2) It is a Legal Right to Seek Asylum in the U.S.
The right to seek asylum is enshrined in international law.
In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was issued by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the “inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.” Among the specific rights listed in the UDHR’s 30 articles were that no one “shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” (Article 5). In addition, Article 14 states, “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.” The right to asylum was enshrined again in the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.
The United States then passed its own federal law, the Refugee Act of 1980, which is meant to ensure that individuals who seek asylum from within the U.S. or at its border are not sent back to places where they face persecution.
At CVT, these two universal human rights are closely linked. We all have the right to a life without torture, yet it is perpetrated in many global locations. Where torture, armed conflict and persecution exist, people have the right to seek asylum. After torture, finding safety and a path to stability is critical for healing; thousands of survivors must leave their homes to find this kind of safety.
