El trámite para acceder al asilo en Estados Unidos toma en promedio cuatro años, según un estudio. A finales de 2022, había 30.455 casos de ecuatorianos pendientes.
Migrants line up to voluntarily surrender to the Border Patrol, on May 9, 2023, at the El Paso, Texas (USA) border.
The United States seeks to reduce the time it takes to process asylum applications submitted by migrants seeking to enter its territory. Above all, after the end of Title 42 , a policy that allowed the rapid expulsion of those detained at the border.
Until December 2022, migrants had to wait an average of 4 years for a response, from the time their case entered an Immigration Court until the asylum hearing was scheduled.
This is detailed in a report from the Data Research Center of Syracus University, in the United States, which is based on official government data.
That average wait occurred, despite the fact that in March 2022 the United States issued new guidelines to reduce response times.
The reasons for the delays are two, mainly:
- Lack of staff to resolve cases.
- The growing number of asylum applications received by the United States.
“The number of people applying for the protection provided by asylum has exceeded the capacity of government agencies to process applications quickly and fairly,” the report details.
By the end of 2022, the number of asylum seekers awaiting a hearing reached 1.5 million people . A record number.
In the case of Ecuadorians, the resolution of asylum requests can take even longer, says William Murillo, director of 1800-Migrante, an organization that provides legal assistance:
30,000 pending cases of Ecuadorians
Ecuador has one of the lowest percentages of asylum granted in the United States. Out of a list of 21 countries, it is in penultimate place. In fiscal year 2022, of 3,380 resolutions, only 23% were favorable.
This is revealed by another report from Syracus University . At the end of fiscal year 2022, there were 30,455 Ecuadorian asylum applications pending resolution in the Immigration Court.
The research center maintains that nationality is decisive in the decisions made by judges to grant or deny asylum.
The Joe Biden administration, for example, implemented policies to allow Venezuelan citizens to enter for humanitarian reasons.
In global numbers, in 2022, the United States accepted 46% of asylum applications from all nationalities . Venezuela is the only country in South America that exceeds that percentage, with 77%.
Average wait times also vary depending on where the Immigration Court is located : Courts in New York or New Jersey , where Ecuadorians usually go, are among the most crowded.
The steps to asylum
The United States Government has asked migrants to access the CBP One application to try to enter the country legally.
The process has several steps:
- With the application, migrants get an appointment for a “credible fear” interview , in which they must argue why they cannot return to their country.
- Those who do not demonstrate that credible fear will be deported , within a period of 30 days.
- Only if the migrant can demonstrate credible fear, they can start the asylum process and must submit an application before a judge.
- Only at this step does the asylum process begin and migrants can remain in the United States pending a resolution.
According to William Murillo, asylum is the only path that some migrants can take to obtain some immigration benefit , which is why it is in high demand.
“By requesting asylum, the United States cannot deport migrants and in six months they can request a work permit and a social security number,” he explains.
That allows migrants to remain calm in the United States, even if the asylum process lasts years.
