Frankly we haven’t paid much attention to asylum but we need to. Briefly stated asylum is the other side of the refugee coin. Refugees are identified primarily by the United Nations and some sort of screening process occurs abroad (we can only hope it is a serious and thorough process because no one will tell us about it). Asylees, on the other hand, can get into the US illegally and then say they are persecuted with the help of lawyers like this one.
Just now as I was searching for something else I came across an ad* for an immigration lawyer that goes like this:
That’s why I have a special interest in the developing area of gender-related claims (gay/lesbian/transsexual/domestic violence); I’ve always been interested in issues involving persecution, be it political or gender- based.
If you believe you have been persecuted because of your sexual orientation, you may be eligible to apply for political asylum in the United States.
Although this particular lawyer works mostly with Hispanics who apply from abroad for asylum, one could arrive illegally in say New York from Egypt, Iran or Saudi Arabia or any other Muslim country where homosexuality is illegal and where gays have been killed and seek asylum based on sexual orientation.
Asylees are eligible for all the welfare, housing subsidies, food stamps and so on that refugees receive.
You learn something new every day.
* Sorry I have no link. I accidentally closed the article and when I opened it again the advertisement was gone. I know her name was Hedi something. Maybe just as well I lost it because she isn’t paying us for promoting her business.