Asylum Seekers as Law Breakers

by Jason Dzubow

I recently litigated an Eritrean asylum case where my client traveled through various countries to reach the United States.  He passed through each country illegally—sometimes with a false South African passport; other times, he just crossed the borders without inspection.  From the beginning to the end of his journey, smugglers assisted him (for a price—the average cost for such a trip is around $15,000.00).  My client did not ask for asylum in any of the countries he passed through, even though he remained in some countries for several months and even though such countries (theoretically at least) offer asylum to refugees.

Asylum seekers or asylum sneakers?

From my client’s perspective, he was fleeing an extremely repressive regime, and he dreamed of starting a new life in the U.S., where he would be safe and enjoy freedom.  (It’s said that in art, imitation is the highest form of flattery; I’d say that in international affairs, immigration is the highest form of flattery).

The Immigration Judge was not pleased with my client’s illegal journey or with his failure to seek asylum in any country along the route, and he had some strong words for the client at the end of the hearing.  While I don’t agree with all that the Judge had to say, I think his words are important, and I wanted to share them here:

First, the Judge told my client that asylum exists to help people who are fleeing persecution.  It is not an alternative for those without a better immigration option.  When a person flees her country, she should seek asylum in the first country of safety; she should not shop around for the country where she would prefer to live.  To use asylum as an alternative to immigration is an abuse of the system, and takes advantage of our country’s generosity.  If enough people abuse the system, we might change the law to make asylum more restrictive.

Second, smuggling is a criminal activity and when an asylum seeker pays a smuggler, he is complicit in that activity; he is not an innocent bystander.  Each smuggled person pays thousands of dollars to smugglers.  Collectively, this is big—and illegal—business.  It violates the sovereignty of nations and possibly supports a network that might be used for more nefarious purposes, like facilitating the transport of terrorists, criminals, and drugs.

Third, each asylum seeker who enters the U.S. in the manner of my client makes it more difficult for legitimate asylum seekers who follow him.  As more people enter the U.S. this way, a reaction becomes more likely.  Maybe the law will be changed to deny asylum claims where the applicant passed through other countries without seeking asylum.  Maybe other restrictions will be put into place.  In any case, if there are new restrictions, legitimate refugees will suffer.

Finally, the Judge warned my client against encouraging his fellow countrymen by his example.  He noted that such encouragement might violate criminal and immigration laws, and this could cause problems for my client.  It could also be dangerous for any future asylum seekers, as people have been harmed and killed on the journey to the U.S.

I think the Judge said all this to try, in a small way, to stem the flow of asylum seekers across the Southern border.  I am not sure whether his words will have any effect, but I believe they are worth hearing.  And while his points are legitimate and important, there are convincing (to me at least) counterpoints to each.  But I will leave those for another time. 

Under the current asylum law, illegal travel through various countries is a discretionary factor, but without more, it is generally not a basis for denying an asylum claim.  Despite his concerns, the IJ granted my client’s application (and DHS did not appeal).  How many more people will follow him and receive asylum in the United States remains to be seen.

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Ecuador Cracks Down on Alien Smuggling to the U.S.

by Jason Dzubow

Not long ago, the Washington Post reported on one of my clients from Eritrea, who was smuggled through a dozen countries before entering the U.S. and gaining asylum.  The article states that my client’s “epic trip underscores the challenge of protecting U.S. borders in the face of agile networks of smugglers, corrupt officials who arrange travel documents and desperate immigrants willing to pay thousands of dollars for the journey.”  These networks worry U.S. officials:

“While the majority of aliens smuggled into the U.S. probably do not pose a risk to national security, the problem is terrorists could exploit these smuggling travel networks,” said James C. Spero, deputy assistant director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which enforces immigration laws. “It is a major concern for us.”

Recently, there seems to have been some progress in combating the smuggling networks.  The Ecuadoran newspaper El Universo reports that on March 10, a joint Ecuadoran and Columbian raid captured Yaee Dawit Tadese, a/k/a Jack Flora, an Eritrean smuggler, and 66 other individuals from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.  Mr. Tadese managed a network that trafficked migrants from Africa to the United States, using two routes running through either Ecuador or Venezuela.  According to the website InSightCrime.org, Mr. Tadese was deported to the U.S. on March 12, where he faces terrorism, and drug and human trafficking charges (the article also reports on a rumor that Mr. Tadese is Osama bin Laden’s cousin, but that seems a bit far fetched).

Yaee Dawit Tadese: Osama bin Laden's long lost cousin?

It remains to be seen how much these arrests will impact the flow of illegal migrants to the U.S., but I imagine it will have an effect–at least for a while.

