Trump Plans To Dismiss Hundreds of Thousands of Asylum Claims To Boost Deportations

Dismissing asylum applications for migrants who entered the U.S. unlawfully would boost immigration-related arrests, but have little impact on public safety.

The Trump administration is planning to make hundreds of thousands of migrants immediately deportable by dismissing their asylum claims, CNN reported on Wednesday. The move would likely boost already historically high immigration-related arrests to meet the Trump administration's quota of 3,000 immigration arrests per day. 

According to two sources familiar with the matter, the administration plans to close the cases of migrants who entered the United States unlawfully and later applied for asylum. Based on self-reporting, at least a quarter of a million asylum seekers in the last decade entered the U.S. unlawfully. Those whose cases are dismissed will be subject to expedited removal, a process that allows immigration authorities to deport an individual without a hearing before an immigration judge. 

Asylum is a pathway to citizenship available to migrants considered "refugees" who arrive at the border or have entered the U.S. within one year. To win asylum, a person must provide evidence that they are a refugee, defined as someone unable or unwilling to return to their home country due to past persecution or a well-founded fear of being persecuted "on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion," explains the American Immigration Council. Any individuals "found to pose a danger to the United States, who have committed a 'particularly serious crime,' or who have persecuted others themselves, are barred from asylum."

Under the Refugee Act of 1980, entering the U.S. without proper authorization does not disqualify an individual from seeking asylum—which reflects the reality that those fleeing persecution may not have the resources to navigate an immigration legal system before migrating. Asylum eligibility has been restricted over time to dissuade unlawful immigration, and in January, President Donald Trump blocked access to asylum for anyone unlawfully crossing the U.S. southern border. 

As of December 31, 2024, there were approximately 1.45 million asylum applications filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees lawful immigration. An additional 1.48 million asylum applications were pending as part of immigration removal proceedings. Because of the backlog in both the immigration courts and at USCIS, the asylum process can take years. In FY 2024, those who were ultimately granted relief, such as asylum, from an immigration court waited an average of three and a half years for their outcome. 

At any time during the asylum process, if USCIS finds that someone is ineligible for relief, they can be turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Generally, enforcement actions, like ordering deportation, fall under the authority of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. But recently, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem gave USCIS the authority to fast-track deportation proceedings and "take additional actions to enforce civil and criminal violations of the immigration laws," according to a memo obtained by CNN. 

Such a change in process puts USCIS at the center of Trump's deportation campaign, and experts warn it will likely have a chilling effect on migrants seeking relief and remaining in the United States. "They're turning the agency that we think of as providing immigration benefits into an enforcement arm for ICE," Sarah Mehta, deputy director of government affairs for the American Civil Liberties Union's equality division, told CNN. 

Matthew Tragesser, a USCIS spokesperson, told CNN that the agency had "nothing to announce at this time," and added that the "screening and vetting of all aliens seeking to come, live, or work" in the U.S. continues to be the agency's top priority.

The vast majority of those affected by Trump's planned policy have been navigating the immigration system and working and contributing to their community for years. A move to dismiss asylum applications for anyone who entered the U.S. unlawfully and expedite removal through USCIS may aid in Trump's immigration crackdown goals, but it will have little impact on the stated aim to rid the country of dangerous, violent criminals.