The New York Times

February 8, 2007

U.S. May Be Mishandling Asylum Seekers, Panel Says

By RACHEL L. SWARNS

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 - A bipartisan federal commission warned on Wednesday
that the Bush administration, in its zeal to secure the nation's borders
and stem the tide of illegal immigrants, may be leaving asylum seekers
vulnerable to deportation and harsh treatment.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which
Congress asked to assess asylum regulations, found two years ago that
some immigration officials were improperly processing asylum seekers for
deportation. The commission, which also found that asylum seekers were
often strip-searched, shackled and held in jails, called for safeguards
in the system of speedy deportations known as expedited removal, to
protect those fleeing persecution.

But the commission, which will issue its new findings on Thursday, says
officials have failed to put into effect most of its 2005
recommendations. It says the failures come even as the Bush
administration has significantly expanded efforts to detain and swiftly
deport illegal immigrants from countries other than Mexico without
letting them make their case before an immigration judge.

"We are clearly concerned as to whether, in addition to prioritizing
secure borders, the government is ensuring fair and humane treatment of
legitimate asylum seekers," said Felice D. Gaer, who is head of the
commission, which was created by Congress in 1998. "We are really quite
disappointed and dismayed by the lack of a response."

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, the Connecticut independent who is chairman
of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, also expressed concern about
the slow pace of change. Mr. Lieberman said he planned to introduce
legislation by March to require the Department of Homeland Security to
adopt several of the commission's main recommendations.

Officials from the Homeland Security Department emphasized that they had
put into effect some recommendations, including naming the first senior
adviser for refugee and asylum policy and updating training for
immigration officers, detention workers and other personnel.

But they said many other recommendations were impractical given the
challenges in trying to stop illegal immigrants from pouring into the
country.

"We have taken their report seriously," said Stewart A. Baker, an
assistant secretary of homeland security. "But some of their
recommendations just weren't practical given the enormous flood of
illegal immigrants that we deal with every day."

Mr. Baker said the department looked forward to working with Mr.
Lieberman and would review his measure after it had been introduced.

In its report, the commission praised the Justice Department, which
oversees immigration courts, for training immigration judges on asylum
law, expanding the number of legal orientation programs for detained
immigrants and trying to improve immigration court decisions.

But the commission was sharply critical of the Department of Homeland
Security, whose border agents and immigration officers interview asylum
seekers at airports or land crossings.

Domestic security regulations require that immigration officials refer
an illegal immigrant for what is known as a credible-fear interview if
the immigrant indicates "an intention to apply for asylum, a fear of
torture or a fear of return to his or her country." The asylum seeker is
then removed from the expedited removal process so an immigration judge
can review the claim.

But the commission found no evidence that domestic security officials
had taken steps to ensure that agents advised immigrants to ask for such
protection or to ensure that agents did not deport immigrants who
express fear of deportation.

The commission also found no indication that the Department of Homeland
Security had taken steps to ensure that asylum seekers were not treated
like criminals while their claims were being evaluated. Mr. Stewart said
that it would be too burdensome to create a separate detention program
for asylum seekers and that such a system might create incentives for
people to claim that they were fleeing persecution.

Eleanor Acer of Human Rights First said the failure to address such
problems promptly had "real human consequences."

"Asylum seekers continue to be jailed in these prisonlike facilities for
months and, in some cases, for years," Ms. Acer said.

The commission also expressed concern that officials chose to expand the
expedited removal process before addressing the problems in the handling
of asylum seekers.