Changes to the Asylum Process due to COVID-19 In response to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control suspended the “introduction” of persons from “Coronavirus Impacted Areas.” Citing this authority, the Border Patrol began “expelling” individuals who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border without providing them with an opportunity to request asylum. CBP reported […]
Psychological assessment can be especially useful in enhancing clinical clarity and informing subsequent interventions and treatments. In addition to educating clients about risks, it is also crucial to point out the numerous other benefits of continuing with an assessment. A client may become fixated on an evaluation that serves only one purpose – to support […]
PTSD and mental health problems are significantly more common among refugees and asylum seekers than among the general population, compatriots who remain in the refugees’ home country, and economic migrants. Exposure to a high number of potentially traumatic events, involvement in asylum-seeking procedures and forced migration are stressors that set refugees apart from other populations […]
Is There a Deadline for Asylum Applications? Generally, an individual must apply for asylum within one year of arriving in the United States. In 2018, a federal district court ruled that DHS must notify asylum seekers of this deadline in a class-action lawsuit challenging the government’s failure to provide adequate notice of the one-year deadline […]
An individual may apply for asylum in the United States in two ways: affirmatively or defensively. Affirmative Asylum: A person who is not in removal proceedings may apply for asylum through the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (DHS). If the USCIS asylum officer denies the application and the applicant does […]
Applicants petitioning for political asylum type of immigration waiver often have been exposed to extreme deprivation, severe abuse, and possibly even torture in their home country. Frequently, these mistreatments are related to a political, religious, and/or ethnic persecution. Living your life in your home country becomes sufficiently intolerable or painful, that the individual flees his […]
Asylum is a form of protection that allows an individual to remain in the United States rather than be removed (deported) to a country where he or she fears persecution or harm. People who flee their countries for fear of persecution can apply for asylum in the United States. If they are granted asylum, they […]
There is a significant gap between American models of psychotherapy and the needs and values of the Hispanic/Latino community. While American therapy models, which are Eurocentric, emphasize individual traits and independence, Hispanic/Latino(a) cultures emphasize family unity, loyalty to family and friends, and one’s role in the community. Hispanics/Latino(a)s are more likely to turn to family […]
Several years ago, Congress created both “T” and “U” visas to encourage victims of certain serious crimes to cooperate with law enforcement officials who are prosecuting criminals. A victim of only certain types of crimes will qualify for a T or U visa, but both T and U visas include the qualifying crime of human […]
Slavery is a modern form of human trafficking. Labor exploitation that involves recruiting or obtaining women, men and children and then forcing them to work against their will through force, fraud, or coercion. Often, trafficking victims are lured by false promises of decent jobs and better lives. Women are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking due […]
