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II. Ensure Adequate Safeguards At Points Of Entry To Protect The Rights OfAsylum SeekersAs evidenced by the findings of this study, asylum seekers may not bereceiving adequate information and explanation of their right to asylumupon arrival in the US, and may not be treated in a humane and respectfulmanner. Many asylum seekers have fled persecution at the hands of governmentofficials in their homelands and it is not surprising that they oftendo not have proper documentation. Yet, under the expedited removalprocess, asylum seekers face disbelieving and even hostile immigrationofficials, the threat of immediate deportation, shackling for hours, and ifnot deportation, then imprisonment. Expedited removal permits immigrationenforcement officials to be judge and jury of an asylum seeker’s initialarticulation of her case. They can order deportation, a power previouslyentrusted to immigration judges. Expedited removal diminishes accountabilityand is inconsistent with due process standards.Initial interviews at airports, during which asylum seekers are expectedto recount highly personal and traumatic matters, are often conducted atopen counters without privacy. Asylum seekers sometimes cannot communicatewith immigration officers, as adequate interpreter services are notalways provided. Regardless of language, many asylum seekers are eithernot informed or do not understand their right to asylum. Finally, many donot understand what is happening to them when they are shackled at theairport, or when they are taken to detention. For survivors of torture andother survivors of trauma already victimized by government agents, thisinitial encounter with US government officials can be retraumatizing.Reform Expedited Removal and Restore Due Process StandardsDeportation decisions should be entrusted to immigration judges or atleast to a corps of specially trained officers, such as asylum officers, andnot the enforcement officials who currently make these decisions. Finally,DHS should allow regular, systematic monitoring of immigration proceduresat points of entry to the US by independent, non-governmentalagencies. Preferably, Expedited Removal should be applied only in theevent of immigration emergencies.Require Interviews with Potential Asylum Seekers to be Conductedby Specially Trained OfficersDHS should have a corps of specially trained officers stationed at ports ofentry to conduct interviews with potential asylum seekers. If not AsylumOfficers, then the interviews should be conducted by other officers trained inskills approximating those of Asylum Officers. Fundamentally, DHS needsto acknowledge that these specially trained officers’ function is one ofrefugee protection and monitoring, not enforcement, and educate officers toCONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 187
that effect. These officers should have a clear job description with certainskills required for interviewing non-citizens arriving without proper documentation.For example, they should be educated in country conditions,types of conflict and forms of persecution and why individuals fleeing persecutionmight not have proper documentation.Airport immigration staff should be educated about traumatic eventsasylum seekers may have experienced, such as torture, and how suchtrauma can affect individuals, including the manner in which they mayrespond to government officials. Officers should be taught effective andempathic communication techniques for eliciting information from asylumseekers, given the impact that trauma may have on a victim’s ability toeffectively narrate their experience. Effective models for such trainingshave been developed and are utilized by the Asylum Officers Training Programas part of the basic training that all asylum officers now receive. 399Ensure that Asylum Seekers can Communicate in Their Own LanguagesWhen Speaking with Immigration OfficialsWithout the ability to communicate in the languages spoken by asylumseekers, the DHS cannot treat these individuals fairly and humanely. Whilethe telephone translation service is often utilized, it apparently is not uniformlyused or available. In at least two cases documented in this study,asylum seekers reported that employees of national airlines from the countriesasylum seekers fled from were used as interpreters. Study participantsreported that these interpreters either mistranslated or told the asylumseeker not to seek asylum. DHS must not rely on airline employees or othertranslators of convenience who could have connections to the governmentthe asylum seeker is fleeing, or are otherwise inappropriate. 400 Immigrationofficials need to ensure that appropriate translation services are available atall times, with the translator instructed, in the presence of the asylumseeker, to maintain the confidentiality of the interview and to translate onlywhat is said without interjecting commentary.Conduct Interviews with Appropriate PrivacyMany study participants recounted the painful and disturbing process ofspeaking of rape, torture, and other abuses in a line or at a public counter.When it is established that someone is describing events related to persecutionor the quest for asylum, the DHS officer should conduct the inter-399Schmitt, E. “INS Agents Being Taught How to Assess Torture Pleas.” The New YorkTimes. December 21, 1997 p. 1.400Persons who potentially have biases, such as airline employees are prohibited by the InternationalReligious Freedom Act from translating in such situations. See Annual Report of theUS Commission on International Religious Freedom, May 2002, p.38, available atwww.uscirf.gov/reports/02AnnualRpt/2002report.pdf, accessed on 12 June 03.188 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON
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From Persecution to Prison:The Heal
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CONTENTSAcknowledgements . . . . .
