Is it legal to cross the U.S. border to seek asylum?

Families escaping violence and persecution in their home countries, including from unprecedented and growing humanitarian crises in Latin America, the Caribbean, Afghanistan and parts of Africa often undertake a dangerous journey to seek safety in the United States.

The right to seek asylum was incorporated into international law following the atrocities of World War II. Congress adopted key provisions of the Geneva Refugee Convention (including the international definition of a refugee) into U.S. immigration law when it passed the Refugee Act of 1980.

An asylum seeker is someone who has fled their home in search of safety and protection in another country. Because they cannot obtain protection in their home country, they seek it elsewhere. Asylum seekers may be of any age, gender, socio-economic status or nationality—though the majority come from regions of the world that are suffering from conflict, disaster and weak rule of law.