Asylees and Monsoons

Wednesday, July 11

The fellows snapped sprite and lively out of bed this morning (well, some), showered briskly and dressed to impress. Anders especially, as noted by Purnima, was adorned with a tie the likes of which have rarely been seen. It was time to head to the US Department of Justice Immigration Court to observe asylum hearings. Asylum is a legal status granted to foreigners who have entered the United States (in some cases illegally) under the condition that they prove a “well-founded fear” of persecution if they were to return to their country of origin. It is a process similar to that undergone by those seeking refugee status with the key difference that the individual has already entered the country and is asking to remain within its borders.

Due to confidentiality we can not mention individual cases, but generally asylum cases are based on the credibility of the defendant seeking asylum as determined by the sitting judge. An interesting factor in asylum cases is the wide discretion of the judge (which raised issues for many of the fellows because recent statistics have shown that some judges are much more liable to grant asylum than others). Many of the fellows found the experience to be incredibly impressionable. (Perhaps we have some future law students within the group?)

For lunch fellows went their separate ways (especially Purnima who somehow lost her monthly metro card in the process). Eventually we all wound up at Central Station at the headquarters of the International Rescue Committee, a group which assists refugees internationally to establish themselves in the United States. Their work is very admirable because they are a humanitarian group which effectively deals with many of the political and legal tangles encountered in the process of bringing refugees to the US.

Just before a widely anticipated pool party a monsoon swept through the streets of New York City. This put a damper on the festivities momentarily (although Galen, Thomas and Hollis thoroughly enjoyed skipping through puddles and jumping over the rivers running through the roads). Though the party had to be postponed and we were carried in different directions by the tides, we quickly regrouped and enjoyed learning more about each other over good 'ole American beers.