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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Alexandra Villarreal in New York

‘Meant to be a deterrent’: asylum seekers face new, higher fees in US

United States Immigration Nicole Johnson DOJ
people walking across a bridge
People walk back to Mexico on International Bridge 1 Las Americas, a legal port of entry which connects Laredo, Texas in the US with Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, in 2019. Photograph: Marco Ugarte/AP

By the time the woman’s asylum hearing came around, she had already been stuck in the purgatory of immigration custody for about nine months.

Exhausted from detention conditions that are allegedly oppressive at best and deadly at worst, she nevertheless arrived at her court date in Laredo, Texas, with hope in the shape of strong evidence for her claim to asylum in the US. Yet before she could make her case for refuge, the immigration judge demanded she turn over a new and unexpected $100 asylum application fee.

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