Seeking Asylum
Updated: Nov 4, 2024
Mothers, fathers and children, starting their journey from their countries of origin to the United States. Walking, rafting, and canoeing sixty miles, taking over a week to complete across the jungle, or also well known as the “Darién Gap”, these people are coming to the U.S. seeking better, safer lives than the ones they are leaving behind. When they get here, many apply for ‘asylum’, a legally-protected status that allows them to stay in the US, at least temporarily. Without a special immigration status like asylum, they are in the same position they would be if you went to another country without a proper passport; they can be deported, and denied the ability to stay. Millions of people, from countries in Latin America like Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and also a number of people from countries like Russia, Ukraine, and China travel for this status. The conditions in their countries, and the effect of those conditions on their lives and livelihoods, are their stories. Most of their past homes are practically failed states - insufficient basic living standards like plumbing, electricity, or, dangerous living conditions, crimes and gangs without a well functioning government to provide safety. These are families who need to flee their country, and, in this case, take what is known as the “back door” route.
There are two ways for migrants to come to this country: wait for an indefinite amount of time, or, come illegally over the Mexican border and seek asylum in the country. The Asylum Application Help Center is where these families go. Once in the U.S., millions of people are already in the system, with millions more to come. People come everyday to these centers and are helped by application assistants who fill in forms and papers, with the help of translators. This work is manual, slow, and has an enormous backlog due to the number of applications. While this is progress, this will only be the first step of many for these migrants. After applying for this, the next step that most people do is apply for a “temporary social security number”, which allows them to get a job. But, this is rare to even get accepted and takes a very long time. While this system gives people asylum from their countries, it is a flawed system that needs to be fixed. The influx of migrants coming to the United States is a huge topic in the country that needs more attention. The Asylum law is not technically supposed to be used for displaced migrants.
The country needs to make new laws that address this problem more specifically, and does not “degrade our system”. In no way does this mean that the country helping migrants is bad, in case, it's the opposite. Yet, New York citizens themselves pay 12 million dollars a day in taxes just for shelters, food, and resources primarily for these migrants. These migrants deserve better protection, allowing them safety and shelter from whatever situation has forced them to flee.
Citation
“Darién Gap.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 20 Jan. 2024,
