The United States has introduced a new interim rule permitting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to refer asylum applications directly to immigration judges without first conducting an interview, a change officials say is aimed squarely at reducing the country’s mounting asylum case backlog.
The rule, announced by USCIS following a statement from the Department of Homeland Security, alters part of how the asylum system currently sorts applications. Under the existing structure, USCIS handles what are known as “affirmative” claims filed by people not already in removal proceedings, while Department of Justice immigration judges separately adjudicate “defensive” claims involving individuals who are already facing removal. Depending on an applicant’s specific immigration status, USCIS can either rule on an asylum case directly or refer it onward to a judge, and DHS notes that referral can effectively give an applicant a second chance to make their case through further review.
The new rule modifies that referral process by removing the interview step USCIS previously conducted before sending a case to a judge. According to DHS, skipping that step is expected to cut down the overall time asylum officers and immigration judges need to process each case, helping the agency work through its backlog more quickly.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow framed the change as a response to what he described as systemic misuse of the asylum process by some applicants. “For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” Edlow said. “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.”
DHS General Counsel James Percival echoed that reasoning, tying the rule change to broader enforcement challenges he attributes partly to legal strategy. “One of the greatest barriers to effective immigration enforcement is intentional delay by illegal aliens and the open borders attorneys who represent them,” Percival said. “My office works every day with the immigration components of DHS to improve efficiency and fulfill the President’s mandate. The rule would do just that.”
The rule took effect immediately upon announcement, though USCIS has confirmed it will accept public comment on the interim version before finalizing the policy in response to that feedback.
