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The Northwest Detention Center is no stranger to controversy. In 2017, for instance, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the company for violating the state’s minimum wage law, paying detainees $1 per day or, in some instances, with snacks and extra food, for labor.
Rules for gaining asylum have also become more strict under the current presidential administration. In June, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a ruling that makes it more difficult for victims of domestic and gang violence to gain asylum.
In addition, earlier this month, the Trump administration announced that it would move to deny asylum to all migrants who do not enter through official border crossings. The American Civil Liberties Union is already challenging the rule in court. For decades, immigration law has required that officials allow migrants who fear persecution in their home countries to seek asylum regardless of whether they entered the United States legally or illegally.
But even before Sessions announced the changes, the chances of gaining asylum were low. In 2017, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC, at Syracuse University, 30,179 asylum cases were decided by judges — the largest number of cases since 2005. More than half, however — 61.8 percent of applicants — were denied asylum status.
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