US Refugee and Asylum Law Seminar

This seminar addresses domestic asylum law, which is a form of relief available to those refugees who have been persecuted, or fear they may be persecuted in the future, on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. The seminar is both substance and skill-based. By the end of the seminar, students will be able trace modern asylum law’s development to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention, the 1967 Protocol, and the U.S. Refugee Act of 1980. Students will explore the statutory, regulatory, and legal framework of humanitarian protection, including the legal definition of the term “refugee.” Finally, students will become well-versed in all elements of asylum and related protections, along with the legal bars to this form of relief. Seminar students will demonstrate mastery of asylum law issues by presenting a mock closing argument in a hypothetical immigration court case.