Deborah Anker’s Law of Asylum in the United States, an authoritative guide to U.S. asylum law, was recently released as its updated 2016 edition. Lauded as a “must-have publication for practitioners, students, and teachers”, Law of Asylum provides a comprehensive description and interpretation of the current state of national and international asylum law.
Law of Asylum closely discusses topics of broad and current interest. The distinction and particularity of social group claims are examined, such as in the recent Matter of A-R-C-G-. This decision entailed the finding of a Guatemalan woman who was subject to severe spousal abuse as eligible for asylum. The 2016 edition of Law of Asylum expands and updates the Procedures Appendix, added last year, to provide an invaluable framework for practitioners and researchers alike.
This latest edition explores fundamental issues of asylum law, particularly:
- The meaning of “well-founded fear” and “persecution”
- The five grounds for asylum (race, religion, nationality, social group membership, and political opinion)
- Withholding of removal protection and protection under the Convention Against Torture
- Claims based on childhood status and gender-based persecution
- When nonstate actors can be considered agents of persecution
- Extensive coverage of gang membership/opposition to gangs
- Elements of proof
- Credibility determinations
- Recent changes in statutory language enacted with the REAL ID Act
- BIA cases on social distinction and particularity
This essential publication on U.S. asylum law is available for purchase online through Thomson Reuters at http://legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/Practice-Materials/Law-of-Asylum-in-the-United-States-2016-ed/p/102370776
-Valentina Guerrero