Lauren Hughes Publishes Article in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review The article examines the backlog of pending asylum applications before both the Asylum Office and Immigration Courts.

By Law Communications
July 7, 2026

Washington and Lee law professor Lauren Hughes has published an article in the Columbia Human Rights Law Review. The article, titled “Comparative Visions for U.S. Group-Based Asylum Proposal,” examines the backlog of pending asylum applications before both the Asylum Office and Immigration Courts.

Hughes says this backlog has many causes, including under-resourced agencies, a growing number of asylum applicants, the high evidentiary burden and complexities inherent to asylum law, and the lack of counsel for many asylum seekers. To address the backlog, some scholars propose the adoption of a “group-based” asylum mechanism similar to those already in place in other countries and used by the U.S. government in its refugee admissions program.

“Using a comparative approach, I examine group-based asylum mechanisms in the Organization of African Unity, several European Union member states, Canada, and Brazil. Analyzing these mechanisms, I identify criteria and possible procedures for the implementation of a U.S. group-based asylum mechanism to expedite certain asylum determinations. I explain that group-based asylum is a common-sense, cost-effective solution to modern challenges within asylum adjudication. The U.S. should learn from its peer countries and implement a group-based asylum mechanism to streamline adjudications in a time of increasing numbers of refugees around the globe. I propose administrative mechanisms for burden shifting that would lessen the evidentiary and procedural hurdles for asylum applicants falling within designated groups (“presumptive asylees”) to achieve the cost- and time-saving purpose of group-based asylum,” writes Hughes.

The full article is available online at the W&L Scholarly Commons.

Lauren Hughes joined W&L Law in 2025 as the director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic. Previously, she was a clinical teaching fellow at the Center for Applied Legal Studies at Georgetown University Law Center. Professor Hughes researches in the areas of immigration law, asylum and refugee law, and international human rights law. Professor Hughes previously served as an Immigrant Justice Corps Fellow at the community-based nonprofit Building One Community, representing clients from a range of countries on their removal cases, asylum applications, and other humanitarian claims.

If you know a W&L faculty member who has done great, accolade-worthy things, tell us about them! Nominate them for an accolade.