Investigations
The Right to Asylum
Tens of thousands of people from all over the world seek asylum in the US each year. These already traumatized survivors of torture, war, and persecution will likely have spent an average of ten months in jail before winning safe haven. During that time, many of them experience high levels of anxiety, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some will not be granted asylum at all and deported back to more repression in their countries of origin.
PHR advocates for the US government to protect the rights of asylum seekers by providing alternatives to incarceration, by mandating safeguards at points of entry, by improving treatment and conditions for detainees, by improving access to quality physical and metal health services, and by ending the incarceration of minors.
PHR reports on Asylum include:
Examining Asylum Seekers: A Health Professional's Guide to Medical and Psychological Evaluations of Torture is the ultimate source for medical professionals on how to document the signs and symptoms of torture and conduct medical evaluations of asylum seekers.
From Persecution to Prison: The Health Consequences of Detention for Asylum Seekers is the first systematic and the most comprehensive scientific study examining the health of detained asylum seekers. It found that access to mental health services was limited, and the longer the incarceration, the more the asylum seekers' mental health deteriorated.
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