Well-Founded Fear (2000)

Well-Founded Fear is a 2000 documentary film from directors Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini. The film takes its title from the formal definition of a refugee under the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, as a person who deserves protection, "owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” The film analyzes the US asylum process by following several asylum applicants and asylum officers through actual INS interviews.

Synopsis

On average, only one in two hundred asylum applicants is ever admitted as a refugee to the U.S. A refugee is defined as someone afraid to return home for fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, social group or political opinion. Any foreign citizen who is able to find a path into the U.S. is eligible to apply for refugee protection in the form of political asylum. At the time of filming, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) handled all requests for asylum.