Maria Cristina Garcia, expert on refugees, immigrants, exiles, author of “Seeking Refuge,” and professor of American Studies at Cornell University, discusses why asylum policy must be included in public discussions about immigration reform – and how partisan bickering is holding up long-needed progress on overall immigration reform.

Por favor dale nota que Maria Cristina Garcia está disponible para ser entrevistada en español.

Garcia says:

“Absent from the public discussions of immigration reform is asylum policy, which refugee advocates have long argued is in need of reform to address the realities of migration in today's world.

“Unfortunately, just as partisan bickering has left judicial seats unfilled for years, the current political climate in Washington makes reform of the asylum bureaucracy unlikely.

“Meanwhile, the asylum backlog continues to grow and people who are in need of protection from the United States languish in prisons and detention centers around the country waiting for their chance in court.”