The Evolving Refugee Definition: How Shifting Elements of Eligibility Affect the Nature and Focus of Expert Testimony in Asylum Proceedings

This chapter focuses on jurisprudence in the United States and the manner in which the evolving requirements for establishing eligibility as a refugee have influenced the use of experts. In the 1980 Refugee Act, Congress adopted the international definition of a refugee as an individual with a "well founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion" (Immigration and Nationality Act [INA] 1980, sec. 1 101 (a)(42)(A)). This definition has its origins in the 19S1 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (art. IA(2)) and its 1967 Protocol (UN Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees 1967, art. 1 (2)), which came into existence in the wake of World War II and the international community's failure to respond to the plight of Jews and other persecuted groups fleeing the Holocaust.