USCIRF Praises DOJ Changes Protecting Asylum Seekers

On Monday, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a release praising action taken by the Justice Department earlier this month to protect legitimate asylum seekers from abroad (including those facing religious persecution at home) from unfair deportation under the expedited removal system. The changes were based on recommendations made by USCIRF in a 2005 study titled Report on Asylum Seekers in Expedited Removal. USCIRF Chair Felice D. Gaer urged the Department of Homeland Security to also make recommended changes "to bring an end to jail-like detention for legitimate asylum seekers by DHS."