Homeland Security announced a revised regulation Friday that limits the ability of migrants to get work permits for the period after they apply for asylum but have not yet been granted it.
The goal, the department said, is to erase a major incentive that has drawn illegal immigrants to the U.S. DHS said migrants will jump the border, file bogus asylum claims, apply and get work permits, then live here for years while their asylum claims slog through the immigration courts.
The majority of asylum claims will prove unfounded, but the migrants will have spent years putting down roots and competing for jobs.
“For too long, a fraudulent asylum claim has been an easy path to working in the United States, overwhelming our immigration system with meritless applications,” DHS said in a statement announcing the new proposal.
The 220-page proposal still must go through the notice and comment process and be finalized by the administration before it can take effect.
Asylum is the protection granted to migrants fleeing persecution who are already on U.S. soil. It’s similar to refugee status, which is for those who apply from outside the U.S.
In recent years, asylum has become a loophole to regular immigration law, as migrants have figured out how to make iffy claims, then spend years free in the U.S., supported by legal work permits and some taxpayer benefits.
Under the proposal, if the backlog for processing affirmative asylum applications grows to more than 180 days, DHS will pause acceptance of permit applications, which are officially known as employment authorization documents, or EADs.
Given that wait times are already “significantly greater” than 180 days, the rule would amount to an immediate freeze on new permits. Plus, there is a backlog of 1.4 million affirmative asylum cases.
DHS’ proposal also expands the waiting period before an application can be filed. And it would specifically bar illegal immigrants who jumped the border, unless they quickly turned themselves in.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, DHS’ agency that administers the asylum program, said the change could result in American workers and legal immigrants getting more work, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
The Trump administration said the biggest result, though, will be convincing some would-be migrants not to come in the first place.
“DHS anticipates this proposed rule would decrease illegal migration and fraudulent claims for asylum applications and EADs,” the department said in its proposal.
The policy would only affect asylum seekers.
Those who win asylum are allowed to work, and after a year of asylum, they can apply for a green card, signifying permanent legal status here.
Myal Greene, president of World Relief, a refugee assistance organization, said DHS’s proposal won’t prevent migrants from coming but could push them to work illegally.
“Delaying the ability to work lawfully does not discourage people from working; it just creates a market for unlawful employment,” he said.
He said the better solution is to speed up asylum decisions.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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