Refugee Law: Policy and Procedures Course number 606-001 Mondays 4:30-7:00 PM Prof. Fernando Chang-Muy fchang@law.upenn.edu 215 668-7111 Course Description: This course will look explore the origins of the institution of refuge or asylum. The course will touch upon public policy issues such as the beneficiaries of asylum, the State that grants asylum, the international agency or agencies that accord protection, and the myriad of human rights violations that force people to flee and seek asylum. Students will become familiar with both the international refugee law and human rights law context of present-day law and practice with reference to international treaties and customary international law. The United Nations 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees will be the standard against which refugee protection will be measured. Students will also gain knowledge of regional conventions and the connection with international human rights, migration and international cooperation agreements in Europe, Latin America and Africa and Asia. Students will then turn to the statutory and regulatory underpinnings of the United States determination of who is and is not a refuge vis-a-vis the 1980 Refugee Act and implementing regulations. Students will gain an understanding of the nuts and bolts of obtaining asylum in light of prevailing legal definitions and their application in practice. The class will combine theory with practice by going a field trip on a weekend to a detention facility where the government houses asylum seekers. Students will then apply their knowledge of law and procedure and interview detainees, draft an affidavit requesting asylum, and research the asylum seekers claim to human rights abuse. Particular attention will be given to the situation of vulnerable asylum claimants, such as women and children. The course will end by looking at the international institutional response to refugee problems. Students will take into account the legal dimensions, and the responsibilities and realities of the Office of the United National High Commissioner for Refugees, the United States government, the reasons of current and potential population displacements caused by a variety of reasons. Students will also explore the justification
and viability of recent national and regional responses to refugee flows, such as, deterrence, detention, restricted employment and welfare entitlements, expedited procedures, and returns to safe countries. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with basic international texts and principles, and to be able to apply them to particular factual circumstances. They are also encouraged to keep up-to-date with the general dimensions of contemporary population movements and with the individual aspects of the search for protection and asylum. Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students should be able to: 1. Understand the international framework for refugee and asylum related issues 2. Understand US Asylum Law and regulations 3. Conduct intake of an asylum seeker and conduct case analysis 4. Research Country Conditions 4. Conduct Follow-up Intake Interview 5. Prepare An Application for Asylum, Form I-589 6. Prepare Affidavit attesting to the asylum seeker's claim for asylum 7. Prepare a packet with evidence to support the claim for asylum 8. Have familiarity with ancillary issues related to asylum such as issues of employment authorization, detention and public benefits Required: 1. Refugee Law and Policy, Musalo, Moore and Boswell, Carolina Academic Press 2. Email accounts 3. Training on the use of the World Wide Web and research on the internet 4. UN Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status (download from the www.unhcr.ch) Recommended: 6. Immigration Law and Procedure in a Nutshell, Weissbrodt (recommended) 7. 8 USC (Aliens and Nationality), available electronically at: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov 8. 8 Code of Federal Regulations (Aliens), available electronically at: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov 9. Interpreter Releases, available in the Library Course Format: -Discussion and critical analysis of Law & Policy by both students and instructor -Law, regulation and practice discussion facilitated by instructor -Case Law and policy discussion facilitated by students
-Films, and other audio visual materials will be used to support course materials General Expectations: Students will complete readings and participate in class discussions concerning the laws, policies and case law regarding the principles of asylum, both from the domestic and international perspectives. Simultaneously, students will apply theory into practice by working in teams to assist asylum seekers who are in detention. Students will help the asylum seeker request a remedy from removal from the US, where the remedy is usually asylum, withholding of removal or relief under the Convention Against Torture. Each student team is expected to work together to interview the asylum seeker, research issues, compile an evidentiary packet, including an affidavit and a brief; prepare for trial; and, possibly, represent a client at a hearing. Clients: Each team will be advocating on behalf of an individual detained by INS at York County Prison. The Pennsylvania Immigrant Resource Center (PIRC) has conducted a preliminary intake on each of the individuals assigned to students. In each case, the relief available to the detainee is either asylum or withholding of removal. Recently, an increasing number of immigrants with mental health issues (MHI) have been detained at York. Since individuals with MHI face great difficulty in understanding their claims and mounting their own defense, PIRC may feel that it is critical that these individuals receive assistance and representation through their immigration proceedings. York County Prison: York County Prison is located about one and a half hours from Philadelphia. Each student planning on entering the prison will need to go through a clearance process. Students will be asked to provide PIRC with their names and social security numbers for this purpose. Grading: 1.Class Participation/Attendance 2.Asylum seeker write up (packet) 3.Final essay in lieu of final exam: *Essay should include the following: 1. Identification of issues 2.Analysis/dissection of issues 3.Disposition/resolution of issues with supporting law, regs, caselaw 4.Organization and clarity **Papers for Senior Writing Requirement: 1.Topics should be chosen by the tenth week 20 pts 40 pts 40 pts 100 pts = A+
