Defense of Asylum Application occurs when a request for Asylum as a defense against removal from the U.S. for the Asylum processing to be defensive, the foreign national must be in removal proceedings in immigration court with the Executive Office for Immigration Review ( EOIR). First, the Foreign National must establish that they fear persecution in their home country. Secondly, they would be persecuted on account of at least one of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or particular social group.