TESTING THE BOUNDARIES: DOES US ASYLUM LAW SATISFY THE REFUGEE CONVENTION?

TESTING THE BOUNDARIES: DOES US ASYLUM LAW SATISFY THE REFUGEE CONVENTION? EILEEN DORFMAN Introduction ................................... ...... 752 I. The International Scheme of Refugee Protection ....... ...... 755 A. The UDHR, Refugee Convention, and 1967 Protocol .......... 755 B. Subsequent Protective Measures Expanding the Definition of Refugee Under Regional Agreements .................. 759 C. Challenges Arising from the US Interpretation of the Refugee Definition....... ....... ................... 760 1. Procedural Issues..........................761 2. Reality of Violence on the Ground .......... ......... 763 II: Historical Background of Soviet Jewish Persecution ..... ..... 766 III: Historical Background of Salvadoran Refugees ........ ....... 769 IV: Comparison ................................. ..... 772 A: How Did the Situations Differ?.. .................. 772 1. Soviet Jews.................... ........... 772 2. Salvadoran Campesinos ............................... 777 V. Conclusion..................................................779 INTRODUCTION There are major gaps in the international framework for refugee protection that nation-states exploit in order to avoid meeting what they consider to be burdensome international obligations. The United States is a key example of a nation that fails to meet its international obligation to treat all individuals seeking asylum equally, in accordance with the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention) and the 1967 Protocol to the Convention.' The United States has J.D. University of Wisconsin Law School (2015); B.A. in International Affairs, Minor in Russian Language and Literature, George Washington University (2009). I would like to thank Professors Heinz Klug and Alexandra Hunecus for their advice and insights about the writing process, as well as the staff of the Wisconsin International Law Journal for their thoughtful review of this work. See generally Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, July 28, 1951, 189 U.N.T.S. 137 [hereinafter Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees], available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/3be0lb964.html; Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees,

TESTING THE BOUNDARIES: DOES US ASYLUM LAW SATISFY THE REFUGEE CONVENTION?

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