Donald Trump is planning to overhaul the asylum application process to allow some applications to be rejected without a formal interview, according to a report.
A leaked internal federal document obtained by CBS News has revealed how U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—a branch of the Department of Homeland Security—hopes to reject applications more quickly from those who have been in the U.S. for more than a year.
As part of the plans, immigration officials at USCIS would be given new powers to reject asylum applications if applicants have been in the country for too long, even if they qualify for exemptions to the filing deadline.
Under current provisions, foreigners who arrived in the U.S. more than a year ago can still apply for asylum if their case meets specific criteria, such as having suffered a serious medical condition or having received bad or misleading legal advice. Even if the application was certain to be rejected because the asylum seeker had been in the U.S. for too long, they would still get an interview.
With the new plans, the Trump administration hopes to end the traditional practice of interviewing asylum applicants solely when their applications were filed more than a year after they arrived in the U.S.
Those whose applications are rejected would then be placed in the Justice Department’s immigration court system, where they would have to argue their case to remain in the country, the leaked documents state.
Conchita Cruz, an immigration lawyer who runs the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, told CBS News that she fears the changes mean asylum seekers will be “wrongfully” placed in deportation proceedings without being allowed to explain why their application may have been delayed.
Cruz added that there are “many reasons” why asylum seekers may wait more than a year to file their applications in the U.S., including because they have been living in the country under a temporary status, such as a visa.
“The government would be changing the rules on immigrants who have been navigating a complex immigration process, often for many years,” Cruz told CBS News.
In a statement to CBS News, a USCIS spokesperson said the Trump administration is considering taking “multiple” actions in response to what it called former President Joe Biden’s “dangerous open borders policies,” including sending “deficient” applications to the immigration courts.
“This would allow USCIS to avoid wasting time on asylum applications that it would otherwise refer to immigration proceedings and will allow illegal aliens to have their claims heard by a judge,” the USCIS spokesperson added.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for further comment.
