activities & accomplishments

For Women Asylum-seekers

The Detention and Asylum Program addresses the treatment of asylum seeking women in detention though advocacy both with the Administration and with Congress.  We communicate our concerns and suggestions to Congress and the relevant executive branch agencies through one-on-one meetings, coalition work, reports, media, letters, faxes, and direct and coalition sign-on letters.

CONGRESSIONAL ADVOCACY

In Congress we are proactively working to provide protection for asylum-seekers by:

• Improving conditions: working with both Senate and House offices on detention legislation aimed at improving conditions and increasing alternatives to detention for vulnerable groups including asylum-seekers, children and families.
• Alternatives to detention: working with appropriators to increase the use of alternatives to detention and of legal orientation programs through increased funding

We are also working to limit legislation that will have a negative impact on asylum-seekers.  For example, legislation:

• REAL ID Act:  We successfully limited the anti-asylum provisions contained in the final version the Real ID Act. (For more information on the REAL ID Act, click here.)

ADVOCACY WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES

• Gender Asylum:  The Detention and Asylum Program also works to expand the interpretation of the United States asylum laws to include more gender-based claims, which include domestic violence, female genital mutilation and gender-based violence, for example.  To read about an important gender asylum case, click here.

Our advocacy on this issue has included meetings with DHS officials, coalition letters to DHS, supporters’ letters to DHS, and intense media including letters to the editor and op eds.