Seeking Asylum: Immigration Law in the Context of Human Rights

The purpose of this paper is to understand the dynamic between Latin American countries and the United States in relation to asylum, mass migration and the process of legally entering the country. This explores the implications of the United States’ current legislature in place and how this caters to the U.S.’s interests. Furthermore, the theoretical implementation of asylum and its political origins are evaluated in the context of organized crime and social issues that impact migration trends. While the movement of goods is acceptable the movement of people is heavily scrutinized and politically charged. My proposed argument is that the current asylum laws in place benefit a select few, often not covering individuals who need protection but do not meet requirements. The requirements are vague, where the definition of “well-founded fear” is subjectively decided and requires “evidence of persecution,” which is challenging to provide authorities. This leads to the denial of asylum status to individuals that need protection but would benefit from an alternative legal path to immigration