Asylum

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A Primer on Expedited Removal

Expedited removal is a process by which low-level immigration officers can quickly deport certain noncitizens who are undocumented or have committed fraud or misrepresentation. 

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All Asylum Content

  • Blog

DHS Suggests Asylum Seekers Should Get Used to ‘Homelessness’ After Stripping Work Permits

June 24, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will finalize a new regulation on June 26 which will strip most asylum seekers of the right to seek work authorization. The rule imposes sweeping new...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About Trump’s Proposal to Eliminate the US Asylum System

June 11, 2020

In sweeping new proposed regulations announced on June 11, the Trump administration took the first step toward administering a final blow to the U.S. asylum system. The proposed rules, which...

  • Blog

5 Ways Trump’s Anti-Immigrant Agenda Gets in the Way of an Effective Coronavirus Response

May 27, 2020

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the federal government has implemented sweeping revisions to U.S. immigration policy. Many of the changes fail to prioritize the health of immigrants or...

  • Blog

Trump Is Using the Coronavirus Pandemic as an Excuse to Permanently Close the Borders

May 26, 2020

The Trump administration has indefinitely extended its ban on immigration at U.S. land borders.  The order was also expanded to include immigrants arriving at coastal ports. The ban is based on an...

  • Blog

ICE Tells Parents to Separate From Their Children or Risk Indefinite Detention Together

May 19, 2020

When the Trump administration implemented mass family separation in 2018, the American public was outraged. Two years later, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is using a different...

  • Blog

New Data Shows Border Patrol Agents Reject More Asylum Seekers

May 6, 2020

The Trump administration has used the coronavirus pandemic to justify shutting down the southern border—and much of our asylum system along with it. But long before the pandemic, the...

  • Blog

How Coronavirus is Changing US Asylum Policy at the Border

March 23, 2020

The Trump administration detailed its plans to begin rapidly deporting to Mexico people encountered at or near the southern border—without any due process—as the coronavirus continues to spread...

  • Blog

CBP Hides Itself from Public View and Lacks Accountability

March 18, 2020

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has historically conducted immigration enforcement along our borders. In this role, the agency has developed a reputation for overuse and abuse of its...

  • Blog

DHS Reveals New Details of Secretive Asylum Programs PACR and HARP

March 11, 2020

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed new information this week about two asylum programs  at the U.S.-Mexico border. These programs are under scrutiny because they make it almost...

  • Blog

Judge Voids USCIS Asylum Policies Because Ken Cuccinelli Wasn’t Appointed Legally

March 3, 2020

The Trump administration suffered another blow on Sunday, when a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that Ken Cuccinelli was unlawfully appointed to the role of acting director of U.S....

  • Letters

Coalition Urges Biden Administration to Designate Temporary Protected Status to Ukraine

Publication Date: 
February 25, 2022
The American Immigration Council joined 177 organizations to request an immediate 18-month designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Special Student...
  • Blog

Federal Court Restores Access to Work Permits for Many Asylum Seekers

February 9, 2022

A federal court issued a decision on February 7 invalidating two Trump-era regulations that restricted access to work permits for asylum seekers. In her decision, Judge Beryl Howell of the...

  • Blog

Leaked Photos Reveal Inhumane Conditions in Border Processing Centers

January 14, 2022

New leaked photos of Border Patrol stations in Yuma, Arizona show Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) inhumane treatment of people apprehended at the border— revealing that years of overcrowded...

  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks Answers to Privacy and Data Risks Associated with the CBP One App

December 21, 2021
The American Immigration Council filed a FOIA lawsuit against CBP requesting information about the agency’s implementation of CBP One— an app designed to help process individuals entering the United States including asylum seekers—that has raised concerns among immigration and privacy advocates.
  • Letters

Coalition Letter Calling on the Biden Administration to End MPP and Title 42

Publication Date: 
December 17, 2021
The Council condemned the Biden administration's expansion of MPP and continued use of Title 42 to turn away asylum seekers at the border.
  • Letters

Coalition Letter Calling for Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act provisions

Publication Date: 
December 16, 2021
The American Immigration Council and 13 other organizations urged USCIS to expand premium processing to ensure the agency remains solvent while efficiently and effectively adjudicating all...
  • Blog

Biden’s Border Ambitions Fall Short in a Year of Setbacks and Continued Focus on Deterrence

December 14, 2021

President Biden took office committing to unwind Trump’s border policies and go in a new direction—to reunite families, restore access to asylum, and reverse “policies enacted over the last 4...

  • Letters

Coalition Effort Calls for Fair and Efficient Work Permit Process for Asylum Seekers

Publication Date: 
November 17, 2021
The Council joined 74 other organizations in a letter calling for DHS to eliminate restrictions on work authorization for asylum seekers.
  • Blog

Failure to Reauthorize Employment Harms Asylum Seekers and the U.S. Economy

November 12, 2021

U.S. workers are losing their jobs due to bureaucratic delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), despite an economy desperate for workers. Asylum seekers wanting to renew their...

  • Litigation

Challenging USCIS for Delays in Renewal of Employment Authorizations

The Council and partners filed a nationwide class action lawsuit to ensure timely renewal of work authorizations documents for asylum seekers.

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