United States Asylum Policy: Safe Haven or Structured Exclusion?

Abstract

This thesis investigated whether past and current United States immigration policies toward asylum seekers reflect the American value of the United States acting as a safe haven. Founding policy was based on international treaties that helped mold the evolution of domestic asylum policy. The sub-questions examined in this work are how the importance of the state of origin asylees flee affects their probability of being granted asylum, how ideological preference plays a role, whether policies are prejudicial or impartial, and if American attitudes are globally congruent toward all political refugees in need of asylum.