“Particularly Serious Crimes”

Background

The United States has long offered protected status to those fleeing persecution abroad in the form of Asylum and Withholding of Removal. Under its obligations under the U.N. Refugee Convention to which the U.S. is a party, only the most serious criminal convictions that present actual danger to the community in the United States can bar a person from receiving refuge under the immigration laws. In recent years, however, the federal government has applied this “particularly serious crime” designation to bar more and more immigrants from protected status in violation of the Refugee Convention. IDP advocates for change in U.S. policy to bring the country into compliance with the Refugee Convention and actively supports litigants in the Circuit Courts of Appeals contesting “particularly serious crime” determinations that prevent them from obtaining Asylum and Withholding of Removal.

Practice Advisories

Amicus Briefs