You're reading The Interpreter newsletter, for Times subscribers only. Original analysis on the week's biggest global stories, from columnist Amanda Taub. At the core of the global asylum system lies one simple idea: Every country is obligated to offer protection to any foreign citizen within its borders who meets the legal definition of a refugee, even if they arrived without permission. There is no central authority, no quota system of how many refugees a particular country must take. Just one basic individual right to not be deported into persecution, and one basic governmental obligation to refrain from doing so.
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