ICE Revises Parole Policy for Asylum Seekers

On Wednesday, December 16, ICE issued a policy directive to all Detention and Removal Operations personnel regarding detaining asylum seekers arriving in the United States.  Under the new guidance, all incoming asylum seekers who demonstrate a credible fear of persecution if returned to their country of origin will be automatically screened by ICE for possible release while their case is pending. 

In recent years, release for arriving asylum seekers has declined, in part because applicants had to petition for it in writing, which in most cases would only occur if the detainee was represented by an attorney.  For those who did manage to file a written petition for parole, the actual chances of being granted release remained limited.  Rates of release varied tremendously for arriving asylum seekers among ICE offices throughout the country.  In some areas, parole requests were so rarely granted that applicants stopped seeking it.  Following the new directive, asylum seekers should be released following a credible fear determination if they are not a flight risk or a danger to the community.  As always, implementation and oversight of the guidance will be critical to ensuring that arriving asylum seekers who merit release do not remain needlessly detained.

How this new policy will affect asylum seekers who are already here and currently in detention is unclear.  While the language in the agency’s memo and fact sheet only addresses newly-arriving asylum seekers, ICE spokesperson Brian Hale said that the new policy would also apply to those currently detained.