Quarterly Highlights

Ecuador Figures: Provided individualized, personalized legal assistance to 208 asylum seekers and refugees in our Quito office and 18 cases through local protection networks. Highlights: AAE filed an extraordinary protective action for a client whose constitutional rights were violated during a hearing process. With this action, AAE hopes to set a precedent and guarantee reparations […]

Thailand’s Detention Disease

At Asylum Access Thailand we confront a constant that is impossible to ignore: all of our clients are continually at risk of arrest and detention, twenty-four hours a day, seven days of week. Why? Asylum seekers and refugees are not criminals, yet they sometimes spend years in the Bangkok Immigration Detention Center (it’s no Hilton).  Thailand […]

Reflections from DC

A letter drafted following a trip to Washington DC, with considerations from San Francisco. Dear Friends, April was an exciting month for Asylum Access:  Our team led workshops for colleagues from across Asia in an Asian Refugee Legal Aid Network (ARLAN) convening in Kuala Lumpur, presented a claim for reparations for wrongful detention of a […]

A Day in the Life of a VLA- Mandy Murphy

The following interview is the first in an ongoing series designed to give supporters and prospective VLAs a better sense of the daily challenges and triumphs of our work. Please share your thoughts by emailing development@asylumaccess.org. Name: Mandy Murphy Office: Ecuador Age: 28 Hometown: Kismet, KS Schools Attended and Degrees Conferred: Kansas State University – Bachelor’s […]

An Interview with Emily E. Arnold-Fernández

Asylum Access founder and executive director Emily Arnold-Fernández, a social entrepreneur and pioneering international refugee rights activist, was interviewed recently for a book to be produced in conjunction with Unsung Heroes of Compassion, an event at which the Dalai Lama will laud the efforts of 50 “unsung heroes” from around the world, including Ms. Arnold-Fernández. […]