Justice Is Beside the Point in America’s Immigration Courts (2)

This is the first story in the series Courting Injustice, which reveals how US immigration courts deny many deserving asylum seekers due process.

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In May 2018, Yerandy Valdes Ruiz walked across the bridge spanning the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas, and told a border patrol officer he was being persecuted by a government he actively opposed.

The 29-year-old Cuban already knew that the US asylum system isn’t meant for people simply seeking better economic prospects. It’s for people oppressed because of their race, religion, political opinions or membership in another targeted social group. So when ...