February 17, 2021
Photo: Andrew Oberstadt, IRC
An asylum-seeker is someone who is seeking international protection from dangers in their home country. To apply, they must first arrive at or cross an international border. In immigration court, they then bear the burden of proof and must be able to demonstrate to authorities that they meet the criteria to be covered by refugee protections. Without formal documentation in many cases, it can be difficult for asylum-seekers to provide clear evidence for their claims in court.
The Arizona Asylum Network (AAN), now managed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Arizona, helps to meet this need through a network of medical and behavioral health professionals from across the state, who volunteer to conduct evaluations for asylum-seekers. Medical evaluations can document scars, burns and other physical evidence of injuries, and establish their consistency with events that the asylum-seeker has reported. Psychological evaluations can similarly help corroborate the asylum-seeker’s story, provide a framework for understanding how trauma may be impacting their behavior in a courtroom setting, address inconsistencies in written and verbal testimony, and increase their credibility. The evaluations are impartial, and evaluators write an affidavit citing their training and certification.