Understanding the Syrian Refugee Crisis and How Refugees Receive Asylum in the United States: Part 3

This third installment focusing on Syrian refugees will address what a refugee goes through when he or she finally makes it to the United States and what we, especially those of us in Colorado, can do to help. Once a refugee has passed the security clearance screening, they then fly to one of five designated … Read more

Understanding the Syrian Refugee Crisis and How Refugees Receive Asylum in the United States: Part 2

The first part of this three-part series explained what the causes of the Syrian Refugee Crisis are and where the crisis stands now. The second portion of this series will explore the process a Syrian refugee must go through to receive asylum in the United States. This is important information for all of us to … Read more

Understanding the Syrian Refugee Crisis and How Refugees Receive Asylum in the United States: Part 1

The Syrian Refugee Crisis is not only a problem for residents in Europe and the Middle East; it is a problem for all members of the global community. The Syrian Refugee Crisis has become an issue in Europe and the Middle East because the war has created a massive influx of refugees who need food, … Read more

Gender-Based Asylum Claims: Why the United States Approves So few

Under current asylum law, gender is not a protected ground for asylum. The United States, as well as many other countries around the world, first committed to the international community to protect the rights of refugees when it signed the Refugee Convention in 1951, the controlling international convention in refugee law.  A refugee, according to … Read more

Critical Analysis: Accusations Against Australia’s Border Protection Policies

Over the past month, Australian navy and customs officers have been accused of towing or turning back boats carrying Indonesian asylum-seekers. Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has reported little about Australia’s asylum-seeker policies, fearing that exposing such information may create a tactical advantage in a wartime scenario. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) … Read more

Critical Analysis: Does Snowden have a “Right to Asylum?”

Edward Snowden has become America’s newest celebrity.  The former National Security Agency employee has been charged with espionage by the United States after leaking top secret documents on U.S. surveillance program PRISM.   Snowden left Hong Kong in late June, looking for a safe haven, arriving in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport on June 23.  Since then, he … Read more

Critical Analysis: An “Imperial Skyjacking”

After attending a conference in Moscow, Bolivian president Eva Morales boarded a private airplane and began his journey home. However, shortly after departure, the plane was diverted to Vienna, Austria, a detour not originally planned by the president or his crew. Upon landing, it was reported that France, Portugal, Italy, and Spain had refused to … Read more