2026 Theses Bachelor's

Confronting Inadequacies in U.S. Asylum Procedure: Dalits, Caste-based Claims & Particular Social Group

Bethamcherla, Sarayu

As Indians and South Asians continue to immigrate to the U.S., the stigma of caste carries overseas. Caste’s historical legacy of discrimination, unknown to many Americans, is evidenced in several asylum-seeking claims in the U.S.

This study investigates federal judges’ understanding of caste and ruling accordingly in immigration claims. Several Dalits were also interviewed about their lived experiences of Dalit immigrants in the U.S., particularly reflecting upon social and economic discrimination in India and in the U.S. Moreover, through a content analysis, a narrow margin of immigration case law, in this study, features successful petitions for asylum and citizenship. Judges’ opinions demonstrate a cultural incompetence for understanding caste, and successful claims maintain rigidity in their belonging to a specific ground, such as political opinion.

This thesis calls for a reexamination of the current infrastructure for asylum claims, which narrowly presents a pathway for protection. Affirming international human rights law, defining membership in a Particular Social Group (PSG) was meant to evolve in accordance with diverse conditions, persons and claims. Therefore, judges must consider nuanced forms of persecution, such as on the basis of caste, with attention to individualized experience and country conditions.