In related news, a change in the visa requirements in Ecuador might also reduce the number of migrants passing through that country en route to the United States.  In 2008, Ecuador eliminated visa requirements for most countries.  Since that time, according to InSightCrime.org, the country has “seen the growth of Colombian, Russian, and Chinese organized crime groups operating within its borders.”  Ecuador’s “lax visa policies may have also increased the smuggling of Asian and African migrants from the Andean nation to the U.S.”

Late last year, “Ecuador created visa requirements for nine countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia.”  This change may also reduce the number of migrants passing through Ecuador on their way to the U.S. 

Given that it takes several months for people to travel from Ecuador through Central America and Mexico to the U.S., I suspect we will begin to see the effects of Mr. Tadese’s arrest and the new visa requirements in the near future.  Will these developments reduce the number of people arriving illegally at the U.S.-Mexican border, or will they simply cause the migrants to seek out alternative routes?  We will know soon enough.

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Ethiopian Asylum Seekers Die Along the Smuggling Route

by Jason Dzubow

I’ve written a number of times about the route East African asylum seekers take to reach the United States.  The journey usually takes them through Africa to South Africa, and then to South America, Central America, and finally the U.S.  Along the way, the asylum seekers are passed from one smuggler to the next.  Because I deal with the people who make it here, I don’t usually think about those who do not survive the trip.

Voice of America reports that on February 2, eight Ethiopian asylum seekers suffocated to death in a closed container truck while attempting to reach South Africa:

The UN refugee agency [UNHCR] said the Ethiopian asylum seekers had been living in the Maratane refugee camp in northern Mozambique, from where they embarked on their ill-fated journey.  The driver of the truck in which they were traveling reportedly only realized the eight had suffocated when he made a stop at Mocuba, after seven hours of driving from the camp.

Statistics on asylum seeker deaths are hard to come by, so the magnitude of the problem is not well known, but I’d venture to guess that the number of deaths is quite high.  I sometimes hear anecdotal evidence from my clients about this problem.  For example, an Eritrean client recently told me about two Eritrean women who drowned while crossing a swamp in Panama.  I could not find statistics for asylum seekers coming to the U.S., but I did find some information about Britain and Australia:

The New Statesman report that 77 asylum seekers died in Great Britain during the last four years: Of the deaths, more than a third (28) were suicides following rejected asylum claims. Seven people died after being denied healthcare for “preventable medical problems.” Seven more died in police custody, while 15 lost their lives during “highly risky” attempts to enter the country. Seven were killed in racist street attacks, four after deportation to a country where they feared for their safety, two as a result of destitution, and four because they had been forced into dangerous work in the black economy. 

A website called Abolish Foreignness reports that between 2000 and 2010, 1,053 asylum seekers died in Australia or en route to that country.  The majority of the deaths were from people drowned at sea.

It is probably impossible to know how many asylum seekers die on the long and dangerous journey to the United States.  But it is clear that, despite the risk, many people are willing to make the trip.  

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DHS Plans Crackdown Against Smugglers in Central American

by Jason Dzubow

Many African asylum seekers enter the United States at the Mexican border.  Their journey to the U.S. is long and circuitous.  In East Africa (where some of my clients come from), people travel from Ethiopia, Eritrea or Somalia to Kenya.  From there, they go to South Africa and Brazil using false passports, and then through South America (sometimes by boat up the Amazon River!), to Central America, and then Mexico and the U.S.  Along the route, they are passed from one smuggler to the next.  Its big business for the smugglers: I’ve heard the trip costs between $10,000.00 and $15,000.00, and sometimes more.

A smuggler guides a couple illegal aliens across the border.

Last year, Abrahaley Fessahazion, an Eritrean based in Guatemala pleaded guilty to helping smuggle illegal aliens to the United States for financial gain.  Mr. Fessahazion was caught after he came to the U.S. and filed a false claim for political asylum.  He faces up to 10 years in prison.

Now, if the rumor mill is to be believed, DHS and at least one Latin American government are planning to arrest some additional smugglers in Central America.  DHS investigators have been interviewing smuggled aliens in the United States.  They have asked the aliens to identify photos of several smugglers based in Central American.  While most of the smugglers are from Latin America, at least one is African.  

It seems that DHS’s central concern involves the Somalis, who have long been viewed as a potential threat to national security (I’ve blogged about this issue here), and apparently DHS’s interrogation of the smuggled aliens has focused on Somali migrants.   

If the rumors are true, and certain Latin American governments are cooperating in the crackdown, life might be about to become difficult for the smugglers. 

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