Law Commons^™

Forever Barred: Reinstated Removal Orders And The Right To Seek Asylum, Hillary Gaston Walsh, J.D.

Catholic University Law Review

Amid the largest refugee crisis in history, noncitizens fleeing persecution are routinely barred from applying for asylum in the United States solely because they have a reinstated order of removal. This bar to asylum access is mandated by federal regulation, and it applies indiscriminately—regardless of whether the asylum seeker was persecuted after her initial removal order was entered or whether her initial removal was based on one of the numerous, well-documented errors border patrol officers make when issuing removal orders.

This Article is the first academic piece to examine this regulation's statutory basis, including its legislative history and its troubling …