The Anatomy of Asylum Law: Who Gets it and Why?

Catalog description

This course will cover the basics of asylum law through an overview of domestic and international laws and conventions. It will critically examine the history of asylum laws, related regulations, and treaty provisions as well as the political contexts for legal developments to further an understanding of who gets asylum and why. Through an exploration of the asylum statute, key immigration decisions, executive orders and presidential proclamations, and broader detention policies, students will learn about the different fear-based protections available to noncitizens who face persecution in their home countries. Students will examine the different iterations of U.S. government policies that have shifted the categories of who is eligible for asylum. The class will analyze how changes to current policy have disproportionately impacted different groups and further consider how asylum law may be linked to foreign policies and relationships that fall outside of the statutory guidelines. Finally, students will analyze how the U.S. government's asylum laws and policies are racialized, with disparate effects on certain races, ethnicities, and other demographics.