Law Scholars Urge DOJ and DHS to Adopt Protective Regulations Related to Nonstate Actor Persecution

One hundred law scholars sent a letter to DOJ and DHS on the proper construction and application of the state protection element of the refugee definition. The letter urges the administration to adopt regulations that provide that, once an applicant establishes past persecution, the burden shifts to DHS to show that the state is willing and able to prevent future persecution (i.e. situating the state protection inquiry in the well-founded fear analysis rather than the term “persecution”).