The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said it is repealing a pair of Trump-era rules that made it more difficult for asylum seekers to work in the U.S. while their applications are pending.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the DHS office that processes asylum applications, said it was formally repealing the 2020 rules in light of a federal judge's February decision that said they were invalid.
The rules were part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to limit eligibility for asylum and deter applications. Asylum is the primary means for immigrants in the U.S. illegally to gain legal status and a path to obtaining green cards.
The rules required that asylum seekers wait 365 days to apply for work permits, instead of the previous 150 days, and that they submit fingerprints and other biometric information as part of the application process. DHS had also barred asylum seekers who did not cross the border at an authorized port of entry or had been convicted of certain crimes from being granted work permits.
Immigrant advocates said the rules went further than federal immigration law allowed in limiting work authorization and made it difficult for asylum seekers to afford basic necessities and hire lawyers.
USCIS had stopped applying the rules in February, after a federal judge in Washington, D.C. said they were invalid because Chad Wolf, who was acting secretary of DHS when the rules were adopted, was not properly appointed. The judge had partially blocked the rules last year.
The new rule, which will be formally published on Thursday, is retroactively effective from the date of the judge's ruling.
DHS restored the regulations that existed before the Trump-era rules, rather than adopting new requirements, so it is not required to seek public comment or delay the effective date of Wednesday's rule.
Source: Reuters
Image source: Reuters
