Singled Out: Scaling Violence and Social Groups as Legal Borderwork in U.S. Asylum Law

Abstract

Through legal interpretation of immigration categories, such as the refugee definition, signatories to the UN Refugee Convention restrict access to political asylum. This paper examines how scalar logics are used in legal interpretation to filter out particular people from national space and control the number legally entitled to enter and remain in the U.S. Scalar logics shape access by requiring asylum seekers to prove they have been ‘singled out’ for persecution and by steering the meaning of the ‘particular social group’ provision of the refugee definition. The restrictive effects of these scalar logics are analyzed in relation to case law involving Central American asylum seekers fleeing gang‐related violence. These cases are often rejected on the basis that the asylum seekers possess identities and experiences exceeding the limited protection offered by asylum. Through analysis of these scalar logics, the paper highlights how interpretations of the refugee definition are an ongoing site of struggle over the scope of asylum protection.

Collectivized Discretion: Seeking Explanations for Decreased Asylum Recognition Rates in Finland After Europe's 2015 “Refugee Crisis”

“…Gorman (2019, 490) points out that “the refugee definition is not static but rather a site of ongoing struggle over asylum protection, evolving in response to changing human rights norms and domestic priorities.” We assert that concrete changes in Finland's international protection practices closely match the objectives and content of the Finnish government's 2015 asylum policy action plan and the series of crisis-based policies aiming to shrink the population of asylum-seekers. A perceived refugee crisis or “too many” asylum applicants from a particular origin country can potentially impact asylum recognition rates, as previous quantitative research has demonstrated (e.g., Rottman, Fariss and Poe 2009; Neumayer 2005).…”

Conceptualizing, Theorizing, and Measuring the Contributions of Business to Refugee Crises

“…However, interpersonal violence, even at levels below civil war, can lead people to seek asylum outside their countries of origin. For instance, in many countries, a climate of unpunished violence against women often compels them to flee and seek asylum elsewhere (El-Moslemany et al, 2022; Gorman, 2019). Nonstate actors such as criminal gangs can also cause people to become asylum seekers (Law, 2020), and people who are persecuted because they are sexual minorities in their countries of origin (Streed et al, 2023) often seek refuge in safe countries.…”

Contemporary Refugee‐Border Dynamics and the Legacies of the 1919 Paris Peace Conference ⋆

“…In this special issue, both Cynthia Gorman (Gorman 2019b) and John Agnew (Agnew ) direct their attention toward theoretical and empirical understanding of state apparatuses, and especially the set of institutions and agents through which state power is exercised. Their articles explore the specific ways in which the United States utilizes creative strategies to reduce their internationally and domestically sanctioned responsibilities to refugees.…”