ABSTRACT
Introduction Asylum and refugee admissions, more than any other immigration category, reflect concern for human rights and the physical security of migrants. According to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, individuals with a “well-founded fear of being persecuted” in their country of origin deserve special protection and, in particular, have the right to not be returned to unsafe conditions (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 1951). Moreover, the Refugee Convention emphasizes non-discrimination against migrants on the basis of nationality, religion, ethnicity, or other social category. The United States has a long tradition of welcoming people fleeing religious, political, and ethnic persecution, as its early settlers included people fleeing wars and religious strife in Europe. Since the Second World War, the protection of refugees has been included among a “liberal consensus” on human rights and has been reinforced by international and domestic laws (Gibney 1999; Jacobson 1996; Joppke 1998).
