The Trump administration is considering a regulation that would prevent most asylum-seekers from getting work permits, potentially upending longstanding U.S. immigration policy, two Department of Homeland Security officials told CBS News.
A proposal by officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would amount to an indefinite pause on the U.S. government’s decades-old policy of allowing migrants with pending asylum claims to work in the country lawfully while their cases are decided, the DHS officials said, requesting anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The proposed changes — which have not been previously reported — would add yet another layer to President Trump’s government-wide immigration crackdown, targeting a massively backlogged asylum system that his top aides have argued is being systematically exploited by economic migrants.
But a halt to work permits for asylum-seekers would also trigger concerns among advocates that it could prevent migrants from supporting themselves and their families, and drive them to work illegally in the underground economy.
Since the 1990s, U.S. law has allowed immigration officials to grant work permits to asylum applicants if their cases have been pending for at least 180 days. Generally speaking, that has allowed asylum applicants to request a work permit 150 days after they make their claim. Those eligible can be granted the permit after another 30 days.
But a regulation under internal consideration by the Trump administration would suspend the issuance of new work permits to asylum-seekers until USCIS decides all asylum claims within an average of 180 days, the DHS officials said.
That timeframe would be exceedingly difficult to meet in the near future, given massive case backlogs and operational constraints. Last year, for example, a federal government watchdog found that over 77% of the asylum applications before USCIS had been pending for beyond 180 days. Nearly 40% of applications remained unresolved after two years.
Even if the 180-day processing average is reached, the proposal would require asylum-seekers to wait one year until after they file their application — instead of six months — to be eligible for a work permit, the DHS officials said.
It’s unclear when the regulation may be publicly announced, or if it will be altered before being finalized. Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, did not respond to requests for comment.
In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees USCIS, said it does not comment on the “deliberative process or possible decision making.”
“Over the previous four years, the Biden administration eviscerated the integrity of America’s asylum system. The Department is exploring all possible options to protect our national security and increase program integrity,” DHS said in its statement. “DHS is working to mitigate all forms of fraud and abuse.”
The changes under consideration by the Trump administration would apply to asylum seekers with pending applications sent to USCIS and those in deportation proceedings before the immigration courts, which are overseen by the Justice Department.
Asylum can be granted to foreigners on U.S. soil who prove they are fleeing persecution due to their nationality, race, religion, political views or membership in a social group. While factors like nationality and legal representation play a key role, many applicants do not ultimately meet the high legal threshold to win asylum, government figures show.
Still, over the past decade, amid record arrivals of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, the number of asylum applications has ballooned. USCIS is overseeing roughly 1.5 million asylum applications, while the immigration courts are reviewing another 2 million, according to government data.
The plan under consideration would seek to eliminate what Trump administration officials have described as a magnet for migrants using the asylum system simply to work in the U.S. It echoes a 2020 rule issued by the first Trump administration that sought to increase the waiting period for asylum applicants requesting work authorization from six months to a year and impose other restrictions on eligibility for work permits.
The proposed rule would also be the latest step taken by the second Trump administration to make the U.S. inhospitable for asylum-seekers.
Immediately after returning to the White House in January, President Trump all but closed the U.S. asylum system, giving border agents the power to summarily deport most migrants on the grounds the country is facing an “invasion.” That emergency order is being challenged by pro-immigrant advocates, who say it ignores American asylum law.
Conchita Cruz, the co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, a group that supports those with asylum claims, said efforts to curtail work permits for the migrants she serves would hurt U.S. communities and employers.
“Asylum seekers are playing critical roles in a wide array of jobs — they are the doctors and the people cleaning the hospitals,” Cruz said.
