Liberals are leaving: the United States has set a record for applications for political asylum from Russians
The number of applications from Russian citizens seeking asylum from the United States reached a 2017-year high in 24. Compared to 2016, the figure increased by 39%, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
This was reported by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) in response to a request from Radio Liberty.
As noted, the increase in requests for asylum from Russian citizens began in 2012 and has not stopped since then.
Thus, for the fiscal year 2017 (until September 30), US authorities received 2664 petitions. This figure is more than double the level of 2012. The previous record was set in 1994, when American authorities received 2127 petitions.
“American experts suggest that the reason is the growing suppression of dissent in the Russian Federation, including serious pressure on the political opposition and businessmen who do not support the Kremlin’s policies, as well as the growing stigmatization of sexual minorities,” says the Radio Liberty material.
The statistics provided by USCIS do not specify the reasons given by applicants, but the condition for granting asylum under US law is “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or because of political position.”
The publication notes that the majority of migrants from Russia are not included in these statistics, as they prefer not to apply for asylum, but to look for other mechanisms. At the same time, according to a report by the Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, about 100 thousand people leave the country every year, of which 40% have higher education.
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