Muslim Asylum Claims in US Courts

By Jeffrey Breinholt

Today, I posted a study conducted under the auspices of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, focusing on the history of Muslim asylum claims in the United States. The study shows that Muslim asylum claims are on the increase, though not in proportion to all asylum claims, which are proliferating in our federal courts of appeal at an exponential rate. Still, these cases reflect a growing component of American court opinions mentioning Islam. The fact that we see so many Muslim refugees in our courts suggests that people should think twice before claiming that the U.S. is not a force of good in the Muslim world. After all, for plenty of Muslims who fear being sent home to their Islamic countries, we are their best hope, the claims of Usama Bin Laden notwithstanding. Many Muslims would rather be here, so much so that they have increasingly taken advantage of our generous asylum laws and legal procedures that give them a fair shot at proving their well-founded fear of persecution. The surprising fact is that Muslims are more likely to sue for asylum when their home countries are Muslim countries than non-Muslim countries. Pakistan – an Islamic state - is the most common country of origin for Muslim asylum claimants who seek judicial review of the immigration authority’s denial. I have included appendices listing cases in relevant categories, for anyone wants to confirm my conclusions. (The report is longer than is customary for posting on the Counterterrorism Blog.)

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