15 research outputs found
A Critical Analysis of Refugee Law
A review of immigration law and history reveals that the United States admits large numbers of refugees from communist countries, but grants entrance to a disproportionate few from noncommunist states. The author interprets these figures to mean that the government uses the refugee admissions process as a ploy to accomplish political objectives. This article exposes the inequity in the admissions process by examining the legislative and executive responses to the refugee problem. Although many had hoped that the Refugee Act of 1980 would eliminate the political bias in refugee policy, the author suggests that the Act, in fact, institutionalizes preexisting political biases
A Critical Analysis of Refugee Law
A review of immigration law and history reveals that the United States admits large numbers of refugees from communist countries, but grants entrance to a disproportionate few from noncommunist states. The author interprets these figures to mean that the government uses the refugee admissions process as a ploy to accomplish political objectives. This article exposes the inequity in the admissions process by examining the legislative and executive responses to the refugee problem. Although many had hoped that the Refugee Act of 1980 would eliminate the political bias in refugee policy, the author suggests that the Act, in fact, institutionalizes preexisting political biases
Restructuring the Asylum Process
This Article critically analyzes present and proposed asylum procedures. The article focuses on three significant problems in the asylum process: (1) Structural defects within both the INS and the State Dept. Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs ( BHRHA ); (2) the conflict between the bureaucratic goals of the INS and legal norms; and (3) the maintenance of a foreign policy contrary to eliminating asylum flight. The article proposes significant changes in the asylum process, which would meet the organizational objectives of the INS while protecting asylum applicants from the erroneous denial of their claims. The article further proposes the elimination of the role of the district director and the BHRHA in the asylum process; the maintenance of federal and administrative review; and a change in the burden and standard of proof to require an applicant to prove a prima facie case for asylum subject to INS rebuttal
Haiti’s Legal Claim for Restitution: The Political Context for the Recovery of the Double-Debt
This article discusses Haiti’s efforts to seek restitution from France for the “Double-Debt” imposed in 1825. After Haiti gained independence in 1804 following a slave revolt, France threatened to invade and re-enslave the Haitian people if they did not pay compensation to French slave owners for their lost “property.” This became known as the Double-Debt, as French and American banks profited by converting the debt into high-interest loans. In 2003, on the 200th anniversary of Haitian hero Toussaint Louverture’s death, Haiti’s president Jean-Bertrand Aristide announced his intention to demand repayment from France. This sparked retaliation from France and Haiti’s elite, who sought to undermine Aristide’s government. A legal team developed arguments that the 1825 agreement was unlawful given the threat of re-enslavement. A draft complaint was prepared but the 2004 coup against Aristide halted the legal proceedings. The article argues that the restitution claim remains legally valid and an important symbol in Haiti’s fight for justice, despite political opposition