Asylum
Program
of
Arizona
Dignity, respect, and protection for immigrants seeking asylum in Arizona
WELCOME
Welcome to the Asylum Program of Arizona (APA), where every contribution makes a difference in the lives of asylum seekers and torture survivors.
MISSION STATEMENT: to provide legal protection, with dignity and respect, for immigrants seeking asylum in Arizona.
Join us in defending human rights and offering safe haven to asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries.
Join our mailing list or donate now to support asylum seekers and torture survivors on their journey to safety and freedom.
WHAT WE DO
Screen Cases
Help with case filings
Refer cases to immigration experts
Provide funding for representation
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
All of our members generously volunteer their time and expertise, embodying our commitment to compassion and solidarity with those in need.
We are one of the only nonprofit organizations in Arizona dedicated to assisting non-detained asylum seekers.
With extensive connections to immigration attorneys across the state, we help ensure comprehensive support to our clients throughout their legal journey.
We coordinate with other community partners to provide essential services such as housing & mental health assistance to support our clients' asylum claims.
We negotiate free or reduced attorney fees for our clients’ cases.
We carefully screen candidates with the help of asylum experts, ensuring that all funds go toward factually and legally viable claims.
We keep our overhead costs extremely low, ensuring that essentially all donations directly support those in need.
Through partnerships with organizations like the International Rescue Committee, we extend our reach to offer comprehensive support, including housing and mental health assistance.
Our volunteer services ensure that every dollar goes further.
As one of the only providers of free or low-cost legal services to non-detained asylum seekers in Arizona, APA operates with extremely low overhead. This means nearly all funds directly assist those in need.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who do we serve?
Our services are open to protection seekers from anywhere in the world. Most come from Central America, but many also come from Mexico and various countries in South America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
More than half are women, most of whom fled with their minor children.
Who qualifies for asylum?
In recent years, government directives have dramatically restricted the grounds on which protection seekers may qualify for asylum and made it harder to apply. Thus, access to legal assistance is even more necessary.
Who qualifies for protection under the Convention Against Torture (CAT)?
To qualify for protection under CAT, the applicant must show that it is more likely than not that she or he will be tortured if deported. The applicant must also show that the harm he or she fears meets the definition of torture under CAT, which requires severe harm or suffering. The definition also requires that the torture would be inflicted by the government of the country the person is fleeing, or that the government would turn a blind eye to it.
While CAT can protect a person who is unable to show that he or she will be persecuted due to one of the grounds required for asylum, the protection is only for the applicant and not for his or her spouse or children.
How does APA select and match clients with immigration lawyers?
APA conducts interviews with clients to assess their needs and circumstances. Based on this information, we match them with experienced immigration lawyers who can best represent their interests.
Does APA cover all legal expenses for clients?
APA covers attorney fees for clients who cannot afford legal representation. We negotiate reduced fees with attorneys and share costs with clients based on their financial abilities.
How does APA ensure transparency and accountability in its operations?
We regularly update donors and stakeholders on our programs and finances, and our organization operates in compliance with legal and ethical standards.
FEATURED
Success Stories
“Ana’s” Journey
DV Survivor Beats Odd and Wins Asylum
For over a decade, “Ana” had weathered a storm of violence unleashed by her husband’s cruel hands. The scars of his brutality marred her body and soul, as he held a knife to her throat, shattered her against furniture, and dragged…
“Jorge’s” Journey
APA Helps Nicaraguan Family Win Asylum
Afraid that “Jorge” might suffer the same fate as fellow protestors who had been imprisoned and beaten or “disappeared,” the couple decided to flee to the U.S. with their two-year-old daughter.
42
received free
legal counseling
17
received volunteer
legal services
118
individuals helped
13
asylum Applications
filed
These critically important services provided on a budget of under $30,000
2024 Accomplishments
118
individuals assisted
5
cases for 10 clients granted asylum
13
asylum apps filed; 27 other applications and motions filed
3
asylum cases for 8 clients Provided pro bono (free) attorney rep
11
asylum cases for 17 clients funded
4
hearings attended as Friend of the Court
YOUR DONATION
YOUR DONATION
is an investment in humanity
is an investment in humanity
By giving, you’re not only helping asylum seekers and torture survivors, but also unlocking significant tax benefits—up to $421 for individuals and $841 for couples filing jointly through the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit.
Change lives and save on taxes—join us today.
FEATURED
BlogS
APA Update: Major 2024 Accomplishments!
In 2024, we fielded requests for services in 60 cases involving 118 people from 20 countries.
APA Update: Tucson Judge grants asylum to Afghani man fleeing persecution from Taliban
Tucson Immigration Court judge granted asylum to an Afghani man at risk of persecution from the Taliban if deported.
