While the topic of racialization is broad in scope, I argue that Asylum seekers are racialized in America according to their proximity to Whiteness. I also argue that the degree to which refugee resettlement agencies and NGOs portray asylum seekers shifts the way Americans view asylees, therefore making the immigration and citizenship process more feasible for asylum seekers based on their race. For example, asylum seekers who are viewed as more “deserving” or deemed a better “cultural fit” usually have more favorable case outcomes than asylum seekers who are from an “undeserving” or “unassimilable” ethnic group. In this thesis, I use case studies of the Pershing Chinese, Hungarian, and Vietnamese refugees to inform readers’ understanding of how minority groups are racialized due to their proximity to Whiteness. In these cases, each of these groups were seen as “acceptable” immigrants, permitted to enter and assimilate into the United States due to political reasons which made them seem more “deserving” of asylum. The perception of these groups was affected by their proximity to United States interests, allowing me to assert that asylum seekers are commonly racialized based on their proximity to “Whiteness.” I use a quantitative analysis to understand how Americans racialize certain asylum seekers, using race, occupation, and NGO affiliation as variables to determine whether certain racial groups are viewed as more desirable than others. The patterns discerned from the results of the study will allow me to put forward an explanation as to why some racial groups are racialized differently than others in the asylum process.