Asylum and "Credible Fear" Issues in U.S. Immigration Policy

Asylum and “Credible Fear” Issues in U.S. Immigration PolicyEl Salvador 46Affirmative asylum claims from El Salvador have steadily declined by 90.4%, from a high of4,706 in FY1997 to 453 in FY2009. The 13-year average of affirmative claims is 1,289.Salvadoran defensive claims exhibit more of a u-shaped distribution in Figure 9, with spikes of8,126 in FY1998 and 9,955 in FY2007. The 13-year average of defensive claims is 4,908.Overall, defensive asylum claims are down by 53.2% for Salvadorans, despite peaking at 9,955 inFY2007. Furthermore, the number of “credible fear” claims during expedited removal has risensharply from 73 in FY2005 to 945 in FY2009, and the number of these “credible fear” claimshave surpassed the number of affirmative cases for FY2007 through FY2009.Figure 9. Asylum Seekers from El Salvador12 Thousands Credible Fear Affirmative Defensive10864201997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009Fiscal YearSource: CRS presentation of data from the USCIS Directorate of Refugee, Asylum, and InternationalOperations and the Office of Planning, Analysis and Technology in the Executive Office for Immigration Review.Notes: Data represent cases not individuals.46 For background on country conditions, see CRS Report RS21655, El Salvador: Political, Economic, and SocialConditions and U.S. Relations, by Clare Ribando Seelke.Congressional Research Service 18