The Barrier of Fear: MIMS students collaborate on a complaint regarding Credible Fear Interviews

By Linda Urueña Mariño and Jesús de la Torre Canadilla

A Credible Fear interview (CFI) is a screening procedure to identify if there is a significant possibility that the life of an asylum seeker would be in danger in their country of origin. It is supposed to be a basic screening procedure that doesn’t determine if the person is going to be granted protection, but rather allows the asylum process to continue. However, it has become one of the major barriers to access to asylum for many. Uniformed about their rights, without proper translation, or unaware of what the CFI process entails, many asylum seekers fail in their interviews and face deportation. Here it is the story of how 10 organizations have filed a complaint on the CFI conducted in Houston, and how MIMS students contributed with their little knowledge to it. 

At the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester, MIMS students from Cohort 6 received a joyful visit to our “Introduction to Migration Studies” class from representatives of Fundación Caminante. The Fundación representatives told us about the work they do through moving songs of solidarity and “know-your-rights”. But that day they also told us that they had been contacted by more than 70 asylum seekers from South and Central America who had arrived at the border to apply for asylum. They all were in detention, and they were having troubles with their CFI, be because they didn’t know how to face the process, be because they had failed the process. Fundación Caminante contacted Professor Bill Hing, who recruited volunteers among MIMS students to help in the CFI process. Professor Hing instructed us on what a CFI was, and what should be the focus of our preparation with asylum seekers. 

However, once we contacted them, we realized that the cases were in a more advanced stage of what we were prepared to contribute to. Most of them had already been interviewed, and there were problems with the procedures followed previous and during the interviews. As their CFIs had produced a negative outcome for their cases, they would face deportation. Thus, most would be returned to their countries, where their life would be in danger. We kept trying to look for ways to help them, but unfortunately, most of them were deported. 

Illustration: CJ Ostrosky/POGO

We couldn’t get them back, but talking to their families, something was clear: justice had to be sought. Their cases made evident that there had been irregularities in the procedures: they had not been properly and sufficiently informed about their rights, the interview, and how the process would advance; they were not provided with any opportunity to reach out to an attorney; and they did not have access to any of the informative sessions organized by local advocacy organizations. Others did not have proper assistance from translators, and others were denied documents that they had the right to receive. In consequence, although their claims were valid to be granted asylum, their cases were denied. 

Looking for help, justice and even reparation, we reached out to the media, to advocacy organizations, and to law firms to try to find some support to intercede in their favor, but our efforts bore no results. However, the National Lawyers Guild decided this year to file a complaint to the Office of Civil Rights Civil and Liberties (CRCL) at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to denounce the irregularities that happened in these cases and other 20 more cases. They made a thoughtful job by underlining and analyzing the irregularities, and redacted the complaint. This time, we could help a little bit by organizing the cases that would serve as evidence in a spreadsheet that would be added as evidence attached to the complaint. 

On Wednesday 27, 2022, the complaint was filed. Asylum seekers’ resistance, courage and demands for change are inspiring, but these violations of the law and their rights must end. As a small part of this process, we hope that this effort will contribute to promote respect and justice in the way other asylum seekers are treated, as well as contribute to ensure the respect of the immigration law. Refuge is under assault, and this is one more example of it. We would like to thank the organizations who worked on this complaint, and we pray for the deported asylum seekers who deserved protection but could not find it. 

Read the press release about the complaint for more information.