This course will introduce students to the international and U.S. refugee law regime, with a focus on asylum law in the United States. Students will explore the historical treatment of refugees, examine the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, and review U.S. statutes, regulations, and case law governing the adjudication of U.S. asylum claims. We will explore in detail legal concepts in asylum law, such as the definition of persecution, discretion, protected grounds (race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, and political opinion), nexus, gender-based claims, grounds of exclusion and bars to asylum. In addition, we will examine the national and international qualifications and limitations set on the right of protection and how these gate keeping mechanisms impact the human rights of those seeking protection. Throughout the course, we will discuss the mechanics of the asylum process as well as the current and future challenges to refugee protection in the international and national contexts, including climate change.