The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will be implementing a new rule to reduce backlogs in its asylum system.
Under current policy, both USCIS and DOJ immigration judges oversee asylum applications. “Depending on the alien’s immigration status, USCIS will usually either adjudicate the application or refer it to an Immigration Judge, who will then conduct a new review of the application. This essentially allows an alien to get a second chance at asylum,” USCIS explained. The new rule allows USCIS to refer asylum applications to immigration judges without interviewing the illegal immigrant.
“For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a statement. “America’s asylum system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution and this rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a loophole.”
According to a summary of the new rule: “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is amending its regulations to permit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer certain affirmative asylum applications to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) without interview. USCIS still offers an interview prior to a grant or denial of asylum. DHS is also removing the requirement that a letter communicating the basis for referral of asylum include an assessment of the alien’s credibility.”
The Supreme Court has also been involved in asylum cases, as it ruled 6-3 that officials can turn away asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border before setting foot onto U.S. soil.
