In 2015, over a million refugees fled to Europe seeking to escape the human suffering, brutal violence, and persecution that transpired within their troubled nations. Desperate and imperiled, hundreds of thousands of victims risk their lives on long treacherous journeys seeking asylum. The influx of refugees has provoked Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II, as the European Union (EU) struggles to find a solution to its growing problem. Many countries remain overwhelmed by the influx of migrants, as they are already dealing with their own domestic issues. Currently, the EU must deliberate between exercising two options: resettlement or the implementation of refugee camps. Each solution remains problematic, as none directly solves the issues at hand. As members of the EU, each country is legally obligated to guarantee the right to asylum to those who qualify, which is outlined in the 1951 Refugee Convention declaration. However, because nations have manipulated the “rule of law,” under their own discretion, refugee protection has come under threat. Governments hosting refugees have enforced policies that neglect the rights and protection of these stateless people. As state legislatures withhold jurisdiction and the access to refugee rights under international law, asylum seekers are deprived of their basic human rights. My research seeks to describe how xenophobia and Islamophobia drive nations like France to validate unlawful governing practices that deprive refugees of their basic human rights. Furthermore, my research illustrates the strategies through which advanced democracies such as France manipulate the fundamental principles of human rights and international law by assessing the policies and the maltreatment of refugees within their country. Conclusively, my research explores how refugee conventions and rights have been manipulated and neutralized, and illustrate the tensions that follow on both a domestic and international spectrum.