In a complaint filed Wednesday by 10 state and national immigrant rights groups, the Houston asylum office is accused of denying some immigrants legal orientation, rare language interpreters and access to counsel during preliminary asylum screenings.
U.S. Border Patrol agents process migrants detained in the Roma, Texas Historic District, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.Immigration attorneys are calling for an investigation into the Houston asylum office for its “egregious record” screening asylum seekers, according to an official complaint filed with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
A credible fear interview is a critical first step for migrants who arrive at the border and are pursuing an asylum case. Failing the credible fear interview with the asylum officer generally leads to the person’s removal from the United States. If a migrant passes the interview, he or she is allowed to stay in the country until an immigration judge can hear the full asylum case at a later date.
“It's by design, a very lenient standard,” said Victoria Neilson, attorney for the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, one of the organizations filing the complaint.“It's supposed to screen out claims where there's clearly no merit,” she said. The complaint outlines the experience of a Venezuelan man who didn’t pass his credible fear interview despite telling the asylum officer he was beaten and detained by the Venezuelan government because of his political beliefs. The Houston asylum officer told the man he could simply change his political activities to avoid persecution.
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