Overview
- The internal DHS and USCIS documents obtained by CBS News on Monday described a draft regulation that would let U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reject certain asylum applications without holding the agency's customary in‑person interviews.
- Under the proposal, officers could screen out claims filed more than one year after arrival unless an exception applies, and officers would still have the discretion to schedule interviews when an exception appears to apply.
- Cases rejected at the USCIS stage would be referred into Department of Justice immigration court removal proceedings, requiring applicants to defend their claims in an adversarial hearing before a judge.
- USCIS says it is considering multiple options to address roughly 1.5 million pending affirmative asylum applications, while advocates warn that paper‑only screening based on the one‑year deadline risks sending people into deportation without a chance to explain late filing reasons such as medical issues, poor counsel, or temporary legal status.
- The proposal is under development and not final, and it builds on broader administration moves to speed removals as immigration courts face about 3.3 million pending cases, a shift that could further strain courts and alter how asylum seekers live and fight their claims.