Trump issues sweeping new curbs on asylum eligibility
Individuals who claim that they will face persecution based on gender or gang violence, among other grounds, would also generally not qualify for asylum under the new rules.
The Trump administration is moving to broadly raise the standards for individuals to receive asylum status in the U.S., a step that critics are calling the biggest crackdown of this presidency on those seeking a haven in this country.
A new, 419-page rule by the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice would create additional bars to asylum eligibility and limit the circumstances in which individuals can qualify for protection, changes that the administration says “are likely to result in fewer asylum grants annually.”
“This is the most sweeping attack on asylum that we have seen under the Trump administration,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council, an immigration advocacy group. “Under this rule, asylum would be taken out of reach for a large percentage of people who in the past would have been able to qualify.”
Immigration judges would be able to more easily claim that applications are “frivolous” under the new rules, a determination that bars individuals from any form of immigration relief, as well as deny asylum requests without a hearing if they believe they lack certain evidence.
Currently, individuals who claim they have a “credible fear of persecution or torture” if they return to their home country are eligible for asylum status. Asylum grants individuals deportation protections and work authorization. After one year, asylees are eligible to apply for permanent lawful status.
But the Trump administration’s new rules would raise the standard for “persecution” that an asylum-seeker must prove they will suffer if returned to their home country to “a severe level of harm.”
The administration rule clarifies that “persecution” does not include: “every instance of harm” caused by criminal or military unrest in a country; any treatment that the U.S. considers “unfair, offensive, unjust, or even unlawful or unconstitutional;" harassment; or “threats with no actions taken to carry out the threats.”
Individuals who claim that they will face persecution based on gender or gang violence, among other grounds, would also generally not qualify for asylum under the new rules.
The regulatory changes outline several factors that immigration officials must consider in the asylum process that would disqualify individuals from protection. These include whether migrants crossed into the U.S. illegally, used fraudulent documents, failed to pay their taxes, or passed through other countries without seeking protective status there first.
The administration has argued that many people claim that they fear persecution in their home country when turned away at the border, so they can enter the U.S. even if ultimately they won’t be granted asylum.
The changes “will enable the Departments to more effectively separate baseless claims from meritorious ones” and “better ensure groundless claims do not delay or divert resources from deserving claims,” DHS said.
What’s next: The rule will take effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register on Friday.