I stumbled across this article a while ago, and meant to post it.

Many, many Chinese immigrants file requests for asylum, and most of these immigrants are living in New York. Chinese immigrants file more requests for asylum nationwide than any other immigrant group in the country. And it turns out that New York denies a surprising number of Chinese asylum requests. Here’s why: a great number of these asylum requests are false. This practice is so prevalent that there is even an asylum fraud industry.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

“The growth in the Chinese asylum industry over the past decade has coincided with an increase in Chinese migration to the United States and in the number of Chinese arriving on temporary visas, some with the intention of staying. Many have made New York City their primary destination. Between 2000 and 2011, the foreign-born Chinese population in New York City grew by a third, to more than 350,000 from about 261,500, and is now on the verge of overtaking Dominicans as the city’s largest immigrant group, according to New York’s City Planning Department.

“As an increasing number of Chinese have sought permanent immigration status here, asylum has become a popular way to achieve it: Asylum recipients are granted immediate permission to work and can apply for a green card a year later. Amid this rising demand, an ecosystem of law offices and other businesses specializing in asylum — not to mention a darker subculture of forgers and fake lawyers — has flourished in the crowded office buildings of Manhattan’s Chinatown and above storefronts along the bustling streets of Chinese enclaves in Flushing, Queens, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn.”

Here’s a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/nyregion/asylum-fraud-in-chinatown-industry-of-lies.html

What does everyone think? Is this an illegal, immoral (they’re all lying!) practice? Or is it justified, since even fraudulent requests can allow Chinese immigrants to settle permanently in the U.S. and have a better quality of life than they would in China?