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The Bellevue/NYU Program for Surviv
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don, Miranda Ip, and Meriam Alrashi
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Significant symptoms of depression
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Detained asylum seekers participati
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persecution, yet most emphasized ho
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In many facilities, the response to
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years in detention, she finally got
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abuse For example, while being take
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They didn’t let me use the phone
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intensely personal events they had
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Limitations of this study include t
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Non-governmental organizations serv
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22 FROM PERSECUTION TO PRISON
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the late 1990s ranging from 10 to 7
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Historical BackgroundFor most of th
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international standards with the 19
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apply for asylum make up the majori
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tion judge. 57 Yet in many parts of
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York and Newark, New Jersey has had
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trict began denying parole to them
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Correctional Facility in 2000. “[
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men of which 750 were detained on i
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from that same country from seeking
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Detention Facilities in this StudyF
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high reliability in numerous langua
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York County Prison in York Pennsylv
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TABLE 2:Demographic Characteristics
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TABLE 4:Prevalence of Pre-Migration
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on a part time basis, researchers w
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Case #1(DK): “Loneliness and Fear
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TABLE 6:Hopkins Symptom Checklist-2
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TABLE 8:Harvard Trauma Questionnair
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think such services were available.
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When I am talking to you now it is
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After being granted asylum and rele
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“Being here is like going through
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In my country even though I became
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how long they were there - six mont
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Thoughts of SuicideSeveral asylum s
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here?’ I told the doctor, they br
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Another subject reported a positive
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substantial distance from their att
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eported that her experience in dete
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e somatic manifestations of the psy
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Case #2 (JG): “Health Care in Cha
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TABLE 11:Detainee Perceptions of He
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TABLE 13:Availability and Quality o
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detainees, or because they did not
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Difficulty Obtaining Specialized Ca
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Another detained asylum seeker repo
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One detainee who speaks French and
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Detention Facilities in this StudyS
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even though many reported having ex
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CASE #3 (HN): “SOLITARY CONFINEME
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Here, I’m scared. In [the detenti
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emote control and watch what he wan
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Whenever someone misbehaves, they t
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This subject was himself threatened
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One detainee reported several incid
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Some Process Exists to Respond to R
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There were no witnesses other than
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tion. An INS officer said they put
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There is an Anglican minister who c
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The dentists didn’t explain anyth
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tion between dental age and chronol
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Case #4 (LK): “Fifteen-Year-Old G
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Page 147 and 148: TABLE 16:Treatment/Abuses Reported
Page 149 and 150: “There is no political asylum her
Page 151 and 152: I was crying. I was so afraid with
Page 153 and 154: save her life, but was not able to
Page 155 and 156: Case #5 (CR): “Begging for Mercy
Page 157 and 158: ehind and told me to sign. He physi
Page 159 and 160: days and it is now 2 years and four
Page 161 and 162: viewers asked for additional inform
Page 163 and 164: y study participants. In evaluating
Page 165 and 166: trast, under US law, detention of s
Page 167 and 168: nation for an asylum determination
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Page 171 and 172: authority to grant asylum and with
Page 173 and 174: absconding.” 250 Since the passag
Page 175 and 176: said “[F]reedom from imprisonment
Page 177 and 178: Standards relevant to this study ar
Page 179 and 180: “detained person” generally as
Page 181 and 182: which they are charged and a fair h
Page 183 and 184: esponse to substantial public press
Page 185 and 186: specified procedures, provided they
Page 187 and 188: PunishmentThe Detention Standard on
Page 189 and 190: any time the detainee complains.”
Page 193 and 194: while in detention, thus adding to
Page 195: Establish a Uniform National Parole
Page 199 and 200: Besides their inaccuracy, these exa
Page 201 and 202: friends so asylum seekers can maint
Page 203 and 204: appropriate staffing of such groups
Page 205 and 206: efugees and asylum seekers who win
Page 209 and 210: of thorough documentation. However,
Page 211 and 212: Human development is complex and di
Page 213 and 214: 18. Country from which fleeing pers
Page 215 and 216: 9. Being close to death.10. Forced
Page 217 and 218: Complete for each health problem:5.
Page 219 and 220: Explain:(Interviewer: Write brief n
Page 221 and 222: 2. Depression SymptomsA How much we
Page 223 and 224: B. You said that you have experienc
Page 225 and 226: Explain:13. How was your physical h
Page 227 and 228: Yes ...........1No............22. W
Page 229 and 230: Explain:20. At the time of your arr
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