Putting TRAC to Work
  Legal and Scholarly
Niskanen Center
May 2020

The State of Asylum: Changes Made to the Asylum System During the Trump Administration
By Kristie De Peña and Emily Van Fossen


The Trump administration has rolled out multiple initiatives to increase capacity and prolong the detention of asylum seekers, including the detention of families and unaccompanied minors. The policies aim to limit the flow of asylum seekers into the interior of the United States and end what critics call “catch and release,” the practice of issuing apprehended immigrants summons to appear in court rather than detaining them. The Trump administration has argued that keeping immigrants in detention while they undergo court proceedings is the only way to ensure that they show up for their court hearings. But the evidence demonstrates that most immigrants show up for their court dates. Government figures show a 98.5 percent appearance rate for asylum seekers released from immigration detention.........[Citing TRAC data and research].


Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, Syracuse University
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