What's the Difference between a Refugee and an Asylum Seeker?

Immigration policy and legal labels for immigrants can get confusing. Certain designations offer increased levels of protection or guaranteed services for new arrivals. Here's a quick rundown on the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker.

Refugee

A refugee is an individual who has been forced to flee their home country because of war, violence or persecution (religious, political, gender-based, etc.). Determinations of who meets the definition of a refugee are made by official entities such as receiving countries' government bodies, or the United Nations Refugee Agency. Refugee status provides protections under international laws, and they often receive significant support from nonprofit agencies dedicated to this cause. They have legal protections and established pathways to become lawful permanent US residents and, sometimes, US citizens.

Asylum Seeker

An asylum seeker is an individual who flees their home country and presents at a border or crosses a border into another country and requests asylum status. The determination of whether or not they will receive asylum depends on individual court cases in their country of destination, and the timing of this process varies dramatically. The onus is on the individual to demonstrate that they meet the criteria to be covered by refugee protections. Asylum seekers generally have significantly less legal protections and support than those who have been assigned refugee status by a government entity.

In 2023, approximately 6.8 million individuals were identified as asylum seekers worldwide, and the US was the largest recipient of new individual asylum applications. Recent changes to Title 8 (the U.S. code pertaining to immigration law) have marked a significant policy shift in how the US handles new asylum applications - including but not limited to disqualifying individuals' application for asylum if they arrive to the US between ports of entry, or if they fail to apply for asylum in each pass-through country prior to arriving in the US. As the logistical barriers build, it becomes more imperative than ever before that those individuals who secure an asylum court date undergo a forensic medical evaluation to support their petition.

References

1. https://www.rescue.org/article/migrants-asylum-seekers-refugees-and-immigrants-whats-difference#:~:text=An%20asylum%20seeker%20is%20someone,border%20in%20order%20to%20apply.d

2. https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/4e9beaa19.pdfa19.pdf

3. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1158&num=0&edition=prelim