Name: The fundamental right to seek asylum
Uploaded: 2019-07-16T19:53:55Z
Duration: 10 min 45 s
Description: Refugee and immigrants rights attorney Melanie Nezer shares an urgently needed historical perspective on the crisis at the southern US border, showing how citizens can hold their governments accountable for protecting the vulnerable. "A country shows strength through compassion and pragmatism, not through force and through fear," she says.

Refugee and immigrants rights attorney Melanie Nezer shares an urgently needed historical perspective on the crisis at the southern US border, showing how citizens can hold their governments accountable for protecting the vulnerable. "A country shows strength through compassion and pragmatism, not through force and through fear," she says.

The fundamental right to seek asylum

Seeking asylum is a fundamental legal right anchored in international law and history. Policies meant to deter refugees at the US border often create needless suffering, like the detention and separation of over 3,000 children, some as young as toddlers. The current crisis echoes past generations who fled violence, and today’s migrants often arrive with nothing but hope and the clothes on their backs. Humane responses and global cooperation, not panic or cruelty, align with a nation’s deepest values.