2.Topics should be chosen that are interesting, novel and important TO YOU. 3.The paper could: -explain the meaning of a specific case in the context of a developing area but not be limited to a description of the law or a review of a single case; -suggest statutory/regulatory reform -supply new critical analysis for decision-making in the courts 4.Outline will be submitted to Instructor by the BEGINNING OF THE ELEVENTH week. 5. The outline will consist of: A. One paragraph description/discussion of the topic B. One paragraph description of why you find it interesting or chose the topic C. Outline format of the structure of the paper (e.g. I.A.1.2.3.B.1.2.3 etc) D. One paragraph of a short plan for the additional research you plan to undertake during the next weeks. E. Bibliography with: Class structure: 25% lecture 50% class seminar 25% small group discussion -List of Statute(s) -List of regulation(s) -List of Cases (s) -List of (law review) articles
JANUARY Class One January 7, 2001 Introductions and course goals and objectives Historical/International Origins of Refugee Law Pages 3-35 Internally displaced: http://www.idpproject.org/index.htm Class Two Durable Solutions: Voluntary Repatriation, Asylum, and Resettlement Pp. 38-55 Film: Journey of Hope Distribution of Refugee Statistics Resettlement issues protocols Class Three UN Convention www.unhcr.ch a. US Refugee Law and Procedure Pages 801-828 & 844 848, b. www.ins.usdoj.gov (Link to Forms: 1-589) Credibility Pages 878 964 Barriers to Asylum Pages 137-142 Detention Pages 838 Expedited Removal Pages 855; 57-142 If time permits: Film: Abandoned, the betrayal of America s Immigrants Class Four Establishing Well-Founded Fear Pages 145-194 1. INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca 2. PERLITA JOSEFINA JAVIER RADOVAN, Petitioner, v. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE (US Ct. APP NINTH CIRCUIT) 3. DAVINDER KAUR, v. INS, (US CT APP FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT) - Begin discussion of cases assignments - Teams strategize about specific type of research needed for case FEBRUARY Class Five February 4, 2002 Establishing Persecution Human Rights Norms as shedding light on persecution (page 283) Pages 194-283 Convention Against Torture For country of origin information, which goes to the objective Fear standard, go to: http://www.yale.edu/law/library/presentations/immigration/country.html, see also: The US Department of State - http://www.travel.state.gov Amnesty International http://www.amnesty.org/
Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org Handout: How to Help yourself in your immigration case Matter of Acosta Izatula (455) Hernandez-Ortiz v. INS 777 F2d 509 (202) Maldonado Cruz 19 I&N Dec 509 (745) Non-government forces (Matter of Fuentes (710); Kasinga (677) Proof /Evidence (188-189; 219-220) - Begin background research - Teams strategize about specific type of research needed for case - If time permits: Abandoned: The Betrayal of America s Immigrants Class Six February 9, 2001 Tentative Field Trip Class Seven February 11, 2002 - Debrief Prison Visits/Case Presentations - Prepare Affidavit/Briefs - Continue research - Teams re-strategize and finalize research - If time permits: Film: The Promised Land; or The Golden Venture * Between Class Seven and Eleven Students will strategize about additional evidence. Class Eight Persecution on account of Race Pages 511-514 & 521-536 Persecution on account of NationalityPages 515-517 & 521-536 Persecution on account of Religion Pages 457 460 & Liadakis (462); Abdel Masieh (504); Hekmat Wadih Mikhael, petitioner, versus Immigration and Naturalization Service, respondent No. 95-60581 United States Court of Appeals for the fifth circuit 1997 If time permits: Film: Asylum in America Class Nine February 25, 2001 Persecution on account of Social Group Pages 549-586 Women as a Social Group Pages 600-699 LBGT as a Social Group Pages712 722 If time permits: Film: Fire Eyes Female Circumcision; La Operacion Mid term due: Students submit 3 copies of evidence packets
MARCH Class Ten march 4, 2002 Persecution on account of Political Opinion Pages 353-446 Class Eleven Bars to Protections: Exclusion (729 778) Cessation (Firm Re-settlement) (783-793) Pre inspection Interdiction Time limits on asylum applications (792-793) Expedited removal and false documents (728; 916) Detention (917), Zadyyvas (S. Ct) The INS Detention Standards Implementation initiative; A Training Manual for Advocates. ABA (KF/4819/158 2001 at Biddle) Mock Hearing Outlines due for Senior Writing requirement Film: if time permits: Well-founded Fear Class Twelve Employment, welfare entitlements, expedited procedures, and returns to safe Countries Other avenues: Root causes: Corporate Law: Ken WIWA v. Royal Dutch petroleum Co. International Court of Justice: http://www.icj-cij.org LaGrand Case (Germany v. United States of America) (2001, June); Class Thirteen March 25, 2001 Possibly No class in lieu of Saturday Trip Class Fourteen April 1, 2001 Review APRIL Class Fifteen April 8, 2001 Last class. Final essay in lieu of Final Exam PIRC Contact Metty Vithayathil, Interim Director Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) P.O. Box 3587
York, PA 17402 TEL: 717 319 6528 e-mail: mvithaya@yahoo.com cc. fchang@law.upenn.edu