Trump administration plan could restrict work permits for asylum seekers for years
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WASHINGTON — In the Trump administration’s latest effort to curtail legal immigration, a proposal released Friday would prevent asylum seekers from working legally in the U.S.The draft regulation from the Department of Homeland Security would halt the acceptance of work permit applications and renewals when average processing times at U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services exceed 180 days.The regulation also would extend the time asylum seekers must wait before becoming eligible to apply for a work permit, lengthening the period from 150 days to 365 days.The proposal says Homeland Security expects that new work permit applications for asylum seekers “would be paused for an extended period, possibly many years.” Although President Trump has often touted his crackdown to curb illegal immigration, the administration has worked to restrict legal immigration as well.
Immigrant advocates say the proposed policy is a continuation of those efforts, though the Department of Homeland Security framed it differently.In a statement, the department said that the proposal is aimed at reducing the incentive for immigrants to file fraudulent asylum claims for the purpose of getting work authorization.
More than 1.4 million asylum claims are pending with USCIS.By reducing the number of work permit applications, the statement added, the agency could instead focus on reviewing pending asylum claims to reduce the backlog.
“For too long, a fraudulent asylum claim has been an easy path to working in the United States, overwhelming our immigration system with meritless applications,” the statement said.“We are proposing an overhaul of the asylum system to enforce the rules and reduce the backlog we inherited from the prior administration.
Aliens are not entitled to work while we process their asylum applications.”Conchita Cruz, co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocac...