the legal process. Under the REAL ID Act of 2005, adjudicators are ...References1. TRAC Reports. The State of the Immigration Courts: Trump Leaves Biden 1.3 Million Case Backlog in Immigration Courts. 19 January 2021. Accessed at https://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/637/#f6 on 6 April 2021. Google Scholar2. Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 USC 1158(b)(1)(B)(iii). Accessed at www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title8/pdf/USCODE-2011-title8-chap12-subchapII-partI-sec1158.pdf on 20 March 2021. Google Scholar3. Paskey S. Telling refugee stories: trauma, credibility and the adversarial adjudication of claims for asylum. Santa Clara Law Rev. 2016;56:457-530. Google Scholar4. Christianson S, Loftus EF. Memory for traumatic events. Appl Cogn Psychol. 1987;1:225-39. Google Scholar5. Moore SA, Zoellner LA. Overgeneral autobiographical memory and traumatic events: an evaluative review. Psychol Bull. 2007;133:419-37. [PMID: 17469985] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6. Jobson L, Moradi A, Rahimi-Movaghar V, et al. Culture and the remembering of trauma. Clin Psychol Sci. 2014;2:696-713. doi:10.1177/2167702614529763 Google Scholar7. Given-Wilson Z, Hodes M, Herlihy J. A review of adolescent autobiographical memory and the implications for assessment of unaccompanied minors' refugee determinations. Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2018;23:209-22. [PMID: 29260597] doi:10.1177/1359104517748697 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8. Mansare v Holder, 383 Fed Appx 522 (6th Cir 2010). Google Scholar9. Physicians for Human Rights. How You Can Help Asylum Seekers. 2020. Accessed at https://phr.org/issues/asylum-and-persecution/join-the-asylum-network on 20 March 2021. Google Scholar10. Lustig SL, Kureshi S, Delucchi KL, et al. Asylum grant rates following medical evaluations of maltreatment among political asylum applicants in the United States. J Immigr Minor Health. 2008;10:7-15. [PMID: 17492260] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (E.S.)Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (A.H.P., J.G.E.)University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Law, Brain & Behavior, Boston, Massachusetts (F.X.S.)Disclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M21-0489.Corresponding Author: Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Bullfinch 351, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail, [email protected]harvard.edu.Current Author Addresses: Ms. Shortell, Dr. Shen, and Dr. Edersheim: Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Bullfinch 351, Boston, MA 02114.Mr. Petriceks: Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115.Author Contributions: Conception and design: E. Shortell, A.H. Petriceks, F.X. Shen, J.G. Edersheim.Drafting of the article: E. Shortell, A.H. Petriceks, F.X. Shen, J.G. Edersheim.Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: E. Shortell, A.H. Petriceks, F.X. Shen, J.G. Edersheim.Final approval of the article: E. Shortell, A.H. Petriceks, F.X. Shen, J.G. Edersheim.This article was published at Annals.org on 8 June 2021.* Ms. Shortell and Mr. Petriceks share lead authorship.† Drs. Shen and Edersheim share senior authorship. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics August 2021Volume 174, Issue 8Page: 1163-1164KeywordsClinical psychologyImmigrant healthMedical lawMemoryMemory recallPosttraumatic stress disorderPrevention, policy, and public healthPsychologyRefugee health ePublished: 8 June 2021 Issue Published: August 2021 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2021 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...