Trump Administration Plans to Limit Asylum Interviews

The Trump administration is crafting a plan to permit U.S. immigration officials to swiftly dismiss certain asylum applications without conducting interviews. This information comes from internal documents obtained by CBS News. The proposed regulation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) represents another effort by the administration to restrict access to the U.S. asylum system, which it claims is rife with fraud.

Under this regulation, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers could reject asylum applications without interviewing applicants if their cases were filed a year after arriving in the U.S. Those rejected would be placed in deportation proceedings in the Justice Department’s immigration court system, where they must argue their case to remain in the country.

U.S. law generally bars anyone from applying for asylum if they do so a year after their arrival. However, exceptions exist, such as serious medical conditions or receiving poor legal advice. Unaccompanied minors are exempt from this deadline.

The proposed regulation would let USCIS officers move an asylum case forward and schedule an interview if they find applicants qualify for an exception to the 1-year rule. Nonetheless, this would alter USCIS’ policy of interviewing nearly all asylum seekers before deciding on their claims. It would allow quick denials in cases where applicants appear not to meet the filing deadline based on paperwork.

A USCIS spokesperson stated that the administration is “considering multiple options” to handle a backlog of over a million asylum claims. The spokesperson criticized what they termed the Biden administration’s “dangerous open borders policies” and mentioned sending “deficient” applications to immigration courts.

Conchita Cruz, an immigration lawyer with the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, warned that the regulation may wrongly place applicants in deportation proceedings without giving them a chance to explain their late filing. She highlighted that many asylum seekers file late due to temporary status, like holding a visa.

U.S. law allows most individuals on American soil to seek asylum, even if they entered illegally. However, winning asylum protection requires proving persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political beliefs, or social group membership. Those granted asylum can stay permanently, while those denied face deportation.

The backlog of asylum cases has significantly slowed the government’s ability to process applications. Both Republican and Democratic administrations have acknowledged that this encourages economic migrants to exploit the system. USCIS had 1.5 million pending asylum applications last fall, and the Justice Department’s immigration courts had 3.3 million pending claims in March, including 2.3 million asylum requests.

To curb deportations, the Trump administration has implemented various strategies to limit asylum. It has made deals with countries, even those with questionable human rights records, for asylum-seekers to seek refuge there instead. Last year, all asylum cases managed by USCIS were paused after an Afghan man granted asylum was involved in a Washington, D.C. shooting. This pause was partially lifted but continues for citizens from 39 countries in Mr. Trump’s “travel ban.”