HOUSTON — A new U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule taking effect Tuesday will allow federal immigration officials to refer certain affirmative asylum applicants directly to immigration court without first conducting an asylum interview.
The interim final rule authorizes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to send asylum cases to the Executive Office for Immigration Review without providing every applicant a non-adversarial interview. The agency said the change is intended to reduce the asylum backlog, improve efficiency, strengthen national security and public safety, and align with agency priorities.
USCIS said the rule will allow it to identify applicants who may pose public safety or national security risks more quickly and place them into removal proceedings, where immigration judges can hear asylum claims.
Rehan Alimohammad, a professor of practice at the University of Houston Law Center’s Immigration Clinic, said the interview has traditionally allowed applicants to explain their claims before appearing in court.
He said applicants referred directly to immigration court could face dismissal of their cases without a hearing if an immigration judge determines their application is incomplete.
Houston immigration attorney Gordon Quan said the change could increase pressure on an immigration court system that already faces a significant backlog. The most recent available estimates from December 2023 show more than 102,600 pending asylum cases in Texas immigration courts.
Quan and Alimohammad said they believe the rule could limit asylum seekers’ due process protections and increase the likelihood of deportation.
In announcing the rule, USCIS said the previous process effectively gave applicants “a second chance at asylum.”
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the asylum system had been “exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection.”
Houston immigration attorney Ali Zakaria said the administration had already been referring some asylum applicants to immigration court without interviews in recent months. He said the new rule formally authorizes that practice.
Zakaria said the rule is likely to have the greatest impact on people who could lose Temporary Protected Status, including individuals from Venezuela, Haiti and several African countries.