Raising the Credible Fear Screening Standard Will Endanger Lives but Won’t Fix the Border

Elevating the credible fear asylum screening standard – whether through statutory, regulatory or other administrative action – would be unjust, return refugees to persecution, subvert international law, and fail to address the real challenges at the border.

Enacted by Congress, the credible fear standard is used to ensure individuals who have a “significant possibility” of establishing eligibility for asylum are not ordered removed from the United States through the expedited removal process. Proposed or potential changes would evade or eliminate this safeguard and impose a higher standard that would deport without asylum hearings people who have significant chances of proving their eligibility for asylum.

Read our fact sheet for details on the dangers of raising the credible fear screening standard.