Asylum seekers get chilly welcome in U.S.

Petra Cahill Reporter • E-mail

ELIZABETH, N.J. — “Truly, detention is very, very hard … It’s like prison,” said Ahmed, a 26-year-old refugee from the Ivory Coast who is seeking political asylum in this country. Meantime, he has spent the last six months of his life behind bars with no immediate sign of release.

“But, I can not return to my country right now because the situation is too difficult there — with the war, the conflict. I risk my life if I return. So, I am obliged to wait,” said Ahmed, who requested that his full name not be used in order to protect his security and that of his family in the Ivory Coast. 

Whether or not the West African's case for political asylum succeeds remains in the hands of a U.S. Immigration Court. For now, as far as Immigration Customs Enforcement, a part of the Bureau of Homeland Security, is concerned, Ahmed is a man who came into this country under false documents. So since his identity and whatever else he is claiming are unclear, he must remain in detention until his case is decided.

As the U.N. marks World Refugee Day on Monday, Ahmed is just one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled to the United States seeking refuge and political asylum since the nation's founding.

The notion of providing “asylum” and a safe haven to people suffering from persecution based on their political or religious beliefs is ingrained as a part of American society since its foundation.

But in the past few years there has been a decline in the number of immigrants seeking asylum here — 46,776 in the 2000 fiscal year compared with 31,561 in 2004 — and those who seek refuge are usually incarcerated as soon as they touch U.S. soil. Many officials attribute the decline in numbers to greater vigilance and much more thorough investigations into the background and identity of each and every person that enters the country on the part of the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the September 11th attacks.

“Detention is devastating to our clients," said Eleanor Acer, Director of the Asylum Program at Human Rights First, an advocacy group that provides pro-bono legal representation to refugees. "Many come here to the United States because they believe that this country is the land of freedom and liberty and a place where they will find protection. They are often shocked to find themselves greeted with handcuffs and shackles and put into prison garb and held in jail,” she said.

Few options left
According to Ahmed, he fled the Ivory Coast for fear of his life because of his membership of the main opposition political party — the Rally of Republicans, commonly known as the RDR.

Beginning in 2000, Ahmed says that he was picked up in the capital, Abidjan, by the ruling party’s militia numerous times and was beaten, tortured, and imprisoned for several days at a time as a result of his political activity. He was finally driven into hiding, but that did not stop military thugs from searching for him at his home and killing his mother when they failed to find him.

With options running out, Ahmed traveled to the United States with false papers and arrived at JFK Airport on Dec. 27, 2004. When his papers were questioned, he claims that he immediately stated that they were false and requested political asylum for his protection.

But, as far as Immigration Customs Enforcement officials were concerned, he was an individual who sought entry with a stolen passport. As long as his identity and his claim for asylum are investigated, he has to remain in detention according to Michael Gilhooly, Spokesman for Immigration Customs Enforcement.

ENCARTA IVORY COAST: Maps, facts and figures

Ahmed was sent to the Wackenhut Detention Center in Queens, N.Y., sharing a room with 40 other men that had no windows, but 31 hanging lights that were illuminated from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. everyday, and his bed could be found next to the one of four toilets the men shared. The food was so awful that he lost over 20 pounds and he became sick because of the full-blast air conditioning at the facility.

The Wackenhut facility was closed at the beginning of June and Ahmed was transferred to the Elizabeth Detention Facility in New Jersey where he said conditions are better. 

Ahmed’s case for asylum is being fought by his pro-bono lawyer Shawn Friedman — from the law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips — who he was matched up with by the advocacy group, Human Rights First.

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