Subverting decades of immigration policy? Asylum seekers are proposed to be banned from obtaining “work permits”

CBS reported on the 3rd that officials from the Department of Homeland Security revealed that the Trump administration is considering new regulations to prohibit most asylum applicants from obtaining work permits.

DHS officials said in an anonymous interview that the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (US Citizenship and Immigration Service)

Immigration advocates say that if asylum applicants cannot obtain work permits, it will have an impact on their family’s livelihoods, forcing immigrants to turn to the underground economy and work illegally to support their families.

Since the 1990s, federal law has allowed immigration officials to issue work permits to asylum applicants if the review of asylum applications is delayed for more than 180 days. Generally speaking, you can start applying for a work permit 150 days after submitting an asylum application.

According to the new regulations being considered by the Nationality and Immigration Service, in the future, you must wait until the asylum application is completely reviewed before you can apply for a work permit. Officials pointed out that due to the backlog of cases, Due to the huge volume and limited operating procedures, about 40% of asylum applications have been delayed for two years and have not been processed.

Department of Homeland Security officials pointed out that even if the asylum application is reviewed within 180 days, the proposed new rules still require asylum applicants to wait another year before they are eligible to apply for work permits.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement to CBS saying that it would not comment on possible decisions under consideration.

Federal government statistics show that the Nationality and Immigration Bureau is currently processing about 1.5 million asylum applications, and another 2 million asylum applications have been submitted to immigration courts for review.

Conchita Cruz, co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, said that banning work permits will hurt immigrant communities and employers. Cruz said that asylum applicants work in important jobs in all walks of life, from doctors to hospital cleaners.