Ensuring Access to Basic Rights for People Fleeing Persecution and Torture.
Individuals seeking humanitarian protection such as asylum often find themselves in a legal labyrinth, where the difference between safety and deportation hinges on legal technicalities…
NEWS ARTICLES
Trump Administration’s Latest Target: Women Seeking Asylum
A recent decision by the Board of Immigration Appeals will make things more difficult for women making claims of gender-based persecution. The decision comes at a particularly dangerous time for women and girls around the globe.
Asylum Seekers Now Have to Pay to File Immigration Claims
The so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” imposes unprecedented fees on asylum seekers. Asylum seekers must now pay a host of new fees — $100 to file a claim, an additional $100 for every year their application is pending, and $550 to apply for a work permit. OBBA bars asylum seekers from receiving fee waivers.
DOJ’s Shock Move Lets Trump Stack Immigration Courts with Handpicked Lawyers
The change gives Attorney General Pam Bondi wide latitude in selecting officials to oversee asylum and other cases pending before the Executive Office of Immigration Review, the Justice Department agency that runs the nation’s immigration courts. That authority could provide President Trump with additional power to withhold legal status from immigrants and expedite his mass deportation efforts.
Asylum-Seekers Thought They Were Following the Rules. Now Some Are Told to Start Over
The Trump administration is stripping protections of some asylum applicants who filed as far back as 2019. NPR has learned that dozens of immigrants across the U.S. have received letters in the mail notifying them that their asylum cases have been dismissed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration Officials Are Going After People Seeking Asylum
“These include many people who have done things ‘the right way,’ they came in lawfully, they were processed in,” says Lynn Marcus, Director of the Immigration Law Clinic at the University of Arizona.“
But she says the Trump administration is now using a new tactic to circumvent asylum seekers’ due process rights. As they were leaving the courthouse, they were arrested, taken into custody and then oftentimes just immediately deported.
Costa Rica: Constitutional Court Decision Sets a Precedent for the Rights of Migrants in the Region
The Court found that the migrants’ right to personal liberty had been violated, ordered their release, and instructed the government to “determine the type of health, education, housing, and overall social assistance these individuals require from the State.” The Court also ordered the authorities to pay compensation for the harm caused by the detention.
Trump’s Cruel New Bill — What You Need to Know
Breathtaking in its cruelty, the bill will turbocharge the Trump administration’s draconian immigration enforcement and slash federal benefits for individuals in need in order to finance it. The OBBB Act will do nothing to make the United States safer or more prosperous. It will, instead, target and instill fear in immigrant communities across the country.
The Journey After Detention:
Even After Being Released From A Detention Center in Costa Rica, Migrants Still Face Enormous Challenges
At CATEM, I met with two women—one from Russia, one from Armenia. Both have husbands in the U.S. seeking asylum … “We are so scared,” they said to me. “Please help us.”
U.S. border agents directed to stop deportations under Trump’s asylum ban after court order, sources say
U.S. border agents have been directed to stop deporting migrants under President Trump’s ban on asylum claims, following a federal court order that said the measure could not be used to completely suspend humanitarian protections for asylum-seekers.
MEANINGFUL QUOTES
Remember, remember always, that all of us, you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Refugees don’t make our country less safe. But xenophobia, fear and hate do.
Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.
No one chooses to be a refugee. We all deserve to have a home and to be safe.
Hangama Amiri
It is the obligation of every person born in a safer room to open the door when someone in danger knocks.
Mistakes happen. But when US immigration authorities commit mistakes, the result can be family separation, wrongful deportation, and even death
Lynn Marcus
No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.
MEANINGFUL QUOTES
Remember, remember always, that all of us, you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Refugees don’t make our country less safe. But xenophobia, fear and hate do.
Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.
No one chooses to be a refugee. We all deserve to have a home and to be safe.
Hangama Amiri
It is the obligation of every person born in a safer room to open the door when someone in danger knocks.
Mistakes happen. But when US immigration authorities commit mistakes, the result can be family separation, wrongful deportation, and even death
Lynn Marcus
No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.
MEANINGFUL QUOTES
Remember, remember always, that all of us, you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Refugees don’t make our country less safe. But xenophobia, fear and hate do.
Everywhere immigrants have enriched and strengthened the fabric of American life.
No one chooses to be a refugee. We all deserve to have a home and to be safe.
Hangama Amiri
It is the obligation of every person born in a safer room to open the door when someone in danger knocks.
Mistakes happen. But when US immigration authorities commit mistakes, the result can be family separation, wrongful deportation, and even death
Lynn Marcus