What is asylum? Simply put, the United States must not return someone to a country where they have a well-founded fear of persecution. Following the atrocities of World War II, Congress created a U.S. asylum system under international treaty and federal law. But in recent years, as many more people sought asylum at the U.S./Mexico border, this moral and legal obligation became a political lightning rod.
Colleen Zengotitabengoa has seen these challenges first-hand, in her two decades serving at the Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and Congress. As an attorney, she has directly represented asylum-seekers – real people who were not “exploiting a loophole.” Colleen will help you understand what happened to our asylum system, why it matters, and what we as a nation need to do next.
==Learn More==
Amanda, Claire, and Doug express their own personal opinions on The Melting Pod. This episode was produced by Michael Palmer (palmer.media). Read more about the topics in this episode:
* Asylum in the United States - American Immigration Council (June 2026)
* The Voyage of the St. Louis - Facing History and Ourselves
* Managing migration under pressure: Lessons from the Biden presidency to build a migration policy in the national interest - Brookings Institution (July 2025)
* What Are Safe Mobility Offices? - National Immigration Forum (Feb. 2024)* Abandoning Principles: Unpacking the Supreme Court's Mullin v. Al Otro Lado Denying Asylum to Arriving Migrants - Just Security (June 2026)
* Modernizing America's Asylum System - American Immigration Lawyers Association (April 2026)
==Give More==
Want to help build a more sane and humane immigration system? Support hardworking organizations like these:
National:
* #AfghanEvac – working to ensure the U.S. keeps its promise to our Afghan allies
* Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project – the country’s largest membership organization of asylum seekers, working together for change
* Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) – organizing and advocating for racial, social and economic justice
* Haitian Bridge Alliance – providing humanitarian, legal, and social services
* International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) - strategic litigation and advocacy to uphold the rights of people seeking safety
* Justice Action Center - immigrant justice through litigation and storytelling
Local:
* Al Otro Lado - legal and humanitarian support to refugees, deportees, and other migrants in the U.S. and Tijuana
* Catholic Charities Rio Grande Valley - providing assistance to the poor and most vulnerable populations in the Rio Grande Valley community
* Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center - free and low-cost legal services to immigrants and refugees in West Texas, New Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico
* Support an immigration service provider near you
==Chapters==
(0:00:00) Introduction
(0:01:27) What is asylum?
(0:02:48) Who is Colleen Zengotitabengoa?
(0:04:21) Who qualifies for asylum?
(0:05:46) Comparison to the refugee process
(0:08:40) A brief history of asylum
(0:12:30) Shameful lessons of WWII
(0:13:32) One client’s asylum journey
(0:14:58) Two doors to asylum (affirmative and defensive)
(0:19:02) Expedited removal and credible fear
(0:21:32) More people claiming asylum at the border
(0:25:32) Asylum is not a loophole
(0:28:12) You can’t enforce your way out of this problem
(0:32:02) Then why is the border so quiet?
(0:33:34) What does “sealing the border” mean?
(0:35:39) If we can’t figure out how to fix it, then that’s on us
(0:38:07) Asylum doesn’t have to be this complicated
(0:40:42) Millions of cases in the backlog
(0:44:21) “Particular social group”
(0:46:40) Asylum and gender
(0:51:46) Pushing problems beyond our borders
(0:54:32) Why don’t we have a real refugee system in Latin America?
(0:57:20) Regional solutions
(1:00:19) We have a moral obligation to protect people
(1:02:22) The Supreme Court endorses “metering”
(1:07:36) Why *is* the border so quiet now?
(1:09:23) So what should we do?
(1:14:10) Three cheers for bureaucracy
(1:15:22) Conclusion (Gen X style)
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