Houston Asylum Office is mishandling asylum screening process, immigration attorneys say

Advocates for asylum seekers are calling for a federal investigation into the Houston Asylum Office for allegedly mishandling critical interviews. The complaint, filed Wednesday with the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, alleges that the office is severely violating “due process and statutory obligations” when conducting interviews used to gauge an asylum seeker’s risk of danger if they return to their country. The complaint details more than two dozen instances of asylum officers mishandling screenings known as credible fear interviews. A credible fear interview is a first step for those seeking asylum. Failing the interview could lead to a person’s removal from the U.S., but if a person passes, they’ll be allowed to stay in the country and continue their case in immigration court.

“The Houston Asylum Office in particular has failed to apply the proper legal standard in conducting (credible fear interviews), denying bona fide asylum seekers the opportunity to present their cases in full hearings, and endangering their lives by returning them to harm’s way without due process,” the complaint read. The allegations include: scheduling credible fear interviews without informing the asylum seeker's attorney; forcing asylum seekers to be interviewed in languages in which they are not fluent; applying incorrect standards in evaluating asylum seekers' claims; using adversarial interview techniques on vulnerable people, including children and survivors of persecution and torture. In one instance outlined in the complaint, a Houston Asylum Officer denied a credible fear interview to a person — identified as Mr. A.G. in the complaint — after he provided detailed testimony of him being attacked in Senegal after being perceived as gay. “The officer then incorrectly summarized Mr. A.G.’s testimony, omitted significant events, and denied his (credible fear interview),” the complaint read.