The Trump administration is skipping asylum talks to reduce the immigration backlog
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FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is changing the way some asylum applications move through the immigration system, allowing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer certain applications directly to immigration judges without interviewing applicants in an effort to reduce the nation’s backlog.
The interim final rule, which takes effect immediately, gives USCIS the authority to send some asylum applications to immigration court without conducting an asylum interview, eliminating what the administration calls an unnecessary step in the adjudication process.
The change applies to confirmed asylum applications, which are filed by immigrants who are not in removal proceedings. Defensive asylum claims, in contrast, are brought before an immigration judge after the government begins removal proceedings.
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FILE – USCIS often interviews asylum applicants before granting asylum or conducting a separate review, which DHS says allows immigrants to “get a second chance at asylum.”
Currently, USCIS typically interviews asylum applicants before granting asylum or referring the case to an immigration judge for separate review. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital that the process could result in some applications being reviewed twice — first by USCIS and then by an immigration judge — adding to the agency’s growing backlog.
Under the new law, USCIS can refer certain asylum applications directly to immigration court without conducting an interview first, a change administration officials said will allow asylum officials and immigration judges to process cases more efficiently while directing resources to applicants with legitimate claims for prosecution.
The law is the latest step in the Trump administration’s broader efforts to tighten the asylum system and speed up immigration enforcement, with officials saying the current process has been exploited by immigrants seeking delays in removal proceedings and obtaining work permits.
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FILE – People wait inside a US Citizenship and Immigration Services office. The Trump administration issued a new rule that allows USCIS to refer certain asylum applications directly to immigration judges without conducting an asylum interview. (John Moore/Getty Images)
“For too long, the asylum system has been used for the purpose of delaying work authorization, not valid claims for protection,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow told Fox News Digital. “The US asylum system exists to protect people who have a genuine fear of persecution and this legislation will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of those who seek to use the system as a loophole.”
DHS General Counsel James Percival said delays within the asylum system prevented immigration enforcement.
FILE – USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said a new rule that allows asylum applications to go directly to immigration judges without first having an asylum interview will help reduce the backlog. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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“One of the biggest barriers to immigration enforcement is the intentional delay of illegal aliens and the open borders advocates who represent them,” Percival told Fox News Digital. “My office works every day with the immigration divisions of DHS to improve efficiency and carry out the president’s mandate. The legislation will do just that.”
The rule will go into effect immediately, although USCIS said it will continue to receive public input before issuing a final version, in response to the feedback it receives.
