Hypothetical: Should the US give Holocaust deniers asylum?

[chaotic_nipple]

If they come from one of the countries where that sort of thing is illegal? On the one hand, they're usually outright nazis, so to hell with them. On the other, no-one should jailed or otherwise punished for thoughtcrime. On the whole, I'd have to say that in principle we probably should, but I would have a really hard time actually caring if one of them applied and was turned down. So I guess I'm not as principled as I thought.

Comments

[houseboatonstyx.livejournal.com]

Might depend on how old they are, where they grew up, how were they educated.

[caelumgrey.livejournal.com]

And if they have a criminal record.

[chaotic-nipple.livejournal.com]

Do they normally take that into account for asylum requests? It would seem counter-intuitive for someone fleeing "legal persecution" to be turned down because of the "crimes" they're being persecuted for. On the other hand, it would hardly be the stupidest thing our government bureaucracies have done.

[caelumgrey.livejournal.com]

I had to look it up to be sure, but here's what I found:

One very serious adverse factor is the presence of a criminal conviction. The regulations preclude granting asylum to anyone convicted of a "particularly serious" crime, which is one that indicates the perpetrator poses a danger to the community.

If you're a holocaust denier, you may well also be a member of various hate organizations, and may have committed crimes of that nature. Of course, that's certainly not always the case.

As a proponent of free speech, I personally think holocaust denial should be legal and made fun of mercilessly.