DistantNews
Support us
US Aims to Speed Up Asylum Process, Enabling Direct Deportations
🇩🇪 Germany /Culture & Society

US Aims to Speed Up Asylum Process, Enabling Direct Deportations

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The U.S. government is implementing new regulations to significantly shorten asylum procedures for migrants.
  • These changes will allow authorities to deport asylum seekers directly without a hearing, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands.
  • Critics argue the new rules are part of a plan to make people 'illegal' and close loopholes used to delay deportations.

The U.S. government has introduced new regulations designed to drastically shorten asylum procedures, potentially enabling the direct deportation of asylum seekers without a hearing. This move could impact an estimated 444,724 individuals, representing 31 percent of the approximately 1.43 million pending asylum cases in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security stated that the expedited process aims to reduce the backlog of asylum applications. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow asserted, "For far too long, the asylum system has been exploited to delay deportations and obtain work permits, rather than to file legitimate protection claims." He added that the new procedures would close "loopholes."

This policy aligns with President Donald Trump's broader strategy to take a firm stance against illegal immigration and deport millions of undocumented individuals.

For far too long, the asylum system has been exploited to delay deportations and obtain work permits, rather than to file legitimate protection claims.

— Joseph EdlowUSCIS Director Joseph Edlow explaining the rationale behind the new asylum regulations.

Immigration lawyers have voiced strong criticism. Attorney Ira Kurzban, representing Haitian nationals who fear losing their Temporary Protected Status (TPS), told The Washington Post that the regulation is "part of a plan to make people illegal." TPS, established by Congress in 1990, allows individuals from specific countries to live and work legally in the U.S. temporarily if they are already in the country and their home nation is deemed unsafe.

In late June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the administration's plan to revoke TPS for approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. These individuals had been granted protection following the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake and the Syrian civil war beginning in 2012. Under the new regulations, if these individuals apply for asylum or have already done so, they could face immediate deportation without any prior hearing.

The new regulation is part of a plan to make people illegal.

— Ira KurzbanAttorney Ira Kurzban criticizing the U.S. government's new asylum procedures.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog