Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered immigration judges to grant asylum only when claims for it accord with “long-standing principles of immigration law.” Specifically this means that asylum is granted when people face “a reasonable fear of persecution” because of their race, religion, nationality, political views or membership in a particular social group.
In recent years, the definition has expanded to include such threats as domestic abuse and gang violence. The attorney general observed that “The mere fact that a country may have problems effectively policing certain crimes — such as domestic violence or gang violence — or that certain populations are more likely to be victims of crime, cannot itself establish an asylum claim. . . . [A]sylum was never meant to alleviate all problems–even serious problems–that people face everyday all over the world.”
Read more at latimes.com