Giving Compass' Take:

• This Migration Policy Institute post delivers an analysis of the current U.S. asylum system that faces growing backlogs of case, offering up non-policy solutions that may have bipartisan appeal.

• What might these proposals look like in action? Are there steps that nonprofit groups involved in immigration reform can do to help execute them?

• Here are some philanthropic strategies to support refugees and asylum seekers.


The asylum system urgently needs to be retooled again. The new reality is flows across the Southwest border that have changed from primarily Mexican young men seeking economic opportunity to more complex, mixed flows of predominantly Central Americans, especially families. Some are escaping poverty; others seek protection from violence that may make them eligible for asylum. Border enforcement must include the ability to determine which is which in order to respond effectively. With timely, fair processing of asylum claims, deterrence becomes inherent; long waits in multiyear backlogs are eliminated, erasing perverse incentives to misuse the system.

In a recent report, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) proposed changes that could be implemented without legislation. They begin with gaining control over the current and prospective asylum caseload by processing cases on a last-in, first-out basis. The administration has begun doing this in some instances, but the approach must be broadened.

Our most significant recommendation for immediate action is to authorize U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Asylum Corps officers, who conduct the initial screening interview at the border (known as the credible-fear determination), to complete the full adjudication of these cases. Presently, asylum seekers who pass the credible-fear test are referred to immigration courts, where they are at the end of an all-time high backlog of more than 760,000 cases. Because of a remarkably inefficient process, immigration judges must begin fact-finding on these cases from scratch, likely years down the line.

Read the full article about how asylum reform can help solve current border reality by Doris Meissner at Migration Policy Institute.