Asylum Seekers in the United States are:
- Displaced people fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries
- Requesting sanctuary individually, unlike refugees who are invited and resettled by the U.S. State Department
- From many different countries, but the families that we will be supporting will be passing through the southern border.
What happens to asylum seekers after they arrive in the United States?
- They are detained in locked facilities for an uncertain period.
- They are given a “credible fear interview” to determine if they have a reasonable claim to asylum.
- They may be released if they have relatives or friends somewhere in the U.S. to support them (or an organization such as Bridge to Rutland).
- On release, they will be scheduled for asylum hearings in immigration court.
- The process usually takes a few years, resulting in either asylum or deportation.
For a sister organization in southern Vermont working on this, check out: https://www.asylumsponsorshipproject.org/