New Rule Sends Many Seeking Asylum Straight to Deportation

A big backdoor change to US asylum policy just kicked in without public debate. The Trump administration on Tuesday began routing potentially more than 400,000 late-filed asylum cases straight into deportation proceedings, bypassing the in-office interviews that have long been the first stop for many applicants, reports the Washington Post. Immigration judges, already empowered to toss some cases without hearings, could now see up to 444,724 cases redirected to them. Many such judges were shown the door under the current administration, and Vox notes that their replacements have been "instructed to deny most asylum claims outright." The Hill expects litigation to challenge the move given the lack of notice or comment period.

Officials say the move will shrink a 1.4 million-case backlog and curb what they describe as abuse of the system. "For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization," says US Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow, adding that the rule is aimed at "those seeking to use the system as a loophole." Advocates counter that late filings often stem from trauma or confusion over complex rules, and warn that people with valid claims could be expelled without ever telling their story. "At a 30,000-foot level it sure looks like a deportation machine," says one immigration lawyer.