Desperately seeking asylum : testimonies of trauma, courage, and love / Helen T. Boursier.

Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, [2019]

©2019

xi, 223 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

"Desperately Seeking Asylum prioritizes the testimonies of refugee families and unaccompanied children who are seeking asylum in the U.S. from Central America, primarily Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. Their desperate and heart-wrenching stories disclose why they fled their homelands, their experiences along the treacherous overland journey, and the harsh reality of how the U.S. treats these families and children upon arrival to the U.S. It critiques U.S. complicity to the violence they are fleeing and discloses how national leadership shapes U.S. Immigration policies and practices, including the blatant documented violations against asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. Most notably, it offers transparency on U.S. Immigration practices at the U.S.-Mexico border which violate existing U.S. and international laws that are intended to protect asylum seekers, including the current official practice of blocking bridges with 'turnbacks' to prevent 'inadmissibles' from applying for asylum in the U.S. It explains protections mandated by U.S. law for unaccompanied children who are in U.S. custody, and discloses violations which keep these children detained excessive lengths of time in substandard for-profit facilities which are overseen by the government and funded by taxpayers. Boursier also deconstructs the complicated asylum process, including examining the credible fear for asylum procedure, showing how technical terms and language are used to justify injustice at the border"-- Provided by publisher.

Online version: Boursier, Helen T., 1960- Desperately seeking asylum Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2019]

English

February 12, 2020

Includes bibliographical